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Piezo igniter for Dometic?
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Californio
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:05 pm    Post subject: Piezo igniter for Dometic? Reply with quote

Well, I busted off the end tip of the ignitor while trying to do a good deed to the fridge and clean out the combustion chamber. I was trying to adjust it so it sparks correctly and taking itout to try, it looked like the spark only jumped about 3/16".

Questions:

1. Should the spark travel farther than that?
2. How do you adjust the distance it's going to spark--mine just turns around in there.
3. I see the GW Piezo igniter doesn't show a wire or end to it. Is that the case or do they actually come with them? I guess I could call GW, ok.
4. Can you just solder a new piece of wire in there or??

Thanks for any help, folks.
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Californio
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One thing I can add to this fascinating discussion:

While the fridge was out and I was testing the new fan operation, I discovered that the only factory source of ground is through the AC! Odd design IMHO, but in practical terms what this means is that your fridge will not work on 12V if the 110 V AC plug is disconnected, or if you've taken it out, messed with the ground, etc.

I'm thinking of adding a dedicated ground to the body panel. Easy to do--there's a threaded post on the Dometic made for grounds.
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crazyvwvanman
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The ground return for the 12 volt heating element and the rear fan is provided in the fridge DC harness connector, 3 pins, pin 2. The fridge will work fine on 12 volts with this as the only ground. What won't work is the flame indicator led, as it relies on a fridge chassis ground which is provided by the AC wiring when the fridge is fully installed.

Also when the fridge is installed as stock the copper propane line provides another ground path for the fridge chassis and thus the flame led works even without the fridge AC cord being plugged in.

Mark



Californio wrote:
One thing I can add to this fascinating discussion:

While the fridge was out and I was testing the new fan operation, I discovered that the only factory source of ground is through the AC! Odd design IMHO, but in practical terms what this means is that your fridge will not work on 12V if the 110 V AC plug is disconnected, or if you've taken it out, messed with the ground, etc.

I'm thinking of adding a dedicated ground to the body panel. Easy to do--there's a threaded post on the Dometic made for grounds.
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RidgeWalker
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:27 am    Post subject: Piezo spark Reply with quote

My fridge is out for the same clean and check process. It works fine on electric, but I can't get it to light on propane. Sigh.
I notice the piezo sparks to the burner most of the time, but every 4th or 5th spark goes to the thermocouple.
Is the fact that the piezo sparks to the thermocouple a problem?
If it is how do I adjust the spark?
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1984 Vanagon Camper aka Sonja
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