Fridge not working on gas (1 Viewer)

elizabethh7802

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Mar 7, 2012
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Hi
We have an Electrolux RM 4280.
About a month ago it worked fine on gas.
Today we used it on 12v without any problem but when we tried to ignite it wouldn't work on the gas. Also working on hook-up.
We have cleaned the vent on the side in case it was blocked but still not working. Have tried to locate thermocouple but can't seem to find it, do we need to pull fridge out?
Any ideas what problem could be and how we can fix?
Thanks for any replies.
Liz
 

Sundowners

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Hi
You need access to the back of the 'fridge--where the gas burner is located--make sure it is not clogged with dirt/rust-----------thats a start
Nigel & Pamala
 

TheBig1

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getting a blocked jet is a common fault, but as already mentioned you will need good access to the bottom rear of the fridge. the thermocouple for the flame failure is also mounted onto the same place as the gas jet as it works from direct heat from the flame


just another thought, you have checked the obvious that there is gas getting through to the hob havent you? The truma gas regulators are known to fail and will starve the fridge of gas even before they totally fail. check you get a good flame at the hob first

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TheBig1

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To clean out the jet, you need to dismantle the burner assembly and then unscrew the nozzle. A good idea is to take a photo on a digital camera or phone to refer to on reassembling. Once appart try tapping the jet on a hard surface to get any larger debris out, then blow through it against the direction the gas normally flows. Its only a tiny hole, so dont try clearing it with a drill bit or similar, you will ruin it. Any sticky residue can be removed by rinsing in petrol and allowing to dry fully before reassembly

you may be surprised by how much muck is often in there

the thermocouple is the next thing to check, as these tend to corrode because of being exposed to the flame and then damp air. try cleaning first with a bit of emmery cloth. If it is distorted it definitely needs replacing. To get at it, you need it dismantled as before, so check and clean anyway before reassembly
 
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elizabethh7802

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Mar 7, 2012
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More frustration... any ideas now?

Spent the day trying to mend the blinkin thing, what a frustrating day... so
Cleaned everything out.
when we unscrew the ignitor part (sorry don't know correct technical name!) from the flue it works perfectly, lights first time.
As soon as we screw it back into the base of the flue it sometimes ignites then makes a popping noise before extinguishing or it doesn't light at all.
How frustrating. We cannot figure out what the problem is at all.
There is no blockage in the flue and we have managed to dismantle it and make sure it is thoroughly clean.
Any ideas as to what is causing the prob?
Also, there is a fan that is insitu but the wiring has been disconnected, is this anything to do with the fridge or can we leave it disconnected?

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Nov 30, 2009
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This may sound really obvious , but is the motorhome parked level ?
Our fridge works parked on a right slope , but we have been told that some dont work at all , unless parked very flat .
Just a thought.
Either way it will bump you up the forum so someone else may be able to help.:Smile:
 
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elizabethh7802

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Mar 7, 2012
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Thanks, yes parked on flat and still no joy :cry:
It is so frustrating as it works out of flue but as soon as you put it back again it stops working:Angry: and we just don't know what the problem is despite spending all day today trying to work it out.
I hope maybe someone may have experience with this type of prob and pass on their knowledge, PLEASE!!!
 

pappajohn

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Spent the day trying to mend the blinkin thing, what a frustrating day... so
Cleaned everything out.
when we unscrew the ignitor part (sorry don't know correct technical name!) from the flue it works perfectly, lights first time.
As soon as we screw it back into the base of the flue it sometimes ignites then makes a popping noise before extinguishing or it doesn't light at all.
How frustrating. We cannot figure out what the problem is at all.
There is no blockage in the flue and we have managed to dismantle it and make sure it is thoroughly clean.
Any ideas as to what is causing the prob?
Also, there is a fan that is insitu but the wiring has been disconnected, is this anything to do with the fridge or can we leave it disconnected?
sounds very much like the jet is still partially blocked.

out of the burner tube it will light but the flame may be weak.
once put back in the tube the gas isn't sufficient enough to burn in the confined space of the burner tube so the gas/air mixture is incorrect (too weak) causing the popping.

you may have to remove the jet and soak in petrol/jet cleaner for a while then blow through with a high pressure airline to remove any 'gum' in the jet....the smallest speck can cause a partial blockage

the fan.....convection fridges rely on cool air and only chill to around 20deg cooler than the ambient air temperature, so if its 35deg outside the fridge will only cool to 15deg...not cool enough !
the hot air cant flow fast enough over the cooling fins of the fridge so a small fan, something similar to a computer cooling fan, is fitted near the top vent to speed up the airflow and allow better cooling....fast moving air is cooler than slow moving air.
in the UK its barely worth having a fan.

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Redjumpa

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the fan.....convection fridges rely on cool air and only chill to around 20deg cooler than the ambient air temperature, so if its 35deg outside the fridge will only cool to 15deg...not cool enough !
the hot air cant flow fast enough over the cooling fins of the fridge so a small fan, something similar to a computer cooling fan, is fitted near the top vent to speed up the airflow and allow better cooling....fast moving air is cooler than slow moving air.
in the UK its barely worth having a fan.

Daft question (not my first!!).......when fitting a fan is directed to suck air in or blow it out?
 

pappajohn

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Daft question (not my first!!).......when fitting a fan is directed to suck air in or blow it out?
the fan is fitted at the top vent to suck hot air out.
same principle as those 12v 'picnic' cooler boxes which have a fan to suck air over the cooling fins
rapidly moving air is cooler than stationary/convected air

it could be at the bottom and blow air in but as it's a relatively big space behind the fridge it wouldnt be as efficient as causing a partial vacuum and sucking it out.

 

TheBig1

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set it to push air OUT of the top vent, therefore it pulls cooler air into the bottom vent.

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JJ

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Was there much muck in it when you cleaned it out or was it quite clean?

When you lit the burner out of position was the thermo couple keeping the gas flowing ok or were you holding the button in?

When the burner is fitted back in position does the igniter produce a good strong spark?

Can it be that when you refit it, the igniter cable shorts out somewhere preventing a spark?

If there is a good spark with the burner in position... is there any way that the gas feed pipe gets a kink in it?

I don't think you can be very far from the solution if the burner burns out of position...

JJ :Cool:

 

jb0371old

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I had a similar problem last year, we had just stopped for a bit of wild camping an d I could not start the fridge, as it then just started to totally p**s it down we booked ourselves into a cl. Stripped it down and found a pice of debris in the burner, with that removed it all worked fine for the rest of the trip, decided to replace the whole burner,jet and thermocouple (van is 18 years old) for reasonable money, just remeber to take the burner/jet with you as there are different size jets. I will try to upload a picture.
 

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