Eber troubleshooting

[lustyd]

Hi all, got to the boat this frosty evening and Eber won't start. The fan runs in the startup but fuel pump never starts to tick. I checked the electric and it's fine with 13.4V at the heater. I checked the fuel line and it's not blocked.

Next steps are to check the glow plug and test the fuel pump itself. I've never done either of these, so two questions:

How do I check the fuel pump is working with what I have on board? If I give it 12V on and off will it pulse, or does it need reversing polarity etc?

I seem to recall there's a special tool to remove the glowplug - can anyone suggest an alternative that I may have on board or Halfords may have? It's in a cockpit locker so this will be a tomorrow job given the temperature. Luckily we have an electric heater for this evening.

Finally, is there anywhere near Gosport that might have parts to buy on a Saturday?

Thanks all!

 

[PetiteFleur]

For the glow plug tool, I bought a cheap tubular spanner of the correct hexagon and hacksawed a slot for the wires - sorry, I don't know the hexagon size as it's on the boat. You'll have to check the size & Halfords will probably have one. This was for a Chinaspacher heater but I'm 99% certain it will be identical to your Eber.

 

[FWB]

Webasto gives a fault indication. Is not eber configured in the same way?

 

[Jodel]

Most of the youtube videos say to take the glow plug out with the special tool then remove the fan housing. If you remove the housing first you can get a standard spanner onto the glow plug.

 

[lustyd]

Webasto gives a fault indication. Is not eber configured in the same way?

Yes, but the fault codes only take you so far unfortunately

 

[lustyd]

Most of the youtube videos say to take the glow plug out with the special tool then remove the fan housing. If you remove the housing first you can get a standard spanner onto the glow plug.

I was hoping to avoid pulling the whole thing out but this may be the option I have to take so thanks for highlighting

 

[FWB]

If I remember correctly, the glow plug on Webasto is held in by a grub screw.

 

[NormanS]

If the pump isn't ticking, I would investigate it and its connections long before I started to do anything with the glow plug.

 

[lustyd]

Yes that's the plan, I just need someone to explain how to test the pump!

 

[FWB]

Eberspacher Air Heater Service Manual & PDF Guides

 

[Frayed Knot]

Hi all, got to the boat this frosty evening and Eber won't start. The fan runs in the startup but fuel pump never starts to tick. I checked the electric and it's fine with 13.4V at the heater. I checked the fuel line and it's not blocked.

Next steps are to check the glow plug and test the fuel pump itself. I've never done either of these, so two questions:

How do I check the fuel pump is working with what I have on board? If I give it 12V on and off will it pulse, or does it need reversing polarity etc?

I seem to recall there's a special tool to remove the glowplug - can anyone suggest an alternative that I may have on board or Halfords may have? It's in a cockpit locker so this will be a tomorrow job given the temperature. Luckily we have an electric heater for this evening.

Finally, is there anywhere near Gosport that might have parts to buy on a Saturday?

Thanks all!

Try the le Tonkinois website (really) they have loads of Eber maintenance info


Eberspacher

 

[FWB]

If a fault has been detected then it’s likely that the pump will be given a signal to stop pumping.

 

[peteK]

Tap the connections on the pump with 12v,should give one click each time,you can usually tell if the glowplug is working by observing if the battery voltage drops markedly when going through the glowplug phase.You need to check the voltage at the heater when its trying to start and note what the lowest voltage it drops too.If you have solar it can give a wrong impression of voltage.

 

[FWB]

I know that you have an Eber but I imagine that these units are constructed in similar ways. With the Webasto it’s usually the the burner is coked up. You have to remove it in any case to get at the glow plug. The service kit is 3 times the price of a complete Chinese system. This is what a coked up Webasto burner looks like…

 

[fredrussell]

If you put “eberspacher glow plug” into eBay search you’ll see what tool you need - they include the tool with glow plug. If memory serves it’s a 12mm box spanner - you cut a slot in it to clear wires. As mentioned above unplug fuel pump and connect 12v to wires of pump momentarily. If pump ok it’ll click every time you connect wires to power source. If you’re tempted to buy a spare part for it, you really might as well just buy a ‘Chinaspacher’.

 

[Martin_J]

As others have said, Le Tonkinois website is good, especially the Faults page which describes how the heater checks on various parts such as overheat / flame out sensor and glow pin before it will even attempt to pump fuel into it.

You don't say which model you have. It's only some that need the special socket to remove the glow pin but that's really only because some have a glow pin with a permanently attached wire so a socket without a slot doesn't work.

As others have said, you should get one with a new glow pin (but they can be made by angle grinding a slot in what I think was a 12mm deep socket).

 

[roaringgirl]

Is it completely dead, or does it wake up, do its checks, then go back to sleep? The normal cause of check failure is low voltage at the unit, if the battery voltage is good, maybe there's a poor connection somewhere?

 

[fredrussell]

…also, don’t know if it’s already been mentioned but there’s a small removable gauze that glow plug sits in. It gets coked up, usual remedy is replacement.

 

[Little Dorrit]

I would begin by checking the pump. From my memory the pump doesn't start immediately but only after the other checks have been completed. You should therefore have 12v at the pump if the other checks are showing a clean bill of health. If you do have 12v and the pump isn't responding its probably the pump. If you don't even get 12v at the pump check wiring and investigate other causes. As others have said the Le Tonkinois site is worth bookmarking.

 

[stu9000]

It sounds like you have checked for low voltage.
When you start up do you hear the whir of air duct fans and , about 30 sec later, the pump start to tick? Assuming you do, then does it belch a ton of white smoke from the exhaust and shut itself down? This indicates the glow plug has failed to ignite the fuel but is heating up to a degree. This suggests a voltage issue or issue with gauze, or the plug.

If you are not hearing the tick at all then the problem is probably with the pump or the electrics that serve it. Some clear fuel line can be helpful as you can see the occasional bubble working its way along. There are in line fuses.

You can buy service kits which include a spanner.
You can also buy multi packs of the gauze on eBay for very little.
You may need a hex screwdriver to disassemble.

I'm sorry to say I never solved my poor starting issue .
Having tried a range of fixes including several disassembles , wiring checks. New gauzes, fresh fuel lines etc. I was thinking of buying a new glow plug or circuit board but after several freezing nights on board I just replaced the whole thing with an eBay Chinese copy that has worked flawlessly for 2 seasons so far.

The eber is sitting in the shed awaiting some tlc as the components are no doubt better, but as the Chinese heater is working well I have yet to get round to it