Eberspacher dies after 3-min start-up period...

Snap - posted at the same time.

Fuel filter is in the lower screw on connector of the fuel pump. Detailed in the previous D3L TD EN pdf file... Page 17 part #20.

Don't touch the top nuts on the pump - they control the amount of fuel let through at each pulse.

When you take the lower nut off you will wonder where the filter has gone.. it's a little cup shaped filter about 6-8mm long and probably stuck inside the lower end of the pump!
 
Jelly, your original post described the problem as "Finally got it to turn on and fire up, which it does properly, completes its 3-minute start-up period, produces warm air etc. but then shuts off automatically without warning and without cooling down after about 4 minutes.".

The fact that the heater didn't go through the normal cooling down period indicates an electrical fault. It's likely to be a waste of time fiddling with the combustion chamber or the fuel pump filter.
 
Fuel filter just checked and is fine...

pvb, yes, the first time we had an issue was when it was running quite happily, producing lots of nice warm air, then just died without any warning without cooling down. Ever since, it has been playing up/not starting/not producing warm air. Finally got it to start, produce warm air as normal for 3.5-7 minutes then die without cooling down.

What kind of electrical fault are you thinking?

Battery voltage all seems OK - on shore power, Sterling battery charger, got a battery meter to check it.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their help - this is beyond what I imagined.
 
pvb - I did read that.. but was thinking that perhaps it did partially ignite.. but not sufficient to stay alight as the fan speeds up.. (as could happen with blocked atomizer). It all depends whether the flame stayed alight. If not fully lit and up to temperature then two attempts would take three minutes and the shut down would be immediate.

That's why I had a few questions about how hot the exhaust got and did it sound like it had really fired and got up to temperature..

The atomizer is a consumable just like the gauze and I'm hoping it all just works when put back together - but whilst apart it's nice to get it clean inside.
 
jellyellie said:
Battery voltage all seems OK - on shore power, Sterling battery charger, got a battery meter to check it.
Click to expand...
Battery voltage might be ok - but have you checked the leads to the unit - and the leads to the controller ... probably not this though because the time it needs most power is at start up - 3 minutes in and it should be down on power consumption

irc you can bypass the controller by connecting two of the control wires which should fire it up ...
 
The nearest my troubleshooting guide suggests to your symptoms is:
Heater ignites normally, goes into boost mode, then switches to stand-by mode, blower is slowly spinning but the heater never restarts. No fault code recorded.
1. Using EDiTH, check setpoint for temperature and current air temperature. Replace part which works improperly. Swap minicontroller if do not have EDiTH;
2. If minicontroller OK, install external temperature sensor or replace ECU
 
vyv_cox said:
The nearest my troubleshooting guide suggests to your symptoms is:
Heater ignites normally, goes into boost mode, then switches to stand-by mode, blower is slowly spinning but the heater never restarts. No fault code recorded.
1. Using EDiTH, check setpoint for temperature and current air temperature. Replace part which works improperly. Swap minicontroller if do not have EDiTH;
2. If minicontroller OK, install external temperature sensor or replace ECU
Click to expand...

Vyv, it's a D3L, and the symptoms are different.
 
vyv_cox said:
The nearest my troubleshooting guide suggests to your symptoms is:
Heater ignites normally, goes into boost mode, then switches to stand-by mode, blower is slowly spinning but the heater never restarts. No fault code recorded.
1. Using EDiTH, check setpoint for temperature and current air temperature. Replace part which works improperly. Swap minicontroller if do not have EDiTH;
2. If minicontroller OK, install external temperature sensor or replace ECU
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help, but those aren't quite the symptoms.

Heater is now put back together and reinstalled. Just fired it up and this is exactly what happened:

turn heater on
heater starts
motor/blower comes on
cold air blows through vents
fuel pump ticks. sometimes it ticks constantly, sometimes it gets louder and quieter
heater turns off automatically with no cool down period

Sometimes it fires up properly and kicks out warm air as per usual operation.

Grumble...
 
pvb said:
Jelly, full marks for trying, but you're not going to fix it yourself. Why not take it to Felton Marine in the marina and get them to sort it?
Click to expand...

Because I can't afford to; at the moment, I can just about afford the diesel to go in it.

And you're right - I can't fix it by myself, but in the past James and I managed to fix it on more than one occasion, and Alex is a bosun and great at fixing things so understands these things far better than I do.
 
Grumble... hmmph from all of us.

Still sounds like it's not quite firing up (due to either lack of 12v at the plug or atomiser not clean enough for a burn).. but the fact that the fan is spinning and the pump is ticking suggest that initial checks of components are good.

It was a question of measuring the 12v across the plug as and when the glow is supposed to start that was suggested - but it's not easy getting a voltmeter across the leads without touching something else. And needing to have the voltmeter connected as soon as the start button is pressed.

Mine (although it's a D4L) does a half start then shuts down quickly if it needs de-coking.

Time for another rum...
 
jellyellie said:
Because I can't afford to; at the moment, I can just about afford the diesel to go in it.
Click to expand...

OK, in this weather, it's vital to keep warm. You can get a fan heater for about £12 which will help maintain a sensible temperature. Then fix the Eberspacher another day.
 
Have you tried the trick of connecting the red and yellow leads to the control unit/thermostat together? This bypasses the control unit/thermostat and initiates the start-up sequence.

If it keeps running then you know the fault must be in the control unit/thermostat.

If it shuts down then at least you have eliminated the control unit/thermostat as the cause of the problem.

It's worth a try - it helped me find a poor connection problem to the control unit last weekend on a D3LC.

Good hunting.
 
I've read through this thread and I think I am correct that you haven't yet tried starting the engine prior to firing the eber, this will at least confirm which side the fault lies.

My heater was getting smoky and required turning up to keep it going for a while before I changed the gauze. It is now working perfectly again.

Have you tried turning the dial up to 11 whether thermostat or rheostat, try running the heater at full chat and see what happens. Good luck.
 
I'm still intrigued by the wick (or atomizer) on the D3L.

Seems like there is a picture of one on the US web site... Was this part impossible to see/remove?
http://www.esparparts.com/liner-heat-exchanger-p-25236.html

It is also shown on the parts list at these two URLs.. If you search the pdf for 25 1482 06 00 06 you will come to the item called 'Wick - D3L'.
www.mellorautoelectrical.co.uk/pdf/Part Number.pdf
www.anodesdirect.co.uk/pdf/Eberspacher_customer_010209.pdf

(The fact that sometimes you get cold air and other times get a bit of hot still seems to point to a lack of burn - either due to the glow pin not getting hot enough or the fuel not atomising enough to burn). Have you used it a lot on medium heat since putting the last wick in 20 months ago?
 
That the unit is 'starting' for a few minutes but producing no heat could suggest lack of fuel. I had a prob on a d1lc when the fuelnpipe I installed had too big a bore. I could see the air bubbles in the clear pipe not going up as they should. Could be a blockage at the intake?
 
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