On 25 Jul 96, Lars Poulsen wrote:

> My own wife has decided that in order for the fridge to light, the mark
> on the pump handle must point to the right.

with all due respect, this will not make a difference.  that knob on 
the air pump threads onto a rod that operates the piston for the air 
pump.  the rod attaches to the piston via a small circlip but the 
whole thing is uniform and not affected by the position of the knob.

however, you are on the right track.  there is a VW tech bulletin 
that describes modifing the air pump for greater output by drilling 
the outlet passage in the pump to a larger diameter.  this pushes 
more fresh air into the burner chamber and ignition is (somewhat) 
more reliable.

also, there is a check valve in line that can get gummy and not hold 
air well.

Derek's trick of using a hose attached to the drain line and blowing 
into it works well and is painfully simple.

for a great article on fridge repair, check the archives.

-dan