Hello Blackhorse,
I have the HD version but the workings of these are pretty much the same. Sometimes it takes 30 - 60 seconds of holding down the button and several attempts; especially if this is the first lighting after a period of non-use. Or..the Thermocouple probe could use cleaning as well as the Burner orifice. If maintenance has not been done it is most likely needed. You should have two people or a long mirror to see if the flame lights AND STAYS LIT.
I had so much trouble to get mine to work last year. I wish more people had given me tips. I ended up replacing every component with new ones. Still much cheaper than replacement. I finally got it to work but it still wouldn't stay lit at times. I have finally discovered what was wrong. I found a site that had Norcold repair tips done by a private person. He had good photos. The Norcold manual is not detailed enough for people to properly troubleshoot. As it turned out in my case (and could be in yours) my Thermocouple probe (the part that the flame burns onto) was not close enough to the burner orifice (part with slits that the flame comes out of) was not close enough to the orifice or flame. The book shows a drawing but the photo picture of it shows mine was far too close to the flu and not nearly close enough to the flame.
There are things to know on how these work. The flame generates millivolts when it hits the Thermocouple which keeps the little electromagnet in place, allowing the propane to continue to be fed. Mine was too far away not allowing for enough millivolts all of the time. This was proven when I tried to turn the Thermostat dial down from 5 to 4 or 3. The flame went out because the amount of propane was turned down, thus lowering the possible millivolts. Otherwise, my fridge works great and 5 in most climates is too cold.
Prior to a trip I usually plug the Rialta into shore power (or light the fridge on propane) the day before. Once ready to go, I turn the Selector switch to 12v while driving. This works great! Once at the destination I go back to either propane or shore power or even generator power. You may already know this but for others it may be helpful. Ask any other questions and I will try to answer.
Paul
