Larry,

Thanks for the modified lighting procedure.  I'm going to try that tonight.

I decided to take out the stove last night in order to get a better look at
the drain plug and inspect the combustion chamber.

I don't think the drain plug has ever been removed before, so a little WD
40 and some better leverage and ithe plug turns easily.

The combustion chamber had a couple of bees, a wasp, a couple other bugs I
didn't recognize,  and about an eight of an inch of reddish sand in it, so
it looks like the previous owners didn't use the propane feature of the
fridge  for a long time.

Since I had it all apart I put an additional fan in back along with an
override switch for the little thermoswitch back there.  I cleaned up the
connection between the thermoswitch and cooling fin it's connected to, and
ran the outdoor probe of a Radio Shack Indoor/Outdoor thermometer from
behind the sink under the fridge faceplate and into the fridge.

Once I got it all together and reinstalled I still couldn't light it  )-:
but as I said,  I'll be trying the following procedure tonight.    It works
fine on AC & DC.

Thanks for the help  -- Rich Durant
86 Westfalia

At 09:07 PM 8/5/98 -0400, Lawrence Johnson wrote:
>Rich, if the fridge has not been used for a long time, it is normal (at least
>for me) to have difficulty getting the fridge propane burner to light. The
>problem, I believe, is caused by having air in the propane line to the fridge
>
>Here is a procedure that has always worked for me (eventually):
>    After turning on the main propane valve on the tank, light one of your
>stove top burners and let it burn until the flame is pure blue (no red).
>    Ok, now turn the stove off and turn the fridge propane valve on (the knob
>on the extreme right turned from "O" to "I").
>    Turn the temperature setting to MAX.
>    Press and hold  the gas starter valve (the button on the right side of
the
>air pump) for about 15-20 seconds. The idea here is to let propane into the
>combustion chamber and flush out any air in the line.
>{%^$#&#}
>    Unscrew the drain cap at the bottom left hand side of the fridge;
attach a
>plastic hose to the drain; and blow into the hose as hard and as long as you
>can stand (I cheat and use compressed air). Here, you are trying to remove
the
>excess propane from the combustion chamber)
>    Turn on the camping indicator light console so that you can watch the "*"
>light which will glow when the fridge propane combustion chamber is lit.
>    Now take hold of the fridge air pump and give it 20 to 30 pumps. Don't
push
>the pump so far as to cause it to click (see the next step).
>    Press and hold the gas starter valve and simultaneously press the air
pump
>all the way in until it clicks. You should see a flash through the hole in
the
>lower back left corner of the fridge. Continue to hold down the gas starter
>valve until the "*" light glows or for a maximum of 15-20 seconds. If you are
>lucky and the "*" light starts to glow, release the gas starter valve. If the
>glow begins to diminish, push the gas starter valve back in and hold it a
while
>longer.
>    If no glow then go back to step {%^$#&#} above. (I have never had this
work
>the first time and rarely on the second attempt)
>    If you have success, check the "*" light periodically over the next few
>minutes. If it goes out it is usually easy to re-light using the orthodox
(see
>the book) procedure. (I've only had it go out on me once)
>
>>  I'm trying to remove the cap so that I can get some extra air for
combustion
>> when lighting the fridge on propane use per the various references in the
>> archives.
>
>I don't know of anyone who has ever suggested leaving the cap off under any
>circumstances.
>
>> When I try to light the fridge I see a yellow flash but I never get a blue
>> flame
>
>Don't worry about not seeing the blue flame, this is reserved for the chosen
>few.
>Larry
>'86 Syncro Westfalia
>
>
Rich Durant
Licensing & Installation Products
Mentor Graphics Corporation