Jeff,
Last year, my fridge began to display the same symptoms as yours. Since I bought
the van in '87, I never had problems starting the fridge on propane and never
had to "pre-warm" it on AC first. I've always been vigilant about keeping the
rear of the fridge clean as well as keeping it properly maintained.

I did the air pump mod last fall....it didn't help one bit. I knew there was a
problem in supplying the flame with fresh air because the gas would usually
ignite initially but the flame would die out quickly. After that, there was very
little chance of igniting the gas again.

A few postings suggested using a foot pump to pump air up the drain tube into
the combustion chamber to aid in ignition of the gas and help maintain the flame
until the thermocouple warms sufficiently to keep the gas supply open.

I tried this and it works!  First time, every time. I now carry a small foot
pump (such as you would use to pump an air mattress) in the van. When the flame
is ignited, I sit there on my folding camp stool and keep pumping air into the
drain tube for about thirty to forty seconds. After that the flame continues to
burn brightly on its own. I tried blowing through a tube connected to the drain
tube, as has been suggested by some listees, but this never worked for me.

I have no idea what has changed in the past year or so to necessitate my having
to pump air through the drain tube, but if it gets my fridge running on propane,
I'm happy. Man, talk about a quirky vehicle!

Roy Olynick
'87 Westfalia GL
(till death do us part)
'91 Honda Civic SE
'01 Honda Civic LX