Troubleshooting Your Ignition System
Troubleshooting your ignition system
It happens to the best…you go to start your grill and it simply will not ignite. You have changed the ignitor battery but it still won’t ignite. If you experience an occasional “No-spark-no-light” condition there may be a quick and easy solution. Here is a quick checklist to troubleshoot the problem.
Inspection
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- WITH GAS OFF, position a mirror in front of the collector box and press ignitor button. Observe the condition of the spark. (Low light conditions are the best for seeing the spark.)
- If there’s a good spark, but the grill won’t light, gas may not be flowing to the burner and into the collector box. The gas orifice or the venturi tube may be blocked.
A good spark will spark at the top
- If a weak spark arcs down around the ceramic insulator, the insulator should be cleaned. The insulator has a coating grease or it is wet. Use an old toothbrush to break up the conductive electric path.
A weak spark will arc down around the ceramic insulator
- WITH GAS OFF, position a mirror in front of the collector box and press ignitor button. Observe the condition of the spark. (Low light conditions are the best for seeing the spark.)
If there is no spark in the collector box
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- Check the wire connections at the ignitor and electrode under the grill.
- Check the wire connections at the ignitor and electrode under the grill.
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- Check spark. Pull the connector wire from the collector box. Bring wire to bottom or top of the control panel, hold about 1/8″ away and operate the ignitor. Check for spark. If there is no spark, first replace the battery. If there still isn’t a spark, replace the electric ignitor. If there is a spark the Electric Ignitor is OK, but the Collector Box/Electrode assembly should be replaced (the ceramic insulator could be cracked).
- Check spark. Pull the connector wire from the collector box. Bring wire to bottom or top of the control panel, hold about 1/8″ away and operate the ignitor. Check for spark. If there is no spark, first replace the battery. If there still isn’t a spark, replace the electric ignitor. If there is a spark the Electric Ignitor is OK, but the Collector Box/Electrode assembly should be replaced (the ceramic insulator could be cracked).
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- Make sure ignitor button module is tight on the control panel. If it is loose, a good ground will not be attained.
If you do not hear any clicking when you push the ignitor button, it may be time to replace the battery
To access the battery, unscrew the ignitor push button and collar. Remove the old battery. If you see any corrosion in the battery compartment it can be removed by wrapping a small piece of sandpaper around the eraser end of a pencil and using that to scrape off the corrosion.
Install a new AAA battery into the battery compartment, positive (+) side down. Replace the push button and collar.
Below is a video showing how to replace the battery in the electronic ignitor.
Also, try checking your grounding wire
The ground wire must be in contact with the metal control panel for the ignitor to work properly.
