Suburban oven - repeatedly goes off after a while

[wmoses]

I did a search on this forum on this and did not see a clear consensus on this issue, so I thought that I would ask again.

When my wife lights the pilot in the oven, she holds the knob in for 15 seconds or so afterwards then proceeds to set the temperature. After some time (which varies) the oven will go out. This happens every time.

We watched the burner assembly while the oven was one and noticed that while the burner was on (before the set temperature was reached) the pilot light was repeatedly coming on and going out. I expect that when the temperature in the oven reaches the set temperature, the burner flame goes out and, if the pilot is out, it never restarts.

Some responses on other threads suggest that the thermocouple (which controls the gas flow) is too far above the pilot flame and that it should be bent downwards. This is easier said than done using one hand as the assembly is quite stiff and not easily bendable (probably a good thing). Another response said that the control module behind the knob for the oven had to be replaced, and yet another said that the whole oven had to be replaced.

So anyone else have this issue and what was the solution? I'd prefer to not take this in to the dealership although the warranty period is still in effect.

[wmoses]

fairfaxjim wrote:
The nut connects the gas tube and once the fitting is tight on the tube it doesn't go down any further - it won't cover the hole.

Thank for clearing that up, Jim.

[fairfaxjim]

wmoses wrote:
Thanks Jim. I am just a little baffled by one thing though. If as you said my pilot burner looks like yours then why did you not use the nut to make the hole smaller rather than the foil?

The nut connects the gas tube and once the fitting is tight on the tube it doesn't go down any further - it won't cover the hole.

[wmoses]

Double post with no delete feature! 😞

[wmoses]

Thanks Jim. I am just a little baffled by one thing though. If as you said my pilot burner looks like yours then why did you not use the nut to make the hole smaller rather than the foil?

[fairfaxjim]

wmoses wrote:

fairfaxjim wrote:
I had this same problem with my Atwood/Wedgewood oven (OP has Suburban). They had a run of pilot burners that had the wrong size air mixing hole drilled in them.
....
I had to remove the fixed shelf that the burner/pilot assembly is mounted under to do the replacement. Problem solved now, oven works great!

Jim - when you say it was the wrong size, I take it that the hole on your original burner was too small ...?

I know it might be hard to tell from a photo but could you comment on the size of the hole in my photo compared with your original burner? Looks like I can make the hold smaller by adjusting the nut next to it but if it too small then nothing can be done other than replace it.

Actually the hole was too big. I did a temporary fix where I folded some aluminum foil so I had a strip several layers thick, about 1/4" wide and long enough to wrap around the tube where the hole is. By adjusting how much of the hole was covered, I could get the pilot burner to work and stay lit. The problem was adjusting it back there under that divider panel, and then keeping it there was not even close to an exact science. I would get it working only to have the foil move and back to no oven. You may want to try it just to see if that is the problem.

The symptom that I had was if I held down the oven knob and lit the pilot burner when all was cool in the oven, it would light and stay lit. When I heated up the oven and the main burner was on, all was well when the main burner flame was full, but as soon as it started to throttle back, the pilot burner would start to go out and relight with a "popping" sound. Once the main burner flame was low, the pilot burner would simply go out and then the main burner would shut down. I believe it shut down because the pilot burner was required to keep the thermocouple energized at that point, and when the main flame was full, it would keep lighting the pilot burner - hence the "popping" as it relit off of the main flame.

To be honest, I didn't see a lot of difference between the bad and good pilot burners when I had them both. I don't think I could tell either way from the picture, except yours looks just like the same pilot burner/thermocouple assembly.

Like I said, mine was an Atwood/Wedgewood. I don't know if your Suburban would have the same pilot burner. I just called the Customer Service dept. with the range serial number and got a replacement.

[wmoses]

fairfaxjim wrote:
I had this same problem with my Atwood/Wedgewood oven (OP has Suburban). They had a run of pilot burners that had the wrong size air mixing hole drilled in them.
....
I had to remove the fixed shelf that the burner/pilot assembly is mounted under to do the replacement. Problem solved now, oven works great!

Jim - when you say it was the wrong size, I take it that the hole on your original burner was too small ...?

I know it might be hard to tell from a photo but could you comment on the size of the hole in my photo compared with your original burner? Looks like I can make the hold smaller by adjusting the nut next to it but if it too small then nothing can be done other than replace it.

[fairfaxjim]

We Cant Wait wrote:
Had the same issue and the problem was with the pilot ASM itself, and was replaced under warranty. The pilot will stay on all the time till the stove burned is lit and then as the burner warms up the oven the pilot will start going on and off like it was starving for fuel it also made a little popping sound. Then when the burner reached temp and went off the pilot would stay off till the oven cooled and the pilot was relit. Pilot ASM replaced under warranty.

I had this same problem with my Atwood/Wedgewood oven (OP has Suburban). They had a run of pilot burners that had the wrong size air mixing hole drilled in them. I tried to buy a new one - stove was out of warranty - but couldn't find one in stock. A call to Atwood customer service resulted in a new one mailed to me free.

I had to remove the fixed shelf that the burner/pilot assembly is mounted under to do the replacement. Problem solved now, oven works great!

[wmoses]

Pictures:





Note the position of the tip of the thermocouple. With the pilot lit I believe that the tip is not engulfed in the flame. Also, is the air hole in the gas line to the pilot supposed to be wide open? Just wondering ...

[wmoses]

fordsooperdooty wrote:
One of our great Forum Members is Chris Bryant of "Bryant RV", he sells and services RV's, PM him OR go to Bryant RV's website as he has owners manuals and repair manuals on line for furnaces, ovens and other RV componants, as well as helpful suggestions.

Thanks. I went to his site but did not see any manuals for my stove. I will have another look in case a different brand would have that same setup as mine. I do have the manual for my stove but it has no details that I need. Not even a troubleshooting section.

UPDATE - I reviewed a service manual for a 2010 Atwood range and it seems encouraging. Looking at the photo I took and after observing the pilot light-thermocouple, the pilot flame does not "engulf" the thermocouple so that could be a problem. I will look into this in the morning.

fordsooperdooty wrote:
I believe the thermo-coupler bulb can be slid back and forth in its holder brcket to reposition it into the path of the pilot light or away from it.

I just took some pictures of the pilot assembly and thermocouple. I will post this online as soon as I can ... the thermocouple does not look like it can slide forward easily, but then the largest issue is access, due to the fixed shelf just above the burner.

[SooperDaddy]

One of our great Forum Members is Chris Bryant of "Bryant RV", he sells and services RV's, PM him OR go to Bryant RV's website as he has owners manuals and repair manuals on line for furnaces, ovens and other RV componants, as well as helpful suggestions.

I believe the thermo-coupler bulb can be slid back and forth in its holder brcket to reposition it into the path of the pilot light or away from it.

HERE-Bryant RV Website

[wmoses]

We Cant Wait wrote:
Had the same issue and the problem was with the pilot ASM itself, and was replaced under warranty. The pilot will stay on all the time till the stove burned is lit and then as the burner warms up the oven the pilot will start going on and off like it was starving for fuel it also made a little popping sound. Then when the burner reached temp and went off the pilot would stay off till the oven cooled and the pilot was relit. Pilot ASM replaced under warranty.

That is the same thing that happens with ours - starving for fuel behavior and soft popping sound too!

What is "ASM"? I guess that can be bad even when brand new ... 😞

[We_Cant_Wait]

Had the same issue and the problem was with the pilot ASM itself, and was replaced under warranty. The pilot will stay on all the time till the stove burned is lit and then as the burner warms up the oven the pilot will start going on and off like it was starving for fuel it also made a little popping sound. Then when the burner reached temp and went off the pilot would stay off till the oven cooled and the pilot was relit. Pilot ASM replaced under warranty.

[past-MIdirector]

If the pilot goes out when it come up to temperature take it in under warranty and have them replace the thermostat! The pilot and burner lite flame are both controlled threw the thermostat. I've had bad ones right out of the box from the factory. Make sure they do a temperature check when they change the thermostat. That's were the oven is set to 350 degrees and allowed to stabilize and check with a calibrated oven gauge, should not be more than +- 50 degrees and yes the factory specification are within 50 degrees!

[wmoses]

Poppy & Nana wrote:
Bring it back to the dealer....its under warranty correct??????????

Yep, that's what I said. 😉

I'd prefer not to for two main reasons - I will be without the RV for some time and here in Texas we camp year 'round, and also I did not buy it from them buy bought out of state, so you know what that means.

If I don't get any solutions here I may have to bite the bullet, but am still hoping someone here had the same problem and had a good DIY solution.