Eberspacher heater cutting out

Poey50

Poey50

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Next question from the mysterious world of new-to-me boat ownership.

Our Sadler 32 has an older Eberspacher heater. When switched on it begins to start up and fires after 30 seconds or so. It runs for about another 30 seconds or more and begins to produce warm air. Then a new whirring noise begins for a few seconds and everything closes down.

I've checked on this troubleshooting guide and none of them quite apply ...

https://www.eberspacher.com/download-centre/faqs-heating.html#c22644

I had it inspected by an Eberspacher agent, on the recommendation of the surveyor, who said it was unserviceable and recommended I pay out a couple of grand for a new one. But I'd like to understand the problem a bit more before considering that. Sorry I don't have the model number to hand but it is pre-2006 if that helps at all.

Any thoughts? What might that whirring noise be?
 
Must say, I was less than mpressed that the agent apparently didn't say why it was unserviceable - if that is the case, I certainly wouldn't go back to him! You really need to identify the model and what control equipment is fitted. Certainly some of the earlier models can be made to output a diagnostic signal through the lamp on the rheostat control - later ones tend to require a controller with extra optional diagnostic capability. If the collective can get you to the point of a diagnosis, you will find more information on the Le Tonkinoise website than anywhere else (particularly for older models) which shold allow you to fault tind things like the flame detector, etc.

It is quite possible that one of the detectors is failing to find the flame, so the unit automatically goes to the cool down/purge cycle which keeps the insides much cleaner. Like I said earlier, get the model number and note what controller(s) it has and it may be possible to find a cure.

Rob.
 
Well, there are a couple of fans in the thing, so plenty to generate whirring. Our less than three year old Eberspacher has been behaving very much like you describe, so don't feel too hard done by! In our case, it was diagnosed by the local main dealer to a dodgy controller board - which was finally replaced this morning! On the test run, it seemed to be working a lot better - and the sad thing was that we were actually glad of the warmth in the middle of July!

They are relatively low-tech things and all the replacement parts are readily available on-line along with instructions to strip and rebuild. They are not the most trouble-free of devices ever manufactured, but they do seem to be able to run for many years given a regular clean out. Diesel does not burn particularly cleanly and if it's been running for several years without a strip and clean, it is not too surprising that it is playing up. Some people have succeeded in resurrecting them by temporarily hooking up a bottle of paraffin in place of diesel and running a pint or two through it to clean it out. (Don't use petrol in a diesel Eber - that could be entertaining!)

If (when) we have to replace ours, it will not be another Eber. We've had Webastos in previous boats and they were far nicer devices - able to tick over at low power for long periods.
 
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If you do decide to splash out for a new Eber, you will find that the new models use far less electricity. I replaced my old one four or five years ago, and it has been faultless since then. (And it gets a lot of use).
The red diesel that I use in my engine is still the high sulphur kind. Ebers don't like it, and so I use white, and would use kerosene (paraffin), if I could get it at a reasonable price.
 
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They are not the most reliable things on a boat - they are basically lorry cab heaters and not that happy in a marine environment with slightly dodgy diesel.

Not so complicated and ridiculously expensive for what they are.

Having got that off my chest, I go along with Rob2, there is good advice here:
www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/Eberspacher_Intro_1.html


As it is 'trying' tp get going there cannot be too much wrong. Some thoughts:

1. They take a lot of amps to get going - something like 10-12A for up to 2 mins. If your batteries are not in tip top condition the voltage will drop. If it drops below c12V (?), the heater aborts and goes into cool down cycle.

2. Depending on model there is a filter in the fuel pipe/pump. In my case (a D4) it is in the inlet of the fuel pump (called the 'dosing pump') and is a tiny little thing - much smaller than the tip of my little finger. Worth checking as it may not be getting the extra boost of fuel to ignite.

3. The igniter plug is surrounded by an 'igniter mesh'. This is a cylindrical wire mesh about the size of tip of a little finger. This gets choked by carbon. For my money this is the most likely cause. You generally need a special spanner (model dependent) to get the igniter out; and it then very difficult to locate and pull the mesh out, but after that easy enough.

Spares and help here: http://sales.butlertechnik.com/
 
Here's what's happening inside your heater, the glowpin energises and the fuel is injected and burns for a short time as long as the glowplug is energised, then when the glowpin is turned off no flame is being maintained so the flame sensor tells the heater to go through its cooldown cycle and turns off. This condition is usually because of carbon build up or insufficient fuel supply but can also be a faulty flame sensor. If you find out the model either by posting a photo or from the plate we may be able to help further, I do have some difficult to obtain new old stock parts for older Ebers so all may not be lost.
 
David2452 said:
Sorry, only eraly multi position switches, & mini modulators. not difficult to wire in a generic zero volt timer though, Heatmiser etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks David. I assume it's OK to wire it across the terminals of the existing On/Off/Vent switch ? Unless it has manual On/Off, then maybe i could do away with the existing switch, can't see me ever using the Vent option.
 
I have an ancient D3L, probably dating from late 80's or early 90's which runs very well. When I first bought the boat 6 years ago it always cut out during the warm up phase and that was due to low voltage caused by poor connections. Easily sorted. 2 or 3 years ago I had a problem similar to yours except that, after warm air started to come through, there was a ticking noise for about 20 seconds before it cut out. Happened several times and turned out to be fuel starvation. The pick up pipe for diesel in the main tank finishes well above the bottom of the tank, presumably to ensure clean fuel, and the level had dropped so that the pipe was only just in the surface of the fuel. Enough to start the heater but any small movement of the boat caused it to cut out. Once the fuel was topped off everything back to normal again.
Eber staff at a boat show told me 5 years ago the heater would be dead if anything goes wrong with it, but that it is a simple and durable machine. Better to leave well alone rather than fiddle with it, so it has not been touched in 6 years. They also told me it is better to run on white diesel rather than red so I have always topped the tank up with cans from garages rather than marinas.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Thanks David. I assume it's OK to wire it across the terminals of the existing On/Off/Vent switch ? Unless it has manual On/Off, then maybe i could do away with the existing switch, can't see me ever using the Vent option.
Click to expand...

The Heatmiser TM1-N will do it and has a manual on / off but I simply interrupt the power feed to the existing switch or thermostat. The TM1-N does require it's own 12v power supply which I bridge over from the existing switch feed. Read the instructions carefully as it is important to switch to "holiday mode" or "frost protection mode"when the boat is unattended.
 
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David2452 said:
The Heatmiser TM1-N will do it and has a manual on / off but I simply interrupt the power feed to the existing switch or thermostat. The TM1-N does require it's own 12v power supply which I bridge over from the existing switch feed. Read the instructions carefully as it is important to switch to "holiday mode" or "frost protection mode"when the boat is unattended.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice David, that'll sort my cold Autumn mornings out nicely :)
 
OK back again with more information.

It's a D3L which, from the Le Tonkinois Varnish site, I see is mid-80s ... so pretty old.

It tries to start like this:

Fires around 60 seconds
Starts to warm
Around 90 seconds a higher pitched sound comes in - gets warmer. All promising at this stage
2 minutes it cuts out
Will restart for several seconds on a second go and then cuts out

One thought is whether anyone can recommend a later model that would be a reasonably straightforward swap with the existing wiring, fuel feed, exhaust and air outlets.
 
Sounds like it has a restricted fuel supply. ie" It starts & runs successfully for 2 min. on the initial pump up of fuel during start process &then fuel pump can't maintain enough flow volume to keep heater fed. Clean fuel filter,check tank pipe & line,check fuel pump for dirt.
 
I also have a D3L, fitted in 88 i think. My sequence is :

Turn on and the leds flash and the red one stays on (full heat).
Fan runs and after a short time the airflow begins to warm.
Shortly after that the airflow increases and gets hotter.

It sounds as though another fan cuts in, or the fan speed could just increase, hard to tell. But this is at the point the OP hears the higher pitched sound, so perhaps it's an issue with the fan/s ?

Not sure if there is a secondary fan in there that could be faulty, perhaps David knows ?
 
Sounds like as as I said earlier that it is failing to maintain a flame after the glow plug turns off. Caused by carbon build up or failed flame sensor, the increase in fan speed is it entering cool down before shut down. It may be worth removing it and taking to an Eberspacher truck dealer as they sometimes have parts for earlier heaters hanging about
 
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