Fridge losing Propane charge

[MikeMarkCA]

3 way, fridge works fine on AC, but in Propane many times loses Propane charge. Needle showing no charge, and a constant clicking outside which I assume is the auto lighter trying to light.
About 50% of the time it works.
Propane stove no problems
Propane heater no problems
Propane water heater no problems.

2013 Lance 950

Any ideas?

Thank you.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Mike, what gauge are you referring to? I assume one on the gas bottle, but want to make sure.

 

[camelracer]

The burner needs cleaning.

 

[ardvark]

The burner needs cleaning.

Agree. OP has not established that he has a propane system problem and given all other appliances operate fine on propane the greater likelihood is that he simply has rust or dirt obstructing his burner. Might be able to fix his problem using nothing more than a puff of air to blow the dirt/rust away. Orifice for the fridge is very small and it doesn't take much to upset gas delivery across the burner.

 

[roverjohn]

If it's not lighting it could also be a blockage of his propane orifice just before the burner. Little bugs like to make their nest there.

 

[MikeMarkCA]

Sagebrush, thanks for the reply.

The needle Guage on the fridge itself. As I prime the fridge with propane, the needle will rise into green zone to let you know fridge is primed with propane, at that point the clicking stops as the fridge lights.

 

[MikeMarkCA]

No the fridge lights, indeed sometimes the fridge will work fine, but 50% of the time it goes out, meddle Guage drops out of the green, and auto starter starts clicking seay

I’ll take a fine steel wool to the burner, and perhaps make myself a windguard out of sheet metal as some on other threads have suggested.
So we are talking about cleaning off where the pilot light burns?

Thank you for the replies.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Thanks... I don’t recall ever seeing a gauge on the refer. I suspect the other posts about cleaning the burner is correct. YouTube probably has a video on how to do that for your make/model fridge.

Sagebrush, thanks for the reply.

The needle Guage on the fridge itself. As I prime the fridge with propane, the needle will rise into green zone to let you know fridge is primed with propane, at that point the clicking stops as the fridge lights.

 

[Beach]

If the gauge is like the Norcold fridges use, it works by sensing heat. Needle in the green means burner is lit, red means burner NOT lit. Could be the above mentioned items or bad sensor sending bad/no signal to the auto shut off valve or possibility the auto shutoff valve is faulty. I would start by cleaning burner as this is a common(often) problem. Work back from there if no improvement. Just cleaned my burner 2 weeks ago, partially clogged with rust flakes, had a weak flame. Good as new now

 

[roverjohn]

I'm still voting the orifice as it often presents exactly as the OP is stating. It might be a Midwest thing but it's always the first place I look.
Tiny tiny tiny spiders or maybe some sort of mite make the webbing at the back side of the orifice. The way these burners are designed the orifice has to be perfectly clean. Even the smallest obstruction pushes the gas flow away from the center of the tube and that causes the system to draw in less combustion air and then you get a yellow flame which then shuts the gas off due to cold flame.

 

[MikeMarkCA]

Here is the gas charge system.
As soon as you turn off the gas, needle drops out of the green within seconds.

 

[Beach]

Gauge is not indicative of a "propane Charge", just indicates whether the burner is lit or not.

 

[MikeMarkCA]

Gauge is not indicative of a "propane Charge", just indicates whether the burner is lit or not.

If that is true then I guess maybe it is a problem of the flame going out..but it has auto ignition, wouldn’t it re-light?
When the needle drops you hear a constant clicking that only stops one you hold the button in again, isn’t that clicking the auto start trying to fire up, but not getting any gas?
The clicking noise sounds like an electrical spark.

 

[pvstoy]

What model and year camper? You could have a auto relight system installed as to the sound you are hearing.

 

[MikeMarkCA]

What model and year camper? You could have a auto relight system installed as to the sound you are hearing.

2013 Lance 950.
Pretty sure it is trying to right, but not getting gas. Will pop the exterior cover and have a look, see if I can get to the flame nozzle and try to find something on YouTube on how to clean it.

 

[ardvark]

Can of compressed air works fine. Cleaning a burner is very simple to do and a dirty burner is a common problem. the auto ignition times out if the burner does not light or the flame is too weak. You can see the spark from the ignitor. It is also simple enough to remove the orifice and soak it in alcohol to clean it.

Steve