Recently, my Grandmother gave me her old Blackstone griddle. After thoroughly cleaning it and re-seasoning, I went to start it and nothing.
The igniter no longer worked or "clicked" so I decided to troubleshoot and fix it.
After owning several gas grills over the years, I diagnosed and fixed the problem by doing the following:
Optionally, you could forego replacement and light the propane burners with a candle lighter (discussed below).
The Blackstone uses a continuous spark ignition. Meaning, as you hold the starter, it uses the battery's electrical charge to send a continuous spark. Once the spark is met with the fuel, it ignites and you're able to let go of the push-button starter.
However, there are instances where the starter simply doesn't work or "click."
You can systematically diagnose this problem with the following steps:
Before doing anything, check the starter for loose wiring. A spark generator - like the one blackstone uses is comprised of three parts:
If either of the wires is loose or unplugged, the spark generator will not work. Simply plug the wires back into the spark generator.
Note: It does not matter which socket you choose to plug the wires into.
The second thing to check before doing any other step is to check the battery. Simply put, if the battery is dead, there is no way to way to send voltage to generate the spark.
The Blackstone uses 1 AA Battery.
If after changing the battery the igniter won't click, there could be other issues to address.
It's not uncommon for the igniter rod to accumulate carbon, grease, or even food debris over time. You can wipe the igniter electrode clean with a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol.
When cleaning the igniter rod, be sure not to knock the igniter rod out of place.
Over time, it's possible for the igniter needle to be knocked out of position so that it no longer faces the burner.
The igniter needle should be roughly 1/4 inch from the burner tube.
If you notice the electrode was knocked loose, simply move the needle so that it faces the tube and so that the needle is roughly 1/4 inch away from the burner.
So this was actually the option I had to go with after following all of my steps above.
For some reason, Blackstone doesn't offer these parts on their official website - apart from the push button for the igniter (which was also out of stock).
I opted to buy a replacement from Outspark on Amazon.
Note: Before buying the one I did, ensure that you're buying a replacement that's specified for your griddle.
With that said, while this was for a 36 inch Blackstone griddle, the procedure is essentially the same.
Follow these steps to replace the Spark Generator:
1. Start by first unscrewing the push button starter (that houses the battery) and the locking nut.
2. Unplug the ground wire and spark wire from the spark generator. This is somewhat difficult with the front panel on so you could opt to remove the front panel first and then the wires.
3. Then remove the front panel from the griddle - this makes replacing the spark generator much easier.
4. The spark generator can then be removed from its housing.
5. Unscrew the spark wire from inside the griddle.
6. Install the new spark wire and ensure it's roughly 1/4" from the burner.
7. Place the new spark generator in the metal housing.
8. Place the ground disc over the back side of where the push button starter is threaded and the battery is housed; This is how Blackstone had it installed, so I simply kept it how they did it. In some cases I've seen these as a disc that is affixed with a screw.
9. You then want to put the spark generator back through the front panel and thread the starter with the locking nut.
Note: Ensure the sockets are visible.
10. Plug the ground wire in (again, the socket - top or bottom - does not matter).
11. You can then plug the spark wire in and reinstall the front panel. When putting the front panel back on, ensure all the propane burners line back up with their respective burner knob/tube.
12. You can then put a new AA battery into the spark generator and then put the push button starter back on. The positive end of the battery faces you, not the griddle.
The igniter rod should now make the stereotypical "clicking" sound when you press the push button starter.
If all else fails, you could opt to simply light the first burner with a lighter.
After asking my Gram how our Family members were using the grill, she told me they were simply lighting the propane with her candle lighter.
If you're not sure how to go about doing so, simply hold the candle lighter where the propane burner is and light the first burner.
After which you can ignite the other burners as you normally would.
