Eberspacher help needed.

[Glyn-2008]

I managed to convince Honey Bunch that a weekend on the boat (admittedly staying on the mooring) may be a pleasant change. We settled down watching the TV with a glass of wine with the heater on. After it had been on for an hour the little 2kw (very old) Eberspacher air heater just turned itself off. I tried to restart it but after 2 minutes it just shuts down again without providing any heat. So a cold night which turned out to be very uncomfortable (high winds, rain etc) has not warmed H.B. to the winter weekends afloat thing. We went home early on Sunday morning, dejected, to find the fence blown down. The best laid plans and all that....
Any help with the Eberheater would be most welcome. Its an old one that does not have the electronic control panel.

 

[steved]

Sounds like the fuel filter to the heater could be blocked, so try removing and cleaning.

 

[Glyn-2008]

Sounds like the fuel filter to the heater could be blocked, so try removing and cleaning.

Thanks for that.
Presumably its somewhere in the fuel line from the main starboard tank. I am a little worried as I had new fuel tanks fitted and so was not expecting there to be too much "carp" in them to block any filters yet. The fuel pump is clicking as it always did when it was working.

 

[ARA]

Your 12v supply is 12v ? The reason I ask is that last year my heating worked & then packed up & stopped working. The reason was that my domestic 12v battery went flat because I had forgotten to charge the battery up

 

[Glyn-2008]

Your 12v supply is 12v ? The reason I ask is that last year my heating worked & then packed up & stopped working. The reason was that my domestic 12v battery went flat because I had forgotten to charge the battery up

Hi ARA,
Yes, I should have mentioned that we were on shore Power with our trusty Sterling 30amp charger supplimenting any loss from the batteries. The volt and Amp meters were showing "normal" conditions. I have assumed the glow plug was not to blame as the heater failed whilst in use and not at start up. Also, the amp meter shows a high current drain whilst on the start up cycle now which tempts me to believe that the glow plug is, at least, electrically sound.

 

[Thepipdoc]

This does indeed sound like a fuel supply issue and the first place I would look would be the filter attached to the Eberspacher fuel pump.
Having said that, I had an issue with my D4 heater and whilst my supply pump would make all the right noises i.e. rapid ticking on start up, and the fuel filter wasn't blocked, it transpired the fuel the pump was delivering was insufficient and a replacement pump was needed.
Once this was fitted it fired up no problem.
My experience of these heaters is there no hard and fast rule in identifying faults and each problem needs to be looked into on an individual basis.

 

[steved]

It doesnt take much for the filter to have a restricted fuel flow, particularly if it has not been cleaed for a while, this would cause the eber to fire up then die down after a few minutes due to lack of fuel, but you will still hear the clicking.

The filter is quite small and located in a cylinder and presumably not that far from the main fuel tank, there should also be a fuel shut off valve close to the filter.

 

[volvopaul]

It doesnt take much for the filter to have a restricted fuel flow, particularly if it has not been cleaed for a while, this would cause the eber to fire up then die down after a few minutes due to lack of fuel, but you will still hear the clicking.

The filter is quite small and located in a cylinder and presumably not that far from the main fuel tank, there should also be a fuel shut off valve close to the filter.

The filter is on the inlet union of the pump, the alloy looking part, unscrew it to find a thimble type filter tucked up inside the inlet union on the pump.

 

[Glyn-2008]

The filter is on the inlet union of the pump, the alloy looking part, unscrew it to find a thimble type filter tucked up inside the inlet union on the pump.

Thanks Gentlemen,
There is no other filter in the line from the tank and so it must be almalgamated into the fuel pump as you suggest. The heater is a lot older than the fuel tanks and may well have been bunged up years ago as I have never inspected it before.
Would you recommend that I fit an extra in line filter as well as I have just found some available on E-bay for £10 ish. Would be an easy fit too.

 

[superheat6k]

Suggest you try this website for a simple guide to Eberspacher servicing.

Mine packed up last year due to a voltage drop from my domestic battery isolator, so check the voltage at the heater terminals. They cut out sharp at 11v.

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/D2_D4_Service_2.html

 

[fireball]

Hope you manage to get the Eber fixed - it could be a number of things including voltage * fuel ...

Anyway - as you've got enough advice on the problems of your heater can I suggest that you 'invest' in a 2kw electric fan heater ... you can use it when on shore power to avoid having freezing nights and they're usually less than £10 !
We have one onboard along with our Eber - the added benefit is that you can use it to boost the initial heating of the cabin when you first arrive.

 

[coliholic]

Of course if you're on shore power a little lekky fan works wonders, esp one with a thermostat, then you can keep it on all night.

 

[david_bagshaw]

Another thought
Check the fuel can go through the pipe into the burner, as the tip can get fouled in the burner, not letting the fuel into it.

A stiff ish fuse wire is ideal, as it has to go through 2 bends

go for one start to see fuel is delivered to the injection point, if so , do as above.

 

[SC500]

Had same problem caused by dirty tiny thimble filter in fuel line at pump union.
I decided to install a new filter as they were only about £4 each, (bought a spare as well as postage was same).
When removing coupling to expose filter there was a slow drip of fuel from the tank side, so you may need a small collector handy whilst changing. The filter sits in a tight recess in the face of the coupling, so you may need something pointed to prise the filter out. Only a 10 minute job. Solved my problem, warm again.

 

[Glyn-2008]

Thanks to you all for taking the time to provide the excellent information received in this thread. Sadly, I dont have any time for a week to go to the boat and put your fault finding suggestions into practice, but, as soon as I do get to inspect the unit, I will post my findings here.

 

[lynall]

I took apart an eber pump the other day and found a wood screw perfect for removing the gauze filter with no damage.


Lynall

 

[LionsDen]

Suggest you try this website for a simple guide to Eberspacher servicing.

Mine packed up last year due to a voltage drop from my domestic battery isolator, so check the voltage at the heater terminals. They cut out sharp at 11v.

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/D2_D4_Service_2.html

Thanks for this Superheat6k I have down loaded the service info and added to my collection - most useful

 

[stuhaynes]

Suggest you try this website for a simple guide to Eberspacher servicing.

Mine packed up last year due to a voltage drop from my domestic battery isolator, so check the voltage at the heater terminals. They cut out sharp at 11v.

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/D2_D4_Service_2.html

This is very much clearer than other manuals I've read. Very clear.