The Spirit E-210 is a two-burner cart. Ignition on most years is two AA cells feeding a collector box that fans out to a ceramic electrode at the left burner. When people say the igniter is dead they usually have dead batteries, a wet collector, a cracked ceramic, or a lead that pulled off — not a failed valve.
This note is for E-210 / Spirit II E-210. Three knobs → E-310 igniter. Do not order E-310 flavorizers for an E-210.
Diagnose before you buy
Lid open. Tank on, knobs off. Push the igniter.
- No click. Module is not pulsing. Replace the two AAs first — well under the left side table, or behind a cap on the panel. Match stamped polarity. Still silent: module or button is open. Search Amazon or BBQGuys for Weber Spirit igniter module plus the exact data plate model. We do not invent a kit number.
- Click, no spark. Watch the electrode in shade. Trace the black lead to the collector box (plastic block under the firebox or behind the panel). A hanging lead is a 30-second push-on. Cracked white ceramic → new electrode. Corroded spades → clean or replace the box.
- Spark, no light. Ignition is working. Regulator reset. Confirm the left burner is fully on its orifice. Spider web in the venturi → clean the ports.
- Lights with a stick, not the button. Igniter problem, not gas. Continue below.
Safety
- Tank off before you pull leads near valves.
- Do not lean over a box that has been clicking into unburned gas.
- If you smell gas, stop and reset the regulator. Do not keep clicking.
Replace the electrode
- Tank off. Pull grates and the two flavorizer bars. The electrode sits at the left burner.
- Photograph the gap. About a nickel between tip and target. Too wide: no jump. Too tight: the tip welds or carbons over.
- Follow the wire through the firebox hole to the collector. Pull the spade off the box. Do not yank the box yet.
- Release the electrode (clip or single screw). Lift the ceramic. If it is in two pieces, get every shard out.
- Fit the new electrode at the same target. Do not overtighten the ceramic.
- Route the lead the same path, away from the burner and the lid hinge. Push the spade fully on.
- Fresh batteries. Tank on. Lid open. Click and watch for the snap. Then left knob to start.
Collector box
- Several electrodes dead at once → box is wet or cooked.
- Remove, dump water, dry a day, try again before you buy.
- Brown cracked plastic → replace the box (with the module if sold together for your year).
- Spirit II years can use a different button-and-box pairing. Match the data plate, not the lid badge.
Aftercare
- Keep the side table closed so rain does not sit in the battery well.
- Do not hose the left table from above.
- Dielectric grease on the spade is fine. Do not grease the spark gap.
- Batteries + electrode + box and still no snap: the harness is open. Add parts against a new grill if the firebox is also thin. See repair versus replace.
Official Weber exploded diagrams win for which electrode fits which year. Nominative fair use, not a Weber document.