Dometic fridge won't ignite

Stereo

Adventurer
I have the Dometic RM 2193 three-way fridge in my Northstar camper. When it wouldn't light after repeated tries, I discovered the igniter lead wire had broken, probably due to a cross-wiring mishap. Rather than spend $45 (!!) for a new wire, I decided to change out the piezo sparker with a battery-powered igniter that keeps sparking as long as the button is held down. I also changed out the electrode in hopes of getting a stronger spark as I had issues well before the wire break. I am also preparing for a reigniter I have on order and as I understand it, the electrode needs to be in the flame. The original electrode had just a little button projection (first photo).

I'm getting what appears to me to be a good spark (second photo) but it still won't light. I have tried adjusting the location of the electrode but if I move it too far away, it starts to ground against the inner wall of the cylinder, rather than to the thermocouple. The propane flow is good. Just in case, though, I did soak the orifice in alcohol and blow through the gas burner ; nothing came out. When I light the fridge with a flame (barbeque lighter), it lights right away and burns well. The fridge works well when it's lit.

Any suggestions about why the spark won't ignite the propane?

Thanks for your help.

Original electrode.jpg Spark 1.JPG
 

Stereo

Adventurer
I found the problem. The igniter I purchased had three terminals. I only needed two - one for the electrode and one for ground. The kit included a cap for the third. I just discovered that a spark was jumping between the terminal in use and the empty terminal despite the plug. I tried taping over it with electrical tape but it was still sparking across the terminals. Then I came across a post that said to use a another wire between the unused terminal and a ground to stop the sparking across the terminals. That worked and must have focused the electrical energy on the electrode. It's lighting consistently now, though initially, it still took several sparks so I'm glad I installed the battery igniter.

I'm going to leave the post up in case it will be of help to someone else.
 

Stereo

Adventurer
Well....I tried to light it again this morning and it probably took about 50 or 60 clicks. However, once it was burning and I turned it off and tried again, it only took about 10 clicks. Do the sparks have to warm up the thermocouple? Does that suggest a bad thermocouple?
 

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