Fridge Won't Light at High Elevation

[Russ661]

Just got back from 2 weeks camping at Medicine Lake in northern California. It's a beautiful little lake with forest service campgrounds. No amenities, no hookups and it is 50 miles to the nearest town so definitely need to come prepared. The elevation there is right around 6700 feet and therein lies my problem: the fridge won't self-ignite. I can light it manually but once it cycles off it won't relight. The heater lights and the water heater lights but not the fridge. I know the fridge works because it fired right up when I tried it at home (2800 feet elevation).
So, my question is this: what is the simple fix?

[wags999]

We have used ours over 10,000 without an issue. You sure it's not partially blocked by creepy crawlers? May want to clean it to make sure.

[Russ661]

Clean what, exactly?
The burner works fine and like I said it lights and works fine at lower elevation.
When it wasn't working it would try to light, igniter was sparking, and then it would finally ignite with a whoosh and blow itself out.
I'm thinking it is just an adjustment that needs to be made but I'm not sure where to start.
Thanks for your input.

[GL243]

Sounds like same problem I had which I resolved myself. See thread at: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f1...ved-58063.html

Let us know if this works in your case.

[Russ661]

It is getting dark here now but tomorrow I will remove the igniter and adjust the gap. I won't be going anywhere for a while so I won't be able to report back with the results but I am confident it will work. Funny, I actually tried to bend the igniter in situ but was afraid I would break the porcelain (sp?) insulator so I stopped trying.
Thanks for the link!

[2edgesword]

There may be issues with both the frig and hot water heat at altitudes above 4K ~ 5K feet. Some manufacturers advise buyers that functioning at altitude can be a problem and a special set-up has to be done to fix the issue. I'll see if I can track down the thread.

[2edgesword]

This issue is mentioned in an RV Life article: Essential Altitude Tips For RVers Traveling In The Mountains

and this is the tread I was referring to: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...ude-61353.html

[GL243]

Originally Posted by Russ661

It is getting dark here now but tomorrow I will remove the igniter and adjust the gap. I won't be going anywhere for a while so I won't be able to report back with the results but I am confident it will work. Funny, I actually tried to bend the igniter in situ but was afraid I would break the porcelain (sp?) insulator so I stopped trying.
Thanks for the link!

I'm still amazed that a 1/16th inch gap adjustment fixed my problem, but it's still working flawlessly with 3 more higher elevation trips under the belt and haven't had the "blinking lights" ignition failure thing even one time since I did it, so hopefully your confidence will prove out in your case also. It's a little tricky in that you have to just loosen the mounting screw and try to hold it in place at the new gap while re-tightening and the re-tightening part tends to move it around a bit, but it can be done.

As for the furnace and water heater altitude problems, I haven't had any issues with those other than what appears to be the standard Atwood controller board failure with the water heater (replaced by dealer and working OK since, knock on wood). Furnace has never failed to ignite in our case (more knocking on wood . . .). But it is indeed fascinating/puzzling as to why RV manufacturers would sell us something that clearly is not intended to work at even midrange altitudes, especially in "western series" models like we have. Thanks, 2edges, for the plot-thickening info, will be very interested in how the story ends up.

Now am just hoping Jayco and dealer fix my roof issue that the TT is going in for next month . . .