Mercedes sprinter pre heater (1 Viewer)

[gus-lopez]

After having a play this afternoon, reading the manual I decided to look at the fuses. As my Pilote is an Aclass a lot of the fuses under the drivers seat (LHD) are missing as a lot of the functions do not apply. In the manual it said fuse 27 was for aux. heating, this checked out OK . Fuse 26 was marked as just heating but didn't have a fuse fitted, I fitted a 25 amp fuse, tried the switch again, nothing. Turned the engine on tried switch and success, light came on and heater started up (you could hear it). Very quickly I had warm air from the cab vents but very little from what I assume to be a rear facing vent under the passenger seat, picture below. After nine years of owning the Pilote from new it's the first time the aux. heater has run, so I am well chuffed.View attachment 138638

Amazing, you've owned it from new yet there was a fuse missing.

 

[FJmike]

Amazing, you've owned it from new yet there was a fuse missing.

As I said there are a lot missing from the block anyway as the functions are redundant in a motorhome. The blank ones don't have anything for the fuse to clip into. Except number 26. I should have known better as when the van was new the drivers window would not work, again no fuse

 

[styleruk]

As one who doesn't have one I am led to believe( just getting excuses in first) that on some car mounted versions there is an external air sensor to stop diesel heater firing up above a set temp, maybe around 6 degrees C. Of course may not be like that on yours.......

Indeed, in my manual it says it does not operate above 5deg. I tried and could not get it to fire up and thought I had a problem, then we had a cold night the other night and it fired up...could be that,

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[gg1946]

thanks for the missing fuse in A class motorhomes information . I've recently purchased a hymer s790 2008. could not find a solution to the auxiliary heater not working. fuse 26 missing. after installation turbine running like a jet engine. obviously previous owner never solved the problem in 10 years of ownership.

 

[Cat53]

That's a different thing, it's the same in mine. The engine runs heat back to near the door through a matrix and heats the living space when you are driving...quite useful as it stops you getting a cold neck in the winter

Yes! That’s what ours does too. Makes it toasty and warm when travellin*.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Blimey this took a bit of digging up

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[gg1946]

never give up!!!, just passed 50 years of married life, very difficult lol

 

[tonyidle]

Mine works without the engine running if the outside temperature is low enough (but I haven't figured out what low enough is). It certainly operates at well above freezing. When switched on the heater blower turns on too so the result after around 20 minutes is a toasty cab and, presumably, frost free windows. Separately the Alde heating has an engine coolant heat exchanger so very quickly the whole vehicle is warm. As far as I'm concerned it's a brilliant facility.

 

[gg1946]

my hymer only has auxiliary heater to assist rapid engine warmup, manual says to give better mpg. the alde underfloor heating warms the interior which has programmable time settings.

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[tacr2man]

Quite a few newer diesel engined vehicles from various manufacturers were fitted with "auxiliary" heat units (mostly eberspacher) they were to deal with emissions, and also lack of heat output from the vehicle heating system as the very efficient diesel engines were not generating enough heat . They mostly have a ambient sensor that stops fire up above a certain limit ie 3C or 5C.
The ambient sensor is a good point to start if dont work as they seem to be a bit failure prone . There are a few articles on UTUBE about fitting these units to other vehicles and mods etc .

 

[Tykatem]

I have a similar switch to @FJmike on my 2012 Mercedes Hymer b585 that operates the heater booster function.............

According to the instruction book, this is to switch the heater booster function on/off

To switch on: press the switch.
The indicator lamp in the switch comes on.

To switch off: press the switch again.
The indicator lamp in the switch goes out.

The heater booster function operates for around a further 2 minutes and the nswitches off automatically.

If you switch off the engine without switching off the heater booster function, the system will be switched on the next time the engine is started (memory function)

Pete

 

[EuroTrotters]

You can buy a kit to make it run without the engine running, I have converted several.

You can also add a heat exchanger

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[EuroTrotters]

I have a similar switch to @FJmike on my 2012 Mercedes Hymer b585 that operates the heater booster function.............

View attachment 263911

According to the instruction book, this is to switch the heater booster function on/off

To switch on: press the switch.
The indicator lamp in the switch comes on.

To switch off: press the switch again.
The indicator lamp in the switch goes out.

The heater booster function operates for around a further 2 minutes and the nswitches off automatically.

If you switch off the engine without switching off the heater booster function, the system will be switched on the next time the engine is started (memory function)

Pete

You can also convert those. You have to buy a different switch and run a single cable from the switch to the heater.

Then pay MERCEDES dealer about £250 to go online to MERCEDES headquarters and update the software. This is then stored on the system and your chassis.

 

[Buster30]

The Mercedes dealer told me to ensure that I run it for approx 10 minutes every month. It ain’t half noisy when running, under the floor of the passenger seat with pipes running to engine block, can’t see the benefit of converting because you still have to have the ignition on to run the fan. Would be handy to convert if it if it could blow hot air into the cab though

 

[EuroTrotters]

The Mercedes dealer told me to ensure that I run it for approx 10 minutes every month. It ain’t half noisy when running, under the floor of the passenger seat with pipes running to engine block, can’t see the benefit of converting because you still have to have the ignition on to run the fan. Would be handy to convert if it if it could blow hot air into the cab though

No you do not need to have ignition on to run it once converted.

You can time it to come on if you are not there.

You can even add a device with sim so you can turn them on from anywhere in the world !

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[tonyidle]

my hymer only has auxiliary heater to assist rapid engine warmup, manual says to give better mpg. the alde underfloor heating warms the interior which has programmable time settings.

The heat exchanger is an Alde optional extra. I'm grateful that the original owner specified that it be installed. The dogs love it .

 

[tonyidle]

the very efficient diesel engines were not generating enough heat

Hard to imagine - the more efficient they are the hotter they get. Better burn - more power - better fuel efficiency - but still more waste heat.

 

[Kim H]

We've just had the mod done to our 2009 sprinter. We can now run the Eberspacher independently of the ignition. Great for demisting the windscreen prior to takeoff!

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[Silver-Fox]

We've just had the mod done to our 2009 sprinter. We can now run the Eberspacher independently of the ignition. Great for demisting the windscreen prior to takeoff!

Can I ask what the mod is and cost?
How does it work regarding the engines thermostat and the fact your not circulating the water with the pump?

 

[Kim H]

Can I ask what the mod is and cost?
How does it work regarding the engines thermostat and the fact your not circulating the water with the pump?

The mod requires a new toggle switch and a firmware upgrade to the ECU and possibly other bits and pieces, but that's our understanding. The van came with heater option HZ9 and this mod now adds HZ2. We had it done in Germany, amongst other work so it's difficult to give you a price. We were quoted around £300 for an independent ECU specialist to do the mod in the UK, but our van was too big to fit in his workshop.

 

[tonyidle]

How does it work regarding the engines thermostat and the fact your not circulating the water with the pump?

The Eberspacher has its own pump. If the engine got hot enough to open its thermostat (unlikely) then the radiator would cool the water heated by the Eberspacher.

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[EuroTrotters]

The mod requires a new toggle switch and a firmware upgrade to the ECU and possibly other bits and pieces, but that's our understanding. The van came with heater option HZ9 and this mod now adds HZ2. We had it done in Germany, amongst other work so it's difficult to give you a price. We were quoted around £300 for an independent ECU specialist to do the mod in the UK, but our van was too big to fit in his workshop.

You can change the toggle switch and connect the wire yourself.

But the MERCEDES upgrade has to be carried out by MERCEDES or specialist MERCEDES dealer / service centre with online access to MERCEDES in Germany on later models. Otherwise, when you go to MERCEDES for a service, the codes will get lost and you have to add then again.

The best people willing to do this in the uk were Euro commercials at Bridgend

 

[Theonlysue]

I've got alde heating and webasto heat exchanger, but instructions not very clear. Can anyone advise how to use it properly please?
There's mercedes, webasto and hymer instructions, all as clear as mud

 

[tonyidle]

The Webasto heater and the Alde heat exchanger are separate devices with different functions. The Webasto is used to pre-heat the engine coolant and is useful in cold weather - the engine is warmed up and the cab heating works as soon as you start the engine. On some versions turning the engine heater on will also start the cab heater blower on 'slow'.

The Alde heat exchanger uses heat from the engine coolant system to operate the Alde heating as long as the heating is turned on. So leave the Alde control on (leave it on 240v mains so it doesn't use gas) and the habitation heating will work when the engine is running. In really cold weather leave it on gas so if necessary both engine and gas can operate the heating. There will be a control to shut off the heat exchanger. On mine it's a slider on the seat base - it's unlikely to be a switch as you're looking for something that operates a water valve. It will be somewhere near the heat exchanger which can often be found in a cab seat base.

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[Theonlysue]

Travelworld did say i could use it when parked up so hab area didn't get cold.
Had it all working on my last hymer, bad waldsee advised, it was brilliant, but different set up on this van.
Ill try and find the lever.

 

[EuroTrotters]

The Webasto heater and the Alde heat exchanger are separate devices with different functions. The Webasto is used to pre-heat the engine coolant and is useful in cold weather - the engine is warmed up and the cab heating works as soon as you start the engine. On some versions turning the engine heater on will also start the cab heater blower on 'slow'.

The Alde heat exchanger uses heat from the engine coolant system to operate the Alde heating as long as the heating is turned on. So leave the Alde control on (leave it on 240v mains so it doesn't use gas) and the habitation heating will work when the engine is running. In really cold weather leave it on gas so if necessary both engine and gas can operate the heating. There will be a control to shut off the heat exchanger. On mine it's a slider on the seat base - it's unlikely to be a switch as you're looking for something that operates a water valve. It will be somewhere near the heat exchanger which can often be found in a cab seat base.

On our Frankia, when I upgraded the MERCEDES factory eberspoacher. I made it so that the diesel heater could heat the alde system.

That meant, you could heat via engine, gas, electric and diesel .

 

[tonyidle]

On our Frankia, when I upgraded the MERCEDES factory eberspoacher. I made it so that the diesel heater could heat the alde system.

That meant, you could heat via engine, gas, electric and diesel .

You can with mine (OEM Merc Eberspacher) but it may not be too efficient. The Eberspacher heats the engine coolant and therefore the Alde heat exchanger, then, if the Alde heating is on, the Alde heating circuit includes the heat exchanger. My experience is that with only the Eberspacher running it takes more than 30 minutes to heat the engine past 50 degrees. The engine block is a substantial lump of metal & together with associated hoses is sitting out in the cold. I'm not sure there's much heat left to heat the van via the heat exchanger. Having said that there is heat available from the Alde radiators with only the Eberspacher as source - it just isn't a great deal & I wouldn't like to rely on that alone on a Winters day. What was the upgrade you did?

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[EuroTrotters]

You can with mine (OEM Merc Eberspacher) but it may not be too efficient. The Eberspacher heats the engine coolant and therefore the Alde heat exchanger, then, if the Alde heating is on, the Alde heating circuit includes the heat exchanger. My experience is that with only the Eberspacher running it takes more than 30 minutes to heat the engine past 50 degrees. The engine block is a substantial lump of metal & together with associated hoses is sitting out in the cold. I'm not sure there's much heat left to heat the van via the heat exchanger. Having said that there is heat available from the Alde radiators with only the Eberspacher as source - it just isn't a great deal & I wouldn't like to rely on that alone on a Winters day. What was the upgrade you did?

Yes, but you can fit a changeover valve