Dometic 3-way fridge/freezer ~2004, takes 15-20 clicks to get it going on gas - normal?

[MH04RMV]

Hi Everyone,
My Dometic fridge/freezer is taking anything from 15 - 20 cycles (i.e. turning from off to on and back to off) before it eventually fires up and the yellow light stays on.
Is this "normal", e.g. it's just taking a while for the gas to get through the pipe (even though hob burners fire up straight away)?
Or...is something on the way out?

The ignition clicks don't sound like they're running low/out of juice.

Is there a safe manual way to light the fridge up, so I don't have to waste 20 minutes praying to the gas gods for it to work?

Cheers,

Rich

 

[Chrisallys]

Mine turned out to be the selector switch after I'd changed the thermocouple etc . Or ring dometic technical their pretty good

 

[Figaro]

No it doesn't sound right.
When you switch to gas, does the yellow light flash, or is that why you have to repeatedly turn back to off,just to get the light flashing ?
The yellow light shouldn't stay on, it should go off when lit by pressing in and holding the temp selector button.
What model fridge is it ?

 

[JockandRita]

Hi Everyone,
My Dometic fridge/freezer is taking anything from 15 - 20 cycles (i.e. turning from off to on and back to off) before it eventually fires up and the yellow light stays on.
Is this "normal", e.g. it's just taking a while for the gas to get through the pipe (even though hob burners fire up straight away)?
Or...is something on the way out?

The ignition clicks don't sound like they're running low/out of juice.

Is there a safe manual way to light the fridge up, so I don't have to waste 20 minutes praying to the gas gods for it to work?

Cheers,

Rich

Ours is a Dometic 7 Series F/F. I find the manual changeover from 240v or 12v to gas is instant, with only a couple of clicks of the igniter at the most.

I did have a problem with the auto changeover, which turned out to be a problematic PCB, which I managed to hunt down and replace, however, parts for the 6 & 7 Series F/Fs are mostly now obsolete.

Good luck getting it sorted.

Jock.

 

[MH04RMV]

No it doesn't sound right.
When you switch to gas, does the yellow light flash, or is that why you have to repeatedly turn back to off,just to get the light flashing ?
The yellow light shouldn't stay on, it should go off when lit by pressing in and holding the temp selector button.
What model fridge is it ?

Hi Figaro JockandRita
Apologies, I'd forgotten about this thread/query...

It's a manual rotating dial selection between 12v/240v/gas...when selecting gas/"switching on", the yellow light is flashing while the ignitor is firing, and after 15-20 clicks the ignitor stops, so I have to turn it "off" (e.g. back to 12v), then turn back to gas to repeat the ignitor firing sequence.

I'll try and take a video of what it's doing and attach here.

I can "kind of" tell when it's about to light successfully and the yellow light stay on, as the ignitor firings are a bit slower & sound "fatter".

Once it's lit, it seems to stay alight without any issues, and cools quite well...it's just such a PITA to get it lit!

I've no idea when it was last/if ever serviced, so maybe I should get that done first, to see if that picks up an issue with any part(s)...?

Cheers,

Rich.

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[Dave Scadding]

I would consider taking the burner apart and cleaning the small jet etc.

 

[JockandRita]

I would consider taking the burner apart and cleaning the small jet etc.

And the igniter probe, to encourage a healthy spark.

Re the gas jet, some are a simple piece of shaped tin with a tiny hole in it. Others can be a tiny brass nut with a gauze inside. Don't go poking the latter. It's better cleaned out with an airline.

I've no idea when it was last/if ever serviced, so maybe I should get that done first, to see if that picks up an issue with any part(s)...?

Yes, and if not at all sure, get someone in to do it for you. There are a number of mobile technicians about these days, without having to go to a dealership workshop.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[MH04RMV]

Hi Dave Scadding JockandRita
Thanks for the advice - to clean things out, would they be accessible from outside via the vent, or would it be a case of pulling the fridge out (which I'm presuming has a flexi gas pipe connection to enable that to happen?)?

I tried lighting it/videoing it - it took 9 minutes and 30 seconds to light...unfortunately, even a 10 second video is too large to attach here, so I can't show the ignitor sounding just slightly different between failed and (albeit right at the end of the try) successful attempts.

To my totally unprofessional ears, it's almost like there's no gas until the finally successful try...but the hobs light up pretty much straight away once the gas is on, and I can't think of any reason the gas wouldn't be flowing to the fridge as quickly (the internal fridge on/off valve is at the "open" state, like the hob valve)...

Cheers,

Rich.

 

[Richard n Ann]

To my totally unprofessional ears, it's almost like there's no gas until the finally successful try...but the hobs light up pretty much straight away once the gas is on, and I can't think of any reason the gas wouldn't be flowing to the fridge as quickly (the internal fridge on/off valve is at the "open" state, like the hob valve)...

Gas takes a while to get to the fridge but usually it's only after a long lay up when the gas feed probably is full of air.

Will it relight straight away?

 

[Dave Scadding]

Hi Dave Scadding JockandRita
Thanks for the advice - to clean things out, would they be accessible from outside via the vent, or would it be a case of pulling the fridge out (which I'm presuming has a flexi gas pipe connection to enable that to happen?)?

I tried lighting it/videoing it - it took 9 minutes and 30 seconds to light...unfortunately, even a 10 second video is too large to attach here, so I can't show the ignitor sounding just slightly different between failed and (albeit right at the end of the try) successful attempts.

To my totally unprofessional ears, it's almost like there's no gas until the finally successful try...but the hobs light up pretty much straight away once the gas is on, and I can't think of any reason the gas wouldn't be flowing to the fridge as quickly (the internal fridge on/off valve is at the "open" state, like the hob valve)...

Cheers,

Rich.

Yep, if it’s a fridge freezer the lower vent.

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[jongood]

Hi Dave Scadding JockandRita
Thanks for the advice - to clean things out, would they be accessible from outside via the vent, or would it be a case of pulling the fridge out (which I'm presuming has a flexi gas pipe connection to enable that to happen?)?

I tried lighting it/videoing it - it took 9 minutes and 30 seconds to light...unfortunately, even a 10 second video is too large to attach here, so I can't show the ignitor sounding just slightly different between failed and (albeit right at the end of the try) successful attempts.

To my totally unprofessional ears, it's almost like there's no gas until the finally successful try...but the hobs light up pretty much straight away once the gas is on, and I can't think of any reason the gas wouldn't be flowing to the fridge as quickly (the internal fridge on/off valve is at the "open" state, like the hob valve)...

Cheers,

Rich.

is tha gas valve sticking? try tapping it.

 

[gus-lopez]

My basic 3 way fridge takes a count of 120 ( 2 minutes) to get the gas through. I push in & ignite once & hold in whilst counting to 120 then off & back on & it light s straightaway. It relights instantly every time. It only takes that long if it has been off or running on ehu for some days. The burner was cleaned out recently .

 

[Spriddler]

Hi Figaro JockandRita
when selecting gas/"switching on", the yellow light is flashing while the ignitor is firing, and after 15-20 clicks the ignitor stops,

Perhaps the igniter stops firing because the burner has lit and the thermocouple will have 'told' it not to fire any more.

 

[GeoffnDee]

MH04RMV If your Dometic fridge is a RM4xxx series are you turning the gas control knob to max when trying to get it to ignite.

 

[MH04RMV]

Gas takes a while to get to the fridge but usually it's only after a long lay up when the gas feed probably is full of air.

Will it relight straight away?

Hello Richard n Ann
It can be a few weeks (or longer) between uses.

Do you mean, once it's successfully lit, does it relight? To be honest, I've never done an IT Crowd helpdesk and turned it off and back on again to find out, so I'll give it a go today (maybe the feed to fridge will still be part-filled with gas after only a couple of days?).
If it does relight straight away, what would that suggest - just a very slow gas feed (for some reason)?

I just had a thought...is there any way to "trick" the fridge/gas supply to fill the feed line without going through all the multiple clicks/starting procedure?
For example, if I left it "on"/dial selected to gas after the initial failure, would the gas still be flowing to the fridge, or is that only happening when the ignitor is firing (presumably as a safety thing, if e.g. it gets blown out by the wind)?

Cheers,

Rich.

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[Spriddler]

Hello Richard n Ann

I just had a thought...is there any way to "trick" the fridge/gas supply to fill the feed line without going through all the multiple clicks/starting procedure?

I always had the same tedious multi-clicking lighting delay but on my 3-way fridge I now turn the knob to the 'Lighting' position and hold the knob in for say 10 secs to get the gas flowing and then switch on the igniter and it lights immediately.

 

[MH04RMV]

Hi Spriddler
Unfortunately, mine doesn't push in, it only turns.

Cheers,

Rich.