Well let's see.....

First make sure it is set on gas only (button may show "AUTO MANUAL" or "Gas Electric"). Choose gas or manual depending on what yours shows. Most refrigerators will automatically switch from gas to Electric if you are plugged into shore power and the button is set for auto/electric.

Turn on the gas at the propane tanks and wait about 5 minutes. It takes awhile for the gas to charge the system so you can light the pilot.

Press the on off switch so it is on. You should hear the spark ignitor click every few seconds and then the burner light. This can take some time depending on how long the RV has been parked (months or years). If the burner doesn't light after about a minute you will get a light showing "CHECK". You'll need to repeat by turning off the refrigerator and then back on. This may also take a couple of cycles depending on how long it's been since the refrigerator was used.

If after a few trys you still don't get the pilot to light, then you may have a problem with the control board. This is common and it's easy to replace.

First make sure you have plenty of 12V power. Low house battery will make it difficult to get the pilot to light.

with no lights at all sounds like a power issue vs lpg. On the outside (backside) of the fridge there should be a 110v plug in with a regular power cord from the fridge plugged into it. Unplug the fridge and plug it into an extension cord from the house or a known "hot" plug and see if anything happens. Sounds like you checked all the fuses and breakers but you may want to double check in the fridge compartment because some manufacturers sneak breakers and fuses into places other than the fuse blocks.

Like was mentioned earlier, make sure your house battery is up to snuff, when they go down funny things happen in these rigs and this is something to think about whenever wierd things start happening inside your unit.

My bet is no 12 volts to the fridge.  As was commented, you must have 12 volts to run the fridge even if you are on shore power or have plenty of LP.  The 12 volts runs the “computer” (and fans) which actually controls everything in the fringe.  Assuming this is a newer unit, if you have no lights inside when you open the door or if you have no indications in the control panel read outs, it is most likely 12 volts.  That is assuming the unit didn’t have a computer lockup and has to be reset.

 

The question is what kind of fridge? If it is a Norcold they do have a shut down if the computer detects problems.

 

Indeed call Hitchhiker, but also check the 12 volt fuses.

 

Bill

Turns out it was a simple fuse replacement... much to my chagrin!

I have a partner managing the RV who swore the fuses were all functioning. So after reading of all your folks great tips and sharing them with him, he still did not fix it. So I phoned my brother-in-law who owns a 29 footer for help then directed him to my partner. He talked him through and told him to check the fuses then use a voltage meter step by step to seek out where the power stopped. I know now that I don't think he took any of his advice. Since the problem was still pending, I had my mechanically inclined brother drive from Prince George, BC to Salt Spring Island off the coast of Vancouver Island - a 500+ mile trip plus a 3 hours ferry ride - to solve the problem. It took less than 15 minutes! So there ya go. Sometimes, the solution lies in the obvious!

Thanks for everyone's help. I'm a newbie to the RV world and love the folks here... I had no idea what a sense of community it is.

-- Edited by Little Dipper on Saturday 25th of June 2011 12:31:29 AM