Diesel heater not firing up

[Neil_Y]

What's the first place to look for problems with a diesel hot air heater, it clicks/ticks and draws a lot of current but fails to fire up. I don't want to take it all apart so where should I start or what is a common problem for not starting. Thanks

 

[tross]

I would check the easiest first, I would pull off the diesel feed pipe to see if the fuel is getting to the heater. Sometimes there is a air bubble / blocked feed.

 

[johnalison]

My Webasto has a whole list of error codes to be displayed on the switch by flashing lights. They range from low voltage to lack of fuel. Does yours not have a similar set-up?

 

[Martin_J]

I was just trying to find the chart I had that shows the stages of component test (overheat sensor and glow pin etc), fan slow spin up, coil heating up, fan faster, fuel metering pump clicking. . then faster.. then ignition check.. and if no heat detected (i.e. burner gauze not lit) then the ticking will slow again .... and after another go it gives up.

Not able to find my diagram, this is the best explanation I can find online is how a common Eberspacher starts up..
Faults 1

Not knowing how long or whether yours gets to the fast fan spin up (as opposed to slow fan), my first guess would be the gauze gunked up and not allowing a good burn.

(All electrical checks would have passed since if they hadn't passed, the fan and fuel pump would not have started).

 

[Plum]

What's the first place to look for problems with a diesel hot air heater, it clicks/ticks and draws a lot of current but fails to fire up. I don't want to take it all apart so where should I start or what is a common problem for not starting. Thanks

I would start by looking for a leak in the fuel line before the pump allowing air to be sucked in. After that, check the tiny little gauze mesh filter at the pump inlet fitting.

 

[Martin_J]

(There is often a fuel filter built into the pump.. but hard to see if it you don't realise it's there).

 

[Graham376]

The most common fault for not starting is a bad connection causing voltage drop. Heater sounds as if it's starting, with ticks from the pump and fan running but then dies.

 

[CrikeyChris]

I bought a boat with a Thermo Top C water heater - and like yours it made lots of whirring and clicking noises but never fired up. After removing it and several years later I identified the problem as a corroded negative bus bar. Unlikely to go from working to not working in the space of 6-12 months (from this reason) but longer periods of disuse could see corrosion building up.The minute or two when sufficient power needs to reach the glow plug is the crunch point.
As per above.

 

[dunedin]

The most common fault for not starting is a bad connection causing voltage drop. Heater sounds as if it's starting, with ticks from the pump and fan running but then dies.

Yes, even low battery voltage can be an issue for the startup phase. On a previous boat a reluctant cold weather start of the Eberspacher was usually sorted by starting the main engine, run for 5-10 mins as heating started up, then stop engine and heating fine for rest of evening.

 

[Gsailor]

What's the first place to look for problems with a diesel hot air heater, it clicks/ticks and draws a lot of current but fails to fire up. I don't want to take it all apart so where should I start or what is a common problem for not starting. Thanks

What make is it?

Is the fan blowing? (Mine had a fan to blow chamber clean before ignition).

The ticking is the pump pumping isn’t it? Can you see fuel flowing along any hose?

How much current? A glow plug can take up to 10 Amps on some heaters IIRC.

What is the battery voltage before start up and what does it drop to when it is trying to start up?

Martin J and Plum are spot on about gauze filter.

Also, mine would not start some years ago because the glow plug had simply come loose a fraction of a turn.

 

[Sandy]

Loads on YouTube about diesel heaters and servicing/problem solving them.

 

[chris-s]

Any error displayed? Our ‘chinaspacia’ didn’t fire up the other day after being unused for several months. The pump wasn’t clicking as loudly as I recalled and not pulling any fuel thru, replaced it with brown me off Amazon and all good.

 

[Gsailor]

Any error displayed? Our ‘chinaspacia’ didn’t fire up the other day after being unused for several months. The pump wasn’t clicking as loudly as I recalled and not pulling any fuel thru, replaced it with brown me off Amazon and all good.

May I ask how much the pump cost, please?

 

[chris-s]

May I ask how much the pump cost, please?

£16.00

Universal Car Air Heater Oil Fuel Pump, 12V/24V Pulse Metering Gas Inline Electric Fuel Pump Kit for 2-5KW Webasto Eberspacher, Auto Air Diesels Parking Heater Car Accessories Amazon.co.uk

 

[Gsailor]

£16.00

Universal Car Air Heater Oil Fuel Pump, 12V/24V Pulse Metering Gas Inline Electric Fuel Pump Kit for 2-5KW Webasto Eberspacher, Auto Air Diesels Parking Heater Car Accessories Amazon.co.uk

Thanks. I was expecting a larger sum. Good that not everything is silly money.

 

[NormanS]

A good indication about whether it's getting fuel, but not igniting is light coloured smoke. Obviously, if there is smoke, there is fuel, and the problem is elsewhere. Usually low voltage at the glowplug, or a bad connection.
I've no idea why this is in italics.

 

[Neil_Y]

Thanks everyone, a few things to think about now before I crawl into the locker.

 

[Neil_Y]

My Webasto has a whole list of error codes to be displayed on the switch by flashing lights. They range from low voltage to lack of fuel. Does yours not have a similar set-up?

It's a webasto error code is 5 flashes which simply means heater not firing as far as I can tell.

 

[PaulRainbow]

It's a webasto error code is 5 flashes which simply means heater not firing as far as I can tell.

Webasto Heater Fault Codes - A Guide

 

[Ado]

My Chinese heater was reluctant to start and needed 3 or 4 start ups before running well. The problem was voltage drop under load to the glow plug. The power cable was switched to a much heavier one which solve the problem.