Help. Skamper heater not firing up. Fan OK.

[Stereo]

I have a 1980's-something Skamper. Last fall, the heater worked just fine. This year, the fan comes on but the pilot doesn't flame on. I don't smell any build-up of propane. Yes, the propane is on at the tank and at the main heater shutoff. I did clean up the contacts to the electrode assembly. I can live without the heater but it sure is sweet to heat up the interior a bit before crawling out from under the down.

Here's what the heater looks like along with the wiring diagram. I'm hoping whatever part might need replacing - if it's something broken - will still be available.

 

[fisher205]

Check you r battery, If it is too low it won't fire. The fan may still work, but the igniter won't.

 

[kb7our]

Might sound dumb, but verify polarity at the battery connections. I had a 90s Coleman Taos and the battery positive and negative were swapped which still allowed a brand new heater fan to run but not ignite until I swapped the wires, white negative/black positive, in this case.

 

[azken]

I have had orifices plugged...spiders and other crawlies love to make homes in them

 

[Stereo]

Check you r battery, If it is too low it won't fire. The fan may still work, but the igniter won't.

It appears you're on to it unless it just coincidentally started working again. I plugged into shore power and it started right up. I connected my battery to my Schumacher charger and it read 60%. I can't believe that wouldn't be enough!? Is that other people's experience? Unfortunately, I didn't try started under battery power again before charging it over 90%; it worked.

The only other thing I did between tries was to turn off the master shutoff overnight and then back on this evening, and drive it about five miles over paved roads. Perhaps the spider/hornet/other crawlie found another spot to hang out. (Thanks for the tip, azken.)

kb7our, I don't mind suggestions that state the obvious. I've done stupid stuff before, so I appreciate the double-checks.

Anyway, it's working... for now.

 

[fisher205]

The heaters usually won't work if your battery is around 50%' That way it doesn't ruin your battery.