Dometic RM8401 not working on gas

[Meggers]

Hi,
My 10 year old Dometic RM8401 suddenly stopped working on gas. It doesn't light and the igniter doesn't "click". Local caravan repair company have tried replacing the main circuit board and the igniter / burner without success. They now think it's a faulty gas valve but to be honest I'm not sure they know what the fault it. I've checked the electrical connections to the gas valve with a multimeter and can find no feed so I think the fault is elsewhere. Just wondered if anyone had a similar fault and found the cause. Given the age of the fridge I'm thinking a replacement might be the answer but it's an expensive option.

 

[jockaneezer]

Is the igniter working now with the replacement board, if it's sparking now, it could well be the gas solenoid ? I would also try running a temporary 12 volt supply from your leisure battery to the gas solenoid and you should be able to feel or hear it "click" open, at least that will eliminate the actual solenoid from your investigations ? I had the push on Lucar earth connector to my gas valve fail due to corrosion, a crimped on replacement fixed it.

 

[Reallyretired]

Sounds like mine. No sparking and no gas. Turned out to be a wonky connection on a multiplug. Johns Cross fixed it for me with just charging an hours labour because it was a long job tracking down the fault.
Perhaps you need a better engineer.

 

[Meggers]

Thanks for the replies. The dealer refitted the original parts when the replacements didn't cure the problem as he said they were not the cause of the fault. I've checked all the connections I can see but there may be some that are hidden or internal so it's a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Given the age of the fridge I've decided to go with a replacement as I can see me spending a lot of money trying to fix this one only to have something else fail on it. Hopefully I can recover some of the cost by selling on the old fridge which would be ideal for someone on a permanent EHU.