Pellet grills such as a Traeger can produce some great-tasting food when they are working correctly, of course. If you have come to use your Traeger pellet grill and it fails to turn on, there could be a wide range of potential issues. To get it going again, you have to be systematic in your approach to identify the issue of why it won’t turn on. Yes, checking you actually have power going to your Traeger pellet grill is one of the first steps, its not the only check you can carry out though. So with this post, I want to highlight the process of how to fix and get your Traeger pellet grill going again if it won’t turn on.
Table of Contents
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Introduction To Why Your Traeger Won’t Turn On
Important: Check out my article on Traeger error codes if your grill turns on but won’t function properly, and an error code is displayed, and you don’t know what it means.
A scenario you may experience is your grill turned on initially but then went off unexpectedly. This could have been due to a mains power outage, or a component within the Traeger pellet grill could have failed.
As it failed, it may have blown the cylinder fuse on the back of the Traeger control panel. Below, I’ve included the official video from Traeger on how to identify the reasons why your Traeger won’t turn on.
Hopefully, the cause is simply a damaged power cable or a randomly blown fuse.
However, if it is a component failure, such as the hot rot igniter, induction fan, auger motor or controller, I have separate posts linked below on how to fix/replace these components.
It’s a good idea to have some spare cylinder fuses for your Traeger to hand.
However, before you start removing and replacing fuses, you first want to start with the power cable and power source…
Step 1: Check Your Source Of Power and Cables
As shown in Traeger’s video above, the first step, while it may appear obvious, is to check you are actually getting 120V power to your grill.
Now, if you have a portable pellet grill such as the Traeger tailgater, that will likely involve using a 12V DC to 120V AC inverter.
In my Traeger accessories post, I reference the inverter that Traeger offers, but other inverters can be used. But a faulty inverter could indeed be the problem.
However, in most cases, people are using Traegers in their backyard, and they cook on their lawn or patio. You need to check that the breaker in your home’s master panel hasn’t tripped and the cable itself isn’t damaged.
Moving heavy objects or rolling the Traeger over the power cable can damage it and cause a bad connection. However, there is also potential damage caused by pets or your lawnmower.
The point is, don’t presume the power cable isn’t where the issue lies. It very well could be that simple.
Step 2: Remove The Traeger’s Control Panel And Check The Fuse
After you have checked that power is getting to your Traeger pellet grill, and the cable is in a good condition if your smoker still won’t turn on, the next step is to check the fuse on the back of the control panel.
Though please remember, safety comes first. Remove the power cord before you unscrew the control panel on your Traeger.
As shown in the video above, the exact location and style of the fuse holder on the back of your control panel may vary.
In some cases, you may even have a spare fuse attached to the back of the controller. Once you have removed the fuse, if the fuse cylinder is black, the fuse wire has burnt through.
However, even if its not black, look carefully to see if the wire is still intact to make a connection.
If the fuse has blown, it could have just been a faulty/fragile fuse. Therefore, replace it with a new fuse, screw the control panel back in, turn the power on and see what happens.
If the control panel doesnt turn on at all then it may mean the Traeger control panel is faulty and needs to be replaced.
However, the panel may turn on, but when you set the dial to smoke, it turns off again. This will likely mean the fuse has blown again, which means a couple of things.
First, its a good idea to have several spare fuses to hand. Second, you will have to turn off/isolate the power again and remove the hopper cover to start disconnecting and testing components.
Step 3: Disconnecting and Testing The Pellet Grill Components
If you turn your Traeger control panel on and it works, but as soon as you set the dial to Smoke it turns off again, it means one of the components has failed.
Therefore, as shown in the video above, you will have to remove the control panel and hopper cover to disconnect and test the different components.
These include the auger motor, induction fan, hot rod igniter and RTD temperature sensor. Each component relates to the following connector wire colours:
- Black = Power Cable
- Orange = Induction Fan (For Combustion Air)
- Red = Auger Motor
- Purple = Hot Rod Igniter
- Green Connector Block = RTD Temperature Sensor
The first thing to check is that each connector is secure and there isn’t a loose connection. Furthermore, check to see if any of the connector wires are corroded, which could be causing an issue.
If everything seems well connected, the next step is to unplug everything from the control panel except the black wires for power.
Then plug in a component, in turn, every time turning on the power, setting the dial to smoke to see if the control panel goes off (blown fuse) or an error message is displayed.
It should be noted in the video that Traeger acknowledges that its often the hot rod igniter which could be causing the problem.
Step 4: Replacing Faulty Traeger Components
During Step 3 above, if when testing any of the components, it causes the control panel to display an error or blow a fuse, you will, therefore, need to swap out that component.
I have separate posts linked below on how to swap out or repair each of these parts. Therefore, below is just a quick summary of each one.
Traeger Induction Fan Replacement
The induction fan on your Traeger provides the air needed for efficient combustion to take place.
If this is the component that has failed on your Traeger grill, luckily, it is one of the cheapest and easiest components to replace.
You will not have to remove the hopper cover again, just the bottom panel. However, it will be easier to complete the changeover if you are able to lay the grill on its side.
Check out my post on how to replace a Traeger induction fan.
Traeger Auger and Auger Motor Replacement
Now, even if the auger is the cause of your control panel blowing a fuse, the auger motor may actually be fine, the auger itself may simply be blocked and not turning.
The most common cause for this is water (rain) getting into the hopper. The grill pellets absorbed the water, expanded and jammed the auger.
I have a post on how to replace a Traeger auger motor. However, within that post, I also discuss how to free up a jammed auger.
Once unjammed, before you purchase a new auger motor, connect it back up to the control panel and try again. You may find after inserting a new fuse into the control panel, you’re good to go!
Traeger Hot Rod Igniter Replacement
If the hot rod igniter has failed on your Traeger grill, hence the grill won’t fire up at all, the first thing you will want to do is clean the pellet grill.
You are going to need to get an ash vac or shop vac and clean all the ash from the bottom of the grill and burn pot.
In my post on how to replace a Traeger hot rod igniter, I discuss the official Traeger method of replacement along with other methods.
In either case, depending on the condition of the hot rod igniter and firepot, it may be difficult to separate them.
Therefore in some cases, if the firepot is also in poor condition, you may want to swap both out at the same time.
Now, if your hot rod has failed and you don’t have a replacement to hand, it is possible to manually ignite a pellet grill.
However, please read my linked article carefully, as it can be a dangerous process, and you will need to take proper precautions/care.
Traeger RTD Temperature Sensor Replacement
The temperature probe on your Traeger grill, unless there is a bad connection on the control panel, is unlikely the cause of the grill not turning on.
However, if faulty, they can be a cause of error messages or just simply make your cooking time a lot harder if the RTD probe is not able to properly regulate the temperature of the grill.
In my post on how to replace a Traeger’s temperature probe, I discuss how you can test if the RTD is faulty. The problem could be with the probe, or it could be with the controller itself.
Conclusions On Your Traeger Pellet Grill Not Powering On
As I stated at the start of this post, if your Traeger pellet grill won’t turn on, you want to take a systematic/logical approach to find out where the problem lies.
Otherwise, if you simply guess or base decisions on what you ‘believe’ may be the problem, you may waste quite of bit of money on a new controller, induction fan, auger motor, hot rod igniter or RTD probe.
You want to follow the process above first properly to identify which component is the cause of the problem. Or, as also shown above, it could simply be a damaged power cable or a blown fuse.
That’s it! Thanks for reading, I hope after you follow the process above, you are able to get your Traeger pellet grill fixed and working again for as little expense as possible.
If you are curious about how Traeger wood pellets are made or your want to learn more about pellet BBQs in general, check out the other posts in my Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker Guide. 🙂
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