Genesis with minor lighting issues - could use some advice


 
John K BBQ

John K BBQ

TVWBB All-Star
I'd like some advice on my slow lighting 10 year old Genesis. I do a decent clean out on this grill every year and replace the flavorizer bars when they develop holes, etc... But for the last couple of years, the grill is not lighting up quite right. When the grill was new, and on my buddies brand new grill pressing the ignition button makes a fairly loud, fairly rapid clicking noise. With a new double A battery, my grill's click is hard to hear, and you only hear it click every other second or so. It can take several tries to get it going even on a brand new tank of propane. I would like to get this fixed because once in a while the ignition process is a little exciting (KA-WHOOSH). I would like to avoid KA-BOOM. ;)

I have NEVER taken the front of the grill apart to check for any air flow blockage. I did try to inspect the ignition rods where the spark comes from and watched it spark with the flavorizer bars out. I did see a tiny rapidly flashing blue spark, but I don't really have a frame of reference to know if the spark looks weak or not. Am I supposed to clean those ignitor rods? If so, how? The flames are all nice and blue, and there is plenty of heat once I'm lit up so I don't really think I have an air flow issue, but I'd be OK taking it apart to inspect if anyone thinks that makes sense. Here are a couple of photos if that helps.

Here's the ignitor rod


ignitor.jpg


Here's the ignitor button and some horribly faded knobs (the rest of my grill looks pretty nice still).

knobs.jpg
 
Odds are you just need a new igniter module. After some years moisture seeps into the electronics and even a new battery will not wake them up
 
The igniter electrode looks fine. Like Larry suggests, I think the problem is that they are not getting enough power to them. There could be corrosion on the battery contacts or the igniter module could just be going bad. Make sure the holes in the burners are not clogged either preventing air flow to the igniter area.

When you get that "Whoosh" when it finally does light, it sounds like you might be trying to start it with the lid closed. Don't do that, especially if it doesn't light right off. That is a big safety hazard.
 
I totally agree with Bruce. Slow clicking could be from poor contact. First thing I would check are the contacts on the plastic button. There are two narrow strips on the outside of the plastic that make the contact with the spring to complete the circuit. If they are corroded some, it would make a poor spark. Pretty easy to clean, but gently. When I first started dealing with pushbuttonsissues , I was concentrating on the contact points where the battery hits them. Not always the case.
 
Nice to see the aftermarket step up and put some reasonably priced ones out there. I will probably need on for my SP330 when I get to rehabbing it this spring.
 
Thanks to everyone for your input. I always light with the lit open. I have ordered a new ignitor module from Weber (it was a great experience as usual). They actually shipped the same day. I will hope for a 40+ degree non-rainy weekend and see what I get into when I start taking it apart. I'm so glad I kept the owner's manual - that should make things a lot easier. I went ahead and ordered some shiny new knobs so when I'm done my grill should not only light correctly, it will also look a lot better! I'll be all set for getting my 17 year old son to start taking the lead on burger night this spring!.
 
John K BBQ said:
Thanks to everyone for your input. I always light with the lit open. I have ordered a new ignitor module from Weber (it was a great experience as usual). They actually shipped the same day. I will hope for a 40+ degree non-rainy weekend and see what I get into when I start taking it apart. I'm so glad I kept the owner's manual - that should make things a lot easier. I went ahead and ordered some shiny new knobs so when I'm done my grill should not only light correctly, it will also look a lot better! I'll be all set for getting my 17 year old son to start taking the lead on burger night this spring!.
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Good luck with that. Some kids have no interest in grilling, but some take right to it. I think most kids don't get into grilling until they get out on their own and can have their "OWN" grill. My son is 37 and I finally was able to give him a Silver A for his new apartment and I know he has used it a few times now. Before, he had no interest at all having a grill.....but he was a lot more transient up until lately.
 
I have seen cases where there was a bit of light rust or grease on the burner tube near the electrode. Cleaning and a light sanding helped me get a better spark in these cases.
 
Well - I removed all the original ignition systems components and put in the whole kit and kaboodle from Weber. I alocated a couple of hours to do it, and followed the directions to the tee. I now get a much stronger "click" and the spark looks good. When I fired it up for the first time it worked like a charm, but last night I had a lot of trouble getting it to light off. Very strange. I noticed that when I put in the new "spark rods" the tip of the rod had about a quarter inch of play front to back on where I could position it, so I put it right in the middle. Maybe I should move it as far forward as I can so it's directly over more of the holes in the burner?? Weather was optimal for grilling yesterday..... no wind, dry conditions, I had plenty of gas too. Once I finally got it lit, everything seemed to work just fine....

Oh - on the little ignitor rods, I did have some issues getting the old brackets off the burners so I ended up re-using them... I don't think this is really an issue but thought I would mention it.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
Moving them forward will probably help with ignition, however that will put the electrode and ceramic gas collector more in direct contact with the flame which could lead to premature wear of the electrode and gas collector.
 
Send us a pic of those burners please. I was having trouble getting a Weber Spirit to light correctly and the fix for me was to bend the spark electrode downward....in addition I moved the electrode forward on the tube a bit.......it fired right up. Like Bruce said u need to find a sweet spot because if u push it too far forward it just bakes in the flames. Im not sure how handy u are but a wire wheel on a grinder will polish up those burners and they will function even better. If a grinder isint your thing just try a wire brush and brush those burners clean. Inspect those burners for any rust holes.....the crossover tube as well if u have one.
 
Looks like a squirrel chewed on your ignitor button.....I guess u looked at the wires underneath and replaced most with your new module. I was just working on the same grill and found a mouse had chewed the casing off of the white wire. PS...as for your knobs....they could have been saved.......the way to save them is to chip off all that old rubber on the knob....there is new shiny plastic just underneath.
 

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JimV said:
Send us a pic of those burners please. I was having trouble getting a Weber Spirit to light correctly and the fix for me was to bend the spark electrode downward....in addition I moved the electrode forward on the tube a bit.......it fired right up. Like Bruce said u need to find a sweet spot because if u push it too far forward it just bakes in the flames. Im not sure how handy u are but a wire wheel on a grinder will polish up those burners and they will function even better. If a grinder isint your thing just try a wire brush and brush those burners clean. Inspect those burners for any rust holes.....the crossover tube as well if u have one.
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Hi Jim - thanks for the tips. It seems like if one isn't careful when bending the electrode tip you could break the ceramic, unless it happens to bend easily - are these easy to bend without damaging the ceramic, or is there any special technique for that? I used a small hand held wire brush to give the burner tubes a light cleaning and inspection, but I could also get after it with a cordless drill and wire wheel attachment if that is more recommended.

The only minor issue I noticed on the tubes was at the ends opposite of the ignitor where it looks like there is some rust damage going on, but since the "gas holes" in that area don't appear to be significantly larger due to loss of material, I decided not to worry about it. The burner tubes look pretty good on the end nearest the the igniters.

You were spot on regarding the squirrel damage. Those little buggers are fun to watch play in the trees but I wish they'd just stay in the trees!!
 
The electrode that I bent I stayed away from the ceramic part......I used a flat head screw driver and I was careful to only make contact with the metal sparkalator :) .....MIne bent with a decent amount of force ....I was willing to accept it if I broke it....u would have to be of the same frame of mine when doing yours. I really thing your are just too far back.....they slide pretty easily in the little metal frame....just do a test and slide one forward to see if it solves your problem prior to any bending of electrodes. By the way u describe your burner tubes I would really like to see a picture of them. The guys on this forum can diagnose stuff very easily by just seeing a pic.........Metal brush works good......drill and a wire brush cup works better......grinder and a metal brush cup works best.
One more question since u have a squirrel problem............when u turn your propane tank on.....and before u turn any grill knobs.............do u smell propane gas??? Check regulator hose ( if rubber ) for squirrel chew......use soap and water in a spray bottle to check for leaks.
 
Agreed....those vermin are all well in good if they stay in their habitat.....but once they enter our attic...garage....cars....or even grills they can start causing big expensive problems. If they frequent your grill often u can do things to keep them away.....keep grease trey clean for one.....but I believe moth balls and or a plastic snake or plastic racoon might do the job. I keep a rubber snake and 2 way oversized rubber rats on my boat while it is under cover.....I dont wanna jinx my success so I will just leave it at that.
 
I pull a chair up in the shade with a nice cold Iced Tea and sit there with my Ruger 10/22 and subsonic rounds across my knees.
 
Problem solved relatively quick. Wife asks....honey did u call the pest control guy??? He sent us an estimate of $1500 to remove the squirrel family. Husband replies......yep he was already here.....problem solved....and he did it for free :)
 
Bruce said:
I pull a chair up in the shade with a nice cold Iced Tea and sit there with my Ruger 10/22 and subsonic rounds across my knees.
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I need one of those - and training how to use it. In Florida our squirrels were pretty small, as is a lot of other wildlife (besides snakes), probably because of spartan food supply. The squirrels here in my new locale in Indiana are the size of house cats and are totally brazen about thievery. I have one that tries to scale one of our front glass windows - I already removed the screen - to get at the window bird feeder. You can yell and beat on the window and it doesn't scare him at all. I hope soon to have something that will and to "dispatch" with him permanently!
 
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