jgerni
Central Virginia
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Joined: 10/02/2002
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I've been having problems for a while now with my atwood oven. The pilot won't stay lite no matter how long I keep the knob held down. I've tried to assist the pilot with a stick lighter with no luck. It use to work fine. I wondering if it's a problem with the thermocoupler. Does anyone know a way to test if the thermocoupler is working properly? I have a ohm/volt/amp meter if I knew what to look for.
thanks for any input.
Currently Trailer-less
2006 GMC K2500HD Crew Cab, D/A LBZ
2004 Suburban K1500 Z71, 5.3L, 4.10
2001 VW Jetta Diesel
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LittleBill
Scranton, PA USA
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Joined: 08/29/2003
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remove the unit, take propane torch, blow with mouth on one side there will be resistance and light the torch on sensor, once it heats up enough it will click an you will be able to blow through it if it works
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Mandalay Parr
Phoenix, AZ
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Best to troubleshoot by replacing it.
Jerry Parr
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2005 Mandalay 40B
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ozman
Ma.
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Joined: 06/16/2001
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Replace it,they are cheap. I keep a couple in my toolbox.If your gas is flowing to pilot,thermocouple is best case scenerio.
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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Joined: 03/26/2003
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I talk about testing thermocouples in my RV.net blog entry on flame safety devices, but the most common problem I have seen on these ranges is that the thermostat and sheet metal move enough that when you are pushing in the knob, you cannot push it in far enough to engage the safety valve.
You can test this by pulling the knob off and pushing the shaft in while lighting the pilot.
-- Chris Bryant
My RV Service Blog
The RV.net Blog
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javaseuf
California's Gold Coast
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Joined: 03/30/2005
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LittleBill wrote:remove the unit, take propane torch, blow with mouth on one side there will be resistance and light the torch on sensor, once it heats up enough it will click an you will be able to blow through it if it works
You have got to be kidding!!! 
No way will you be able to blow through a propane pilot light orifice.
And, a torch will very possibly damage a good thermocouple.
I would venture to say that if Chris Bryant saw one of his techs testing an appliance by this method, he would be fired.
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codelld
Massillon, OH
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Joined: 10/10/2002
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If you do not have a component problem I found that when lighting the oven, if I set the thermosat about 170° the pilot would light a lot easier. While doing this the burner gas will not come on until the thermocouple is hot enough so your are not going to singe any arm hair.
Dennis Codella
'07 HR Endeavor 40PDQ
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eddie3260
Florence, al
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Thermocouple will output millivolts, so connect your volt meter (set to millivolt range) to the lead wires and apply a heat source such as a hair dryer to the tip of the tc. If the meter indicates an increase in millivolts, the tc is good. If you have millivolts but no increase, that means you have a short in the lead wire. If you have no millivolts, then the tc is bad and acting like an open circuit.
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dougrainer
Carrolton, Texas
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Joined: 06/11/2007
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Remove the knob and install a paper/cardboard shim inside the knob between the shaft and the knob hole. This will allow the knob to stick out about 1/8 inch. This will allow the knob to PUSH the shaft in that extra 1/8 inch to allow the Thermocoupler signal to keep the pilot open. The new Oven knobs and front panel are too close and do not allow the pilot shaft to go past the "indent" to keep the pilot lite. Very common problem on the new ovens. Doug
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jgerni
Central Virginia
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Wow this worked. Thanks for your help. I can't believe I spent all this time working on this and cardboard fixed the problem. 
dougrainer wrote:Remove the knob and install a paper/cardboard shim inside the knob between the shaft and the knob hole. This will allow the knob to stick out about 1/8 inch. This will allow the knob to PUSH the shaft in that extra 1/8 inch to allow the Thermocoupler signal to keep the pilot open. The new Oven knobs and front panel are too close and do not allow the pilot shaft to go past the "indent" to keep the pilot lite. Very common problem on the new ovens. Doug
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