Diesel heater....tick tick....

[Radio-active]

Hi,

Is it only on my van or does everyones Diesel heater tick tick when its on?....a once a second tick tick (could be a relay) only really notice it at night when all goes quiet

 

[calikev]

Hi mike it's normal for the heater to tick a little

 

[methley]

It's the fuel pump.

 

[Hotel California]

One of the many treads on the same issue

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/night-heater-noise.12146/

 

[Loz]

I would say it sounds like the Cali heart beat, having listened to it over the weekend sleeping downstairs

 

[Rich20]

I find it very soothing.

 

[Radio-active]

Thanks everyone, nice to know I'm not alone....

 

[2into1]

The key is to associate the noise with something nice, like a heartbeat as suggested above. So it's a comforting reassuring noise, not a nuisance!

 

[bigmac77]

Earplugs

 

[MattBW]

Crank it up to full and you won't hear it over the fans Of course you may find yourself melting too.

 

[GrannyJen]

It's probably the on-board computers sending denial of service messages to relay nodes

 

[Hotel California]

Could be morse signals to the VW factory containing error codes
Thats why it lasts sevral minutes before it stops!

 

[IanE]

I tend to fret a bit that it might be disturbing my neighbours - not enough to not use it mind

 

[WelshGas]

I tend to fret a bit that it might be disturbing my neighbours - not enough to not use it mind

It is a lot louder inside than outside. They won't hear it above their TV or Gas heaters.

 

[Trailertrash]

Being a five 'o' the clock riser and needing a visit to the block as soon as I am vertical I find the whine of the sliding door opening and closing twenty times while I check it is absolutely closed makes me very popular on caravan club sites.

 

[Zebedee]

That's cuz they all have their luxury bathrooms en suite! We recently stayed at a paid for Aire near Saint Malo on a first come gets a place. There was no electric hook up left as they all had multiple cables to run their 40" tvs and there was literally just room to open the doors between us and the other motorhomes....caravans not allowed! I had no hesitation in using my heater/sliding door so many great whites in one space was a little unnerving but I had paid my €5 the same as them!

 

[viking]

Hi,

Is it only on my van or does everyones Diesel heater tick tick when its on?....a once a second tick tick (could be a relay) only really notice it at night when all goes quiet

I always assumed that the ticking noise was the expansion and contraction of the heater like you hear on a gas or electric heater

 

[Hotel California]

I always assumed that the ticking noise was the expansion and contraction of the heater like you hear on a gas or electric heater

It is the diesel pump thats ticks , not the heater itself.

 

[v-tec]

Duracell drummer man

 

[Tracey Johns]

Hi all

So we have a relatively new Cali, still in warranty, and loving it!!!
However, the auxiliary heater is making a ticking/knocking noise that is quite loud and relatively annoying and therefore keeping us awake at night... is this normal or do we need to get it looked at? We understand it has to 'blow' but does it have to have that consistent knocking noise?
Thank you for any advice you can give us

 

[sidepod]

It does I'm afraid. It's the fuel pump supplying the diesel to the heater unit underneath the van.

 

[Loz]

Hi all

So we have a relatively new Cali, still in warranty, and loving it!!!
However, the auxiliary heater is making a ticking/knocking noise that is quite loud and relatively annoying and therefore keeping us awake at night... is this normal or do we need to get it looked at? We understand it has to 'blow' but does it have to have that consistent knocking noise?
Thank you for any advice you can give us

yes, as mentioned above it's the pump that feeds it with diesel.
If you camp on hook up, you could get yourself a small oil filled electric tube heater with built in thermostat. That would be silent.

 

[WelshGas]

As @sidepod said, but it shouldn't be too loud. Mine certainly isn't. If stood next to the van can barely hear it and if it wasn't for the indicator on the Control Panel and hot air out of the vent one would be hard pressed to know if it was on inside the van.
Certainly no trouble sleeping with it on.
Of course the higher the Level is set the harder the fuel pump will work. Normally ours might be at 3/4 by day and 1/2 by night. Rarely above 4.

 

[2into1]

You have to change the way you think about the noise. It means "we are warm, snug and safe", not "I wish that bloody thing would shut up".

 

[GrannyJen]

I have just spent 3 nights in -5. My heater setting was on 2. It ticked away - occasionally. When it first ticked away, 3 years ago, I was going to push Albert off a cliff. Now I do not hear it.

Seriously, I do not hear it.

What I do notice is how warm and fuzzy I am at 2am with thick frost outside and me snug and warm curled up in my duvet. Perhaps that's why I no longer hear it.