Q220 - Ignition spark, no light


 
Rich G

Rich G

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So, my daughter has my refurbed Q220 with her at school, and she's having repeated issues getting it to light. She turns the tank valve slowly (20 lb tank), counts to 30, clicks the lighter (spark verified by sight), but no ignition. We know gas is flowing fine, as she can light it with a lighter or match.

I've seen some online references to an issue with the shield above the ignition point getting bent out of position. Is this a thing? Does anyone have any other things that we can look at to try to figure out why with gas and spark we're not getting ignition?

I want her to continue to enjoy grilling (fourth time tonight), so want to remove this impediment if at all possible......and, I'm sure it will be fun to diagnose and fix from 500 miles away! :)

Thanks for any hints!

Rich
 
My first guess, based on what you described, is that the pilot holes in the burner that lead to where the spark is are clogged - at least enough to prevent gas from accumulating adequately.

Certainly, if the collector is really bent that could do it, too.
 
The burner tube has some play in where it sits. It can move left and right a bit after the screw is loosened. Sometimes adjusting the position of the burner left or right can make a difference as well. But, if nothing else changed with the grill, I would suspect that the burner in the ignition area is getting clogged and there is not enough gas getting to the area where the igniter sparks as Jon mentions.
If your daughter is handy, it is pretty easy to remove the burner so it can be cleaned up. If the burner is otherwise working good, then good cleaning with a wire brush should suffice, but if holes are clogged, it might take using something to ream them out.

If necessary, replacement burners are $20 to $25 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YFD538G/?tag=tvwb-20
 
If it's an aftermarket burner that may be the issue. I had the same happen on my Q320. Splurged for new burner set from Amazon. Stupid thing would not light to save it's life. Even tried drilling more holes in the igniter area. No dice. Went back to the OEM burner, hit the button and it barely gives one click and whoosh it's lit
 
Thanks for the tips to look at, guys. We'll see what we can do.....
Bruce said:
If your daughter is handy, it is pretty easy to remove the burner so it can be cleaned up. I
Click to expand...
Bruce, this kid is great.....in her first apartment, we diagnosed her plumbing issue together (remotely), and I taught her how to change out a P-trap over FaceTime. No issues getting her hands dirty, and her roommates are in awe (she and I agreed not to tell them that most of the info is available just by using Google.) ;)
LMichaels said:
If it's an aftermarket burner that may be the issue. I had the same happen on my Q320. Splurged for new burner set from Amazon. Stupid thing would not light to save it's life. Even tried drilling more holes in the igniter area. No dice. Went back to the OEM burner, hit the button and it barely gives one click and whoosh it's lit
Click to expand...
LM, stock burner, and I went through every hole with a welding tip cleaner no less than four cooks ago.

We'll get her out to the grill with her phone to get me some photos and video to see what we can see.

Thanks!

R
 
On my Smoke Hollow that I replaced with the Q1200 I'd have that issue. The sparker wire near the burner would get moved just enough when traveling that it wouldn't ignite the propane. I'd have to nudge it over the burner hole to get it to work. Or keep a box of matches handy :ROFLMAO:
 
Rich G said:
Thanks for the tips to look at, guys. We'll see what we can do.....

Bruce, this kid is great.....in her first apartment, we diagnosed her plumbing issue together (remotely), and I taught her how to change out a P-trap over FaceTime. No issues getting her hands dirty, and her roommates are in awe (she and I agreed not to tell them that most of the info is available just by using Google.) ;)

LM, stock burner, and I went through every hole with a welding tip cleaner no less than four cooks ago.

We'll get her out to the grill with her phone to get me some photos and video to see what we can see.

Thanks!

R
Click to expand...
That’s awesome!! Having installed many traps in my day I’m impressed.
 
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