Stove / oven
A guided diagnosis for RV techs. Each step is a check, a reading or a question.
- Stove or oven: what is it doing? The stove is the simplest gas appliance and the best place to check LP supply. Expect: Blue flame with sharp inner cones on every burner at 11 in WC
- Igniter: no spark anywhere, or one burner? Most stoves use a piezo (no power) or a 12V spark module. Expect: Snap at the electrode
- Oven: pilot or DSI? Most RV ovens have a standing pilot and a thermocouple. Newer ones spark. Expect: Pilot flame wraps the thermocouple tip; burner lights within a minute of turning the knob
Causes and repairs
No gas at the stove
If no burner lights with a match either, it is supply: cylinder, excess-flow valve, or regulator. See LP.
Tools: manometer
Light with a match. No gas: LP guide. Gas but no spark: igniter branch.
Dirty burner or orifice
Boil-overs clog the ports and the orifice. A yellow lazy flame on one burner with the others fine is dirt, not pressure.
Tools: brush, compressed air
Remove the burner cap, clean the ports with a brush or a pin from the outside, clean the orifice with air. Check the air shutter if adjustable. Don't ream the orifice.
Spark module or piezo failed
12V module: check the fuse and 12V at the module, then the switch. Piezo: the button mechanism wore out.
Tools: multimeter
12V at the module and no spark: replace the module. Piezo: replace the igniter.
Electrode or lead on one burner
Grease on the electrode tip, a cracked ceramic, or a lead off the module.
Tools: hand tools
Clean the tip, set it near the burner port, reconnect or replace the lead.
Thermocouple or pilot flame
The pilot must heat the thermocouple to hold the safety valve open. A weak pilot (dirty orifice) or a tired thermocouple drops out.
Tools: multimeter mV, hand tools
Clean the pilot orifice, make sure the flame hits the tip. Replace the thermocouple (millivolt output under about 20 mV hot is done).
Oven thermostat or safety valve
Pilot holds but the main burner never comes on when you turn the knob: the thermostat isn't opening or the safety valve's main section is stuck.
Tools: hand tools
Turn the knob to 350 and wait a full minute. Nothing: replace the thermostat/safety valve assembly.
DSI oven not lighting
Same logic as a furnace: 12V, spark, gas, flame sense.
Tools: multimeter, manometer
Check 12V at the oven board, spark at the igniter, 11 in WC, and clean the flame sense.
Oven temperature off
RV oven thermostats are crude. The flame deflector plate and a baking stone even out the heat. A thermostat 25°F off is normal; 75°F off is bad.
Tools: oven thermometer
Verify with an oven thermometer. Add a baking stone or tile on the rack. Replace the thermostat if it is way off or won't hold.