Eberspacher - ECU lock-out (or worse)?

Playtime

Playtime

Well-Known Member
Joined
29 Jan 2007
Messages
1,194
Location
Chichester
Visit site
I have a D3LC, 10 years old, that no longer works. In fact it does absolutely nothing when power is applied i.e. nothing lights up. I have checked the obvious fuses and power is present at the unit and at the Mini Programmer/Modulator.

Questions - is there an obvious fault condition that has caused this e.g. ECU lock-out? The unit worked fine last time it was used a month or so ago and, AFAIK, was shut down correctly.

Are there any simple tests that can be performed e.g. connecting the red and yellow wires together?

Can diagnostic info be obtained from the Mini Programmer/Modulator?

I am reluctant to call the local service agents immediately as it will probably be mega bucks. However, that may be the only course if this doesn't yield a solution so, TIA for any advice :)
 
Do you mean that even the LCD display is blank?

Last time that happened to me the problem was in fact a loose cable on the connecting plug/socket behing the control unit.

What control unit do you have? Can you either find a part number or describe the buttons/display please.
 
Martin_J said:
Do you mean that even the LCD display is blank?

Last time that happened to me the problem was in fact a loose cable on the connecting plug/socket behing the control unit.

What control unit do you have? Can you either find a part number or describe the buttons/display please.
Click to expand...

Correct - no light in the LCD displays.

I have checked the cables etc. and power is present.

The control unit is the mini timer (2 buttons - 'P' and 'wavy lines') with a separate mini thermostat (2 buttons - '-' and '+') and a separate sensor.
 
Unless the unit has actually overheated three times.. or had a number of unsuccessful startup attempts then it is unlikely to be locked out.

When mine had a blank display, yes there was power to the +ve and GND leads at the back of the controller but then I realised one of the pins on the plug went to two wires. It was just one of the receiving wires that was making a bad connection - even though the multimeter did show a good voltage at the connector.

There are a few wiring diargrams to go with the D3Lc... one shown below...
http://www.eberspacher.com/downloads/technical-documents/airD3LC_technical.pdf

And more versions here... (Although there are folders for D3L/D3LC/D3LCc)
http://www.esparofmichigan.com/techsupport/pdfs/Older Air heaters/D3LC/

and a final one here...
www.espar.com/documents/D3LCc.pdf

The reason I asked about the controller type is that I have a couple of working ones that you are welcome to try out. I am based in Southsea. We'd just have to check out the connector types first although I'm still thinking it's a poor connection (somewhere).
 
Last edited:
Only the Eberspacher D1LC and some early D1LC " Compact" heaters produced between 1990-1998 have the "lock out" in the event of 5 unsuccessful physical start attempts (each attempt means two automatic starts to give the 10 starts before "lock out").
 
Martin_J said:
Unless the unit has actually overheated three times.. or had a number of unsuccessful startup attempts then it is unlikely to be locked out.

When mine had a blank display, yes there was power to the +ve and GND leads at the back of the controller but then I realised one of the pins on the plug went to two wires. It was just one of the receiving wires that was making a bad connection - even though the multimeter did show a good voltage at the connector.

There are a few wiring diargrams to go with the D3Lc... one shown below...
http://www.eberspacher.com/downloads/technical-documents/airD3LC_technical.pdf

And more versions here... (Although there are folders for D3L/D3LC/D3LCc)
http://www.esparofmichigan.com/techsupport/pdfs/Older Air heaters/D3LC/

and a final one here...
www.espar.com/documents/D3LCc.pdf

The reason I asked about the controller type is that I have a couple of working ones that you are welcome to try out. I am based in Southsea. We'd just have to check out the connector types first although I'm still thinking it's a poor connection (somewhere).
Click to expand...

Martin

Thanks for the response.

If ECU lock-out only occurs after several unsuccessful start up attempts then I don't think that can be the problem.

I'll have a more thorough poke around over the weekend and see if there is a poor connection (let's hope it's that simple (and cheap!)). I'll also take a few photos in case further 'remote diagnostics' are required.

I'll PM you if a substitution test might help - I'm in Portsmouth. Thanks for the kind offer. :)
 
Martin_J said:
I initially thought lock-outs were only part of the D1Lcc... but the 'Operating Instructions and Service Book' for my current D4 state that lock-out is possible.
See here on page 27.

http://www.butlertechnik.com/techni...c D2 D4/D2 D4 Operating & Install Booklet.pdf
Click to expand...

It is very confusing, the quote I wrote above came from an eber engineer who I wrote to a few years ago. Not a truck engineers by the way, I contacted eber direct. It is of course possible that he made a mistake, maybe I need to write again to clarify.. I have not read your manual yet, I will look now and possibly quote it in the letter I post.
 
It's not clear... It could even be the description of the diagnostic timer having the ability to clear the lockout.. and they have just happened to include that description in the D2 D4 manual...

You're right though - some have lock out and some don't. One thing they all have thought is the feature whereby if they overheat or if the flame is not ignited then they'll shut down cleanly.
 
Martin_J said:
Unless the unit has actually overheated three times.. or had a number of unsuccessful startup attempts then it is unlikely to be locked out.

When mine had a blank display, yes there was power to the +ve and GND leads at the back of the controller but then I realised one of the pins on the plug went to two wires. It was just one of the receiving wires that was making a bad connection - even though the multimeter did show a good voltage at the connector.
Click to expand...

You were right - it was a bad connection; it's now working fine :):):):)

First thing I tried this morning was to disconnect the mini controller and then connect the red and yellow leads together. The thermostat immediately lit up (encouraging) and the unit went through a normal start-up, giving a full blast of hot air after a few minutes - result!

I thought it must be the mini controller that was faulty. However, mindful of your comment about bad connections, I cleaned the contacts and reconnected, just in case. Surprise, surprise, the light came on and it now works perfectly. Hooray!

Thanks for your helpful responses.
 
Well dot done... and thank you for letting us know.

As it happens I am on a train at the moment passing through Havant (right by Northney marina) and I had a spare controller with me just in case.

Great news for a simple fix... just like the plastic bag over the air intake of my eberspacher last week that was causing mine to cut out after 2-3 mins!.

Enjoy the (now much warmer) weekend.
 
This is so familiar I have déjà vu of my déjà vu.

We had the same problem. Kruger said replace the ECU. We did. That's a few hundred gone.

Shortly after the same problem. Kruger said replace the timer. Thats another few hundred.

Shortly after I replaced th boat, and I also replaced the eberspacher that was going to be the standard fit.

Webasto, I love it.

Sorry, not very helpful to the op. I do sympathise, and empathise. Hope you get it sorted.
 
Confused me... unless that post took over eight hours to upload to the website!

Since the issue turned out to be an electrical connection problem that could just as easily have happened to a Webasto I don't see any advantage to having a Webasto in this case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top