eberspacher heating problem (1 Viewer)

[tomm]

hi all, looking for some assistance here please... our newly acquired MH is a autocruise starblazer,which we are still exploring and learning about the onboard electrics / heating etc .Everything supposedly fully functioning .The MH has eberspacher heating .Heating control panel is the Airtronic Mini Modulator Controller.

Problem = press the heater button , red light comes on , but nothing happens even after leaving on for say 5-10 minutes. Same with the ventilation button , blue light comes on , nothing else happens . Is there another button /switch/ fuel feed /fuel primer or whatever that also requires activating, that I may have inadvertently switched off.....Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[CazPaul]

Newly acquired van you say.

Dealer sale?Private sale?

Did it come with any service/maintenance records for the heating?

Most people tend to leave them unless not running, so no service for 10 years etc, then it just breaks down, as ours did on the Murvi.

Ours hadn't been touched for 10 years until we bought it and shortly afterwards it broke down and we needed a full service, new exhaust etc not far short of £400, but then running like a dream.

 

[jezport]

Try it with the engine running to rule out a low leisure battery.

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[tomm]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Van was dealer sale, from respected dealers who we purchased our previous van from .We have a dealer warranty on the vehicle and I really dont think we will have any problems if there is shown to be a fault.
Will phone them on Monday morning if I cant get the thing working in the meantime. Their technicians are not in over the weekend.

 

[tomm]

Hi Jezport ,thanks for your suggestion the batteries are showing almost full charge, but I do know these heaters require quite a whack to get going . So will try your suggestion , when I go to the storage place later today

 

[CazPaul]

Ours took over 17amps at start up for a few minutes, finished up fitting 3 leisure batteries, although ours was the full hydronic version, heating, hot water, engine pre heat etc. The airtronics don't use as much power I don't think.

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[tomm]

The model in ours is the airtronics , so probably not as power hungry at switch on as the hydronic...Will go up to the storage place now and try again. Its also been suggested on another forum that it might be a blown fuse, so will check the "books" and try the relevant fuses.

 

[Rob Kinsey]

Just done a complete service on my Autocruise Starblazer Eberspacher D4 Airtronic heater. Replaced the mounting box which had badly rusted plus on dismantling found the alloy exhaust port on heat exchanger was badly corroded and broke off. Looked to get it repaired but Mellor Heating in Ossett nr Leeds were fantastic and supplied a used but in great condition heat exchanger for half price of a new body. Replaced all gaskets, fuel atmomiser screen and exhaust pipe and new mounting box.
Can't speak highly enough of Stuart at Mellor Heating for advice and great service. Parts were with me by 8.15am the next day.
Heater works great now and saved a lot of money over taking it to an Eberspacher agent.

 

[CazPaul]

Just done a complete service on my Autocruise Starblazer Eberspacher D4 Airtronic heater. Replaced the mounting box which had badly rusted plus on dismantling found the alloy exhaust port on heat exchanger was badly corroded and broke off. Looked to get it repaired but Mellor Heating in Ossett nr Leeds were fantastic and supplied a used but in great condition heat exchanger for half price of a new body. Replaced all gaskets, fuel atmomiser screen and exhaust pipe and new mounting box.
Can't speak highly enough of Stuart at Mellor Heating for advice and great service. Parts were with me by 8.15am the next day.
Heater works great now and saved a lot of money over taking it to an Eberspacher agent.

I used Automotive Electrical of Mirfield to have a look, they were clueless and didn't want to know or do anything, they still charged us £40 though just for a quick look. I wouldn't use them again in any circumstances, awful firm in my opinion.
I took it straight to a boatyard repairer, they were on it immediately and did a cracking job.

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[faraway]

Silly question probably - but did you take the cover off the outside vent?

 

[gus-lopez]

It can also be undersized power cables on an autocruise as the are barely adequate for the job when new. 2 friends have both had similar problems , would start , run & then drop out continually looking as though it needed servicing , & eberspacher agent changed cables for larger ones & all working perfectly.+ half the price of a full service.

 

[gerry mcg]

is it a diesel or gas system? if diesel, I think they have a cut off when the diesel tank is less than 1/3 full..( or something similar) ... is the low level switch cutting out?

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[tomm]

is it a diesel or gas system? if diesel, I think they have a cut off when the diesel tank is less than 1/3 full..( or something similar) ... is the low level switch cutting out?

morning..thanks for your suggestions..... . its the diesel D4 airtronic system., with the mini controller , which is basically just a switch for on/off and temperature controller..No fault code checker or anything on it.....I"m not sure if this system has its own diesel tank feeding off the main engine diesel tank. Whatever the system , there has always been beyond 1/3rd full diesel available . ..There is power getting to the controller as the lights come on and the fuses leading to the controller checked ok.
Whatever the fault is , it should be rectified soon , (this week hopefully) as we returned the vehicle to the supplying dealer on Sunday actually. We have a warranty thankfully.

Will post on here for info , what the fault and solution was , when we get details from the dealer .

 

[Stretto Boy]

You mentioned that the ventilation fan doesn't work, so I think it must be an electrical rather than a fuel problem. We had one on our previous MH and they are a relatively simple system, so I am sure it will be easily sorted. As with anything to do with motorhomes though, the parts are not cheap. Good luck.

P.S. I think we were typing at the same time, so only just seen your last post. Ours ran from the vehicle diesel tank and I think that is what they are designed to do.

 

[tomm]

You mentioned that the ventilation fan doesn't work, so I think it must be an electrical rather than a fuel problem. We had one on our previous MH and they are a relatively simple system, so I am sure it will be easily sorted. As with anything to do with motorhomes though, the parts are not cheap. Good luck.

P.S. I think we were typing at the same time, so only just seen your last post. Ours ran from the vehicle diesel tank and I think that is what they are designed to do.

Many thanks for your reply..Sorry about delay in replying, have been out at that thing called work , now having a couple of minutes break , before the next batch.......As I mentioned above hopefully we will get the heater sorted fairly promptly and easily.
I"m of the same mind as you that its something electrical, as we got the 2 x hab batteries transferred from our old vehicle in to this one and the batteries and heater are physically near each other , sharing power . Albeit the heater is in a self contained under floor metal box, batteries in their isolated boxes. So possibly something , cable or whatever has been dislodged , so a relatively easy fix.

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[busby]

Newly acquired van you say.

Dealer sale?Private sale?

Did it come with any service/maintenance records for the heating?

Most people tend to leave them unless not running, so no service for 10 years etc, then it just breaks down, as ours did on the Murvi.

Ours hadn't been touched for 10 years until we bought it and shortly afterwards it broke down and we needed a full service, new exhaust etc not far short of £400, but then running like a dream.

You were lucky,,circuit board was burned out on mine and another problem,,it was as cheap to replace heater than repair (nearly £900} Just taken it for its first year service to preserve the guarantee. Think the big problem is lack of use because they give very little bother in trucks. I now run mine for a few hours every week when van is parked up.BUSBY

 

[Happy1]

Had problems a while ago, van dealer useless, local specialist useless, chap from webasto/eberspach excellent sent instructions to local specialist fixed in no time.

 

[issywiz]

Many thanks for your reply..Sorry about delay in replying, have been out at that thing called work , now having a couple of minutes break , before the next batch.......As I mentioned above hopefully we will get the heater sorted fairly promptly and easily.
I"m of the same mind as you that its something electrical, as we got the 2 x hab batteries transferred from our old vehicle in to this one and the batteries and heater are physically near each other , sharing power . Albeit the heater is in a self contained under floor metal box, batteries in their isolated boxes. So possibly something , cable or whatever has been dislodged , so a relatively easy fix.

Did you solve the problem please as my partner has exactly the same problem?

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