# Propane vent-free fireplace remote



## keaust2012 (Nov 28, 2012)

I'm trying to connect a Robertshaw 55644 remote to my FMI Universal vent-free fireplace.  The bottom two black wires is what is connected to the transmitter.  When I try the remote, it turns everything off including the pilot light. Any suggestions?


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## DAKSY (Nov 28, 2012)

keaust2012 said:


> I'm trying to connect a Robertshaw 55644 remote to my FMI Universal vent-free fireplace. The bottom two black wires is what is connected to the transmitter. When I try the remote, it turns everything off including the pilot light. Any suggestions?


 
What's up with the red jumper wire? That appears to be jumping the TH & TH-TP terminals & that looks like it'll keep the unit on at all times. Remove it & try your remote.


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## keaust2012 (Nov 28, 2012)

DAKSY said:


> What's up with the red jumper wire? That appears to be jumping the TH & TH-TP terminals & that looks like it'll keep the unit on at all times. Remove it & try your remote.


 
Removed the red jumper wire and now the fireplace won't turn on at all.  The pilot light stays lite, but when I turn the black knob to the on position there are no flames.


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## sticks (Nov 28, 2012)

the remote should be hooked to the top and bottom terminal. Should be labeled th/tp and th


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## DAKSY (Nov 28, 2012)

keaust2012 said:


> Removed the red jumper wire and now the fireplace won't turn on at all. The pilot light stays lite, but when I turn the black knob to the on position there are no flames.


 
Interesting. There may be a spill switch located elsewhere that keeps this thing from overheating. If that spill switch failed, the original wiring may have been removed & the jumper put in there to keep it going. Replace the jumper & take a close look at the pilot tube. Generally in these units, it's about 3/8" in diameter & on the back side there's a small opening - maybe 3/32" diameter - that it where the Oxygen Depletion Sensor is located. They get filled with dust or other air borne things & need to be cleared out to keep the unit going. When they get plugged, the ODS thinks there's a "Depletion" & shuts the unit down.


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## keaust2012 (Nov 28, 2012)

If I remove the top black wire to connect the remote to the top and bottom, the pilot light won't stay lit.  I've tried removing the red wire lead - fireplace won't stay on.  If've tried removing the top black wire, but the pilot light won't stay lite.  I've put the top bick wire in the middle, but the pilot light won't stay lit.


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## fueldude (Nov 28, 2012)

The remote hooks to the top and bottom terminals. The black wire on the top terminal must also be connected. You'll need a terminal Y connector, and once you've got that it should work just fine. The red jumper wire shouldn't be needed when you get the remote hooked up-- I'd venture to say they used it because there isn't a switch and when you use the knob on the valve to turn it off/on?

As long as the black wire on the top terminal isn't connected, the pilot won't stay lit- it is part of the generator leads to the valve.

Had a customer that ran into this problem a few weeks ago.


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## keaust2012 (Dec 12, 2012)

I finally found a Y connector and that fixed the problem with turning the pilot light off.  It states that the pilot light needs to be lit and the gas control valve turned to "ON" for the remote to work. I'm assuming that's the black knob that turns the fireplace on. I tried the fireplace on and the remote doesn't turn it off.  I've tried just the pilot light on and turn the fireplace on with the remote and it doesn't turn on.   I tried removing the red jumper wire, but then I can't turn the value to "ON".  Any other suggestions?


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## DAKSY (Dec 12, 2012)

keaust2012 said:


> I finally found a Y connector and that fixed the problem with turning the pilot light off. It states that the pilot light needs to be lit and the gas control valve turned to "ON" for the remote to work. I'm assuming that's the black knob that turns the fireplace on. I tried the fireplace on and the remote doesn't turn it off. I've tried just the pilot light on and turn the fireplace on with the remote and it doesn't turn on. I tried removing the red jumper wire, but then I can't turn the value to "ON". Any other suggestions?


 
What position is the switch on the remote receiver box at? There should be an ON/OFF/REMOTE switch on the receiver. That needs to be in the REMOTE position in order for the hand held sending unit to work correctly.


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## keaust2012 (Dec 12, 2012)

It's in the remote switch.  But even the on/off swich in the receiver should work the fireplace right?


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## DAKSY (Dec 12, 2012)

keaust2012 said:


> It's in the remote switch. But even the on/off swich in the receiver should work the fireplace right?


 
Yes. The receiver is simply a switch. You have good batteries in the receiver, correct? Not NEW batteries, but GOOD batteries. Some remotes are so sensitive that if the four AA batteries don't total 6 VDC or more, they won't work...Verify with your millivolt tester.


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