Genesis is Weber’s wider cart — not a Spirit with extra paint. Older Genesis E-310 carts often use battery-and-collector ignition. Many Genesis II carts use an electronic “Infinity” igniter. If you order a Spirit AA box for a Genesis II, you will own a paperweight.
Read the data plate first. Decide which system you have by behavior, not a 2014 video.
Which system you have
- Battery collector (typical older Genesis). Two AAs, a click-per-press, one or more ceramics. Same family as Spirit E-310: no click → batteries/module; click no snap → lead or ceramic; snap no light → gas.
- Electronic / Infinity-style (many Genesis II). Holding the button produces a rapid tick. Multiple electrodes can fire. No tick → module unpowered or dead. Some years still hide batteries. Check the owner’s PDF for your year. This page will not invent a wiring color.
- Side sear or side burner. Separate electrode. Mains light and sear does not → do not replace the main module first.
Diagnose
- Lid open, knobs off, shade so you can see the snap.
- Press or hold the igniter. Note tick versus single click, and which ceramics snap. Genesis boxes are deep; use a flashlight.
- If nothing ticks, find the battery or module (behind the control panel or under a side table). Photograph connectors before you pull them.
- If the left snaps and the right does not, you have a local electrode or a lead off a multi-post box — not a tank problem.
- If every electrode snaps and nothing lights, stop buying spark parts. Reset the regulator and confirm tubes are on orifices.
Replace a Genesis electrode
- Tank off. Grates and flavorizer bars out. Genesis bars are longer than Spirit bars — do not mix.
- Photograph the electrode bracket. Genesis electrodes often clip to a rail with a specific bend.
- Pull the lead at the module or collector, not in the middle of the wire.
- Unclip the ceramic. Penetrating oil on the screw, not on the ceramic.
- New electrode: same bend, same gap (about a nickel). Route the lead away from the lid and the rightmost tube. Push the connector home.
- Test with the lid open before you put the bars back.
Module notes
- Burned smell or melted connector → done.
- Match outgoing leads to electrodes (main plus sear). Extra unused posts are fine; missing posts are not.
- After replacement, keep water out of the panel — Genesis lids shed onto the fascia in rain if uncovered.
When ignition parts are not enough
- Third module and the electrode rail rusted out of the box → welding or replacing the grill.
- Box sound and bars are lace → spend on flavorizer bars before spark.
Search Amazon or BBQGuys for Weber Genesis plus your exact model plus igniter. Compare the photo to the ceramic in your hand. Not affiliated with Weber-Stephen Products LLC.