I am having REAL heater and battery issues! Help (please?)

[chockswahay]

I have posted on a couple of threads regarding these issues bit no real answers……

HEATER: I think it’s either faulty or rubbish! It will not stay running for more than 10 mins or so then turns off… van gets cold…..then it comes on again. The problem with this is that it spends a LOT of time drawing 10 amps and hammers the batteries! (I do not use EHU when camping). A point of interest…… should hot air be coming out of the drivers door pillar vent? I thought this was the intake air?

BATTERIES: Even after48 hours on charge at home the ‘resting’ voltage one hour later is 12.7 but the bar graph only shows 4 bars? I have checked the cube fuse and that has not blown. I put a multimeter the rear battery and volts showed 12.68 so seems reasonable (?).

RELATED ISSUES: I disconnected the EHU and put the parking heater on setting 3 continuous mode at 16:30 yesterday and by 09:30 this morning the heating had completely switched off and the batteries showed 12.3v at rest. Then when I turned the heater on again, battery meter showed 11.9v/10a then heating shut itself down (I thought this was not supposed to happen above 11.5v).

SO THEN: Is my heater faulty? am i expecting too much? are my batteries shot to pieces? Are people not using the heater overnight on battery only?
I have read so many posts proclaiming how wonderful and toasty warm the Cali is I am left thinking why not mine!? It strikes me that a diesel heater that can not be used overnight on battery is a pretty stupid design (on my boat I can leave the cheap Chinese diesel heater on all night non stop and it only draws 0.5 amps per hour). Also whilst I am ranting, the way the VW heater cycles on and off means long cold periods and short noisy ones when the fan is on.

I am lost at what to do quite frankly and this whole episode is really taking the fun out of going away in winter What am I doing wrong?

Does anyone have any useful thoughts please?

 

[Corradobrit]

I can't give you as much of an in depth response as you need because I only have 3 trips away in it and only one of those in winter. I did use the heater overnight while parked up off grid.
The heat exits from the vent in the B-pillar behind the passenger seat (LHD). Air intake is further forward.
I was running the heater on continuous setting #3. Yes it is noisy initially but once up to temperature settles down to a not too intrusive fan noise. Certainly not loud enough to keep me awake.
As mentioned in other threads once the steady state temp is reached the power draw should be minimal or at least less than what you describe.
I wonder if your thermostat is bad. In that the variance between off and on is too large. That would explain the noticeable temp fluctuations and excessive amperage draw. Worth checking out IMO.

 

[flying banana]

The air intake is in the drivers stepwell. I believe the air temperature stat is in that air flow somewhere. I run my t6 heater all night on batteries no problems at all BUT the t6 heater controls are far simpler to use compared to a 6.1.
12.7v at rest I would say is normal for the batteries.

 

[dspuk]

I have posted on a couple of threads regarding these issues bit no real answers……

HEATER: I think it’s either faulty or rubbish! It will not stay running for more than 10 mins or so then turns off… van gets cold…..then it comes on again. The problem with this is that it spends a LOT of time drawing 10 amps and hammers the batteries! (I do not use EHU when camping). A point of interest…… should hot air be coming out of the drivers door pillar vent? I thought this was the intake air?

BATTERIES: Even after48 hours on charge at home the ‘resting’ voltage one hour later is 12.7 but the bar graph only shows 4 bars? I have checked the cube fuse and that has not blown. I put a multimeter the rear battery and volts showed 12.68 so seems reasonable (?).

RELATED ISSUES: I disconnected the EHU and put the parking heater on setting 3 continuous mode at 16:30 yesterday and by 09:30 this morning the heating had completely switched off and the batteries showed 12.3v at rest. Then when I turned the heater on again, battery meter showed 11.9v/10a then heating shut itself down (I thought this was not supposed to happen above 11.5v).

SO THEN: Is my heater faulty? am i expecting too much? are my batteries shot to pieces? Are people not using the heater overnight on battery only?
I have read so many posts proclaiming how wonderful and toasty warm the Cali is I am left thinking why not mine!? It strikes me that a diesel heater that can not be used overnight on battery is a pretty stupid design (on my boat I can leave the cheap Chinese diesel heater on all night non stop and it only draws 0.5 amps per hour). Also whilst I am ranting, the way the VW heater cycles on and off means long cold periods and short noisy ones when the fan is on.

I am lost at what to do quite frankly and this whole episode is really taking the fun out of going away in winter What am I doing wrong?

Does anyone have any useful thoughts please?

The only help I can give, and I say this without any irony or malice, is read the manual and watch Wills video on this, now on YT via Campervantime.

You need to keep in mind the naming is rubbish and heat immediately and continuously are not the same as well as the value you choose for temp can be quite arbitary.

We just did 2 days off EHU in France, with a baby. Our settings, which worked perfectly were:

Heat Continuously
Level 6 gave us 17 - 18 degrees
Level 7 gave us 18 - 19 degrees.
We use a temp gauge in the van so we get the baby temp right - on level 6 it basically waits till the temp is 17, then kicks back in again until the temp is 18, repeat all night.

We used heat immediately once just to get the day van temp up.

The air intake is on the drivers step, the outlet is on the pillar pointing into the cabin (well, the side door, but close enough).

 

[chockswahay]

Thanks for the replies so far chaps……

Ah yes, I can see now that the intake is in the drivers footwell

Hmm… maybe a thermostat issue?

I am happy about the selection and mode (actually I only ever use ‘Heat Continuously’ It’s just that after a few hours of repeat startups it would app that the voltage drop is too low and disables the heater. I don’t have a thermometer but can say that the van is comfortable when heating is blowing then after it goes off for a (long) while gets quite a bit nippy before it comes on again….. for sure a much greater range than 1c

I am still surprised by the noise levels each time it starts to run again…. Like a hair dryer on max chat for the first 2 or 3 mins then it settles down to a quiet hum then switches off again after another 10 or so.

I have just been reading an earlier thread https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/auxiliary-heater-not-working-6-1.40166/#post-655779. and wonder if the issues in posts #17 and #23 apply to me?

 

[Corradobrit]

Thanks for the replies so far chaps……

Ah yes, I can see now that the intake is in the drivers footwell

Hmm… maybe a thermostat issue?

I am happy about the selection and mode (actually I only ever use ‘Heat Continuously’ It’s just that after a few hours of repeat startups it would app that the voltage drop is too low and disables the heater. I don’t have a thermometer but can say that the van is comfortable when heating is blowing then after it goes off for a (long) while gets quite a bit nippy before it comes on again….. for sure a much greater range than 1c

I am still surprised by the noise levels each time it starts to run again…. Like a hair dryer on max chat for the first 2 or 3 mins then it settles down to a quiet hum then switches off again after another 10 or so.

I have just been reading an earlier thread https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/auxiliary-heater-not-working-6-1.40166/#post-655779. and wonder if the issues in posts #17 and #23 apply to me?

Is your's a pre June '21 Cali? If yes that might be the explanation. Worth discussing with the dealer if you think it might apply.

 

[chockswahay]

Is your's a pre June '21 Cali? If yes that might be the explanation. Worth discussing with the dealer if you think it might apply.

It’s Feb 20…….. I’m gonna give them a call……

 

[yossarian]

I think you have an electrical problem that stops your heater from working. The TPI on the heater wiring sounds quite plausible. High battery internal resistance would make this problem worse.

What is your battery care regime?

If you have an OBD reader it's possible to get individual battery health readings from the vehicle diagnostics.

A large voltage sag is an indication of a large resistance somewhere. Common culprits are the earth point or battery internal resistance. Battery internal resistance is again available via OBD. An ohm meter between chassis ground and either battery negative might show a fault in one of the leads.

 

[chockswahay]

I think you have an electrical problem that stops your heater from working. The TPI on the heater wiring sounds quite plausible. High battery internal resistance would make this problem worse.

What is your battery care regime?

If you have an OBD reader it's possible to get individual battery health readings from the vehicle diagnostics.

The van gets driven fairly frequently and on EHU once a month or so. I also use max charge as often as possible.

My son has a basic non subscription version, anything specific to look for?

I have just rang my local dealer and await call back re the TPI

 

[RockinNRollin]

We were away in ours last weekend, sub-zero temps so had the heater on probably around 24 hours in total over the weekend. also charged two 'phones from flat and plenty of lights on, not on EHU and we were showing "half bars" on the batteries when we left. The heater does cycle through "idle" (gentle and very quiet air, no actual heating) and "heat" where it ups the fan speed and adds heat to the airflow. The latter does seem to have two levels, a high level for when presumably there's a big detected differential between the desired temp and the intake temp, then a lower level. We sleep through it without a problem . . . maybe the snoring drowns out the noise.

 

[WelshGas]

The van gets driven fairly frequently and on EHU once a month or so. I also use max charge as often as possible.

My son has a basic non subscription version, anything specific to look for?

I have just rang my local dealer and await call back re the TPI

The heater, after the high heat phase of startup should back off to the low heat output state. If the cabin temperature then falls the heat output should gradually increase to bring the cabin temperature back up then it reduces and this will happen continuously. However, if during the low heat output phase the cabin temperature continues to rise then the heater will switch to a standby state, still on but not running and once the temperature drops will restart in the high output state and so on.
There could be a fault with the air inlet temperature probe not reading correctly . I doubt if VW have the technology to read the Eberspacher heater operational parameters. I could be wrong. If they accept there is a fault then they will just replace the whole heater. You will have a fight on your hands. Alternatively an Eberspacher expert may be able to sort it. The problem is VW use specialised VW software to manage the heater rather than the Eberspacher software and controller.

 

[Corradobrit]

The problem is VW use specialised VW software to manage the heater rather than the Eberspacher software and controller.

Hence why you can't implement much cheaper manufacturer or 3rd party solutions for remote activation.

 

[chockswahay]

Well I am still waiting for dealer to call back……. Tbh I feel a bit like I’m between a rock and a hard place

 

[chockswahay]

Well I am still waiting for dealer to call back……. Tbh I feel a bit like I’m between a rock and a hard place

So the dealer came back eventually…….. said they would have to run a diagnostic check to see if anything wrong and this will be chargeable if no fault found (£80!) and would not say if covered by warranty unless faulty ……. Ere we go!

 

[Corradobrit]

So the dealer came back eventually…….. said they would have to run a diagnostic check to see if anything wrong and this will be chargeable if no fault found (£80!) and would not say if covered by warranty unless faulty ……. Ere we go!

If you have a calliper micrometer you can determine the circumference of the offending wiring just to point at something and the corresponding TPI. Should help your case.

 

[chockswahay]

If you have a calliper micrometer you can determine the circumference of the offending wiring just to point at something and the corresponding TPI. Should help your case.

I don’t have one and the dealer said they can not tell if a TPI is on the van until diagnostic report! I should also add that this same dealer said that for all ‘Campervan and Motorhome‘ service and repair I should take it back to the converter!!! FFS!

 

[chockswahay]

I’m wondering if I would be better off going to Breeze ?

 

[WelshGas]

So the dealer came back eventually…….. said they would have to run a diagnostic check to see if anything wrong and this will be chargeable if no fault found (£80!) and would not say if covered by warranty unless faulty ……. Ere we go!

That is normal practice, to charge a Diagnostic Fee, and if there is a fault it would be covered by the Warranty.

 

[chockswahay]

That is normal practice, to charge a Diagnostic Fee, and if there is a fault it would be covered by the Warranty.

I’m OK with that…. It’s the fact that they maintain they won’t know if the TPI applies until the diagnostic result shows a fault ……. ‘computer says no’. I would have thought that if this TPI is valid they could tell if it applies to my van before the test….

 

[willwander]

Have you done a test with heater set high? (Like setting 7 on t6)

Heater should blow hard and sucks battery on startup then settles down. You should get 3-4 days of continuous heating running off battery.

If battery is in poor health it can lead to seemingly weird stuff happening.

 

[yossarian]

For a few quid you can get the TPI from ERWIN. Once you have the TPI it's easy to see how to report your problem in "VW format" what needs to be checked etc. Armed with that you can pretty much rule out the diagnostic charge. If you need a cheap caliper something like this can be surprisingly good. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B8RWZ8CS/?tag=eliteelect-21 Have a look at a youtube channel by "Big Clive" he tears down one of these cheapy calipers.

 

[Corradobrit]

"Big Clive"

Funny enough he's the brother of one of my fav whisky vloggers, Ralfy.

 

[chockswahay]

For a few quid you can get the TPI from ERWIN. Once you have the TPI it's easy to see how to report your problem in "VW format" what needs to be checked etc. Armed with that you can pretty much rule out the diagnostic charge. If you need a cheap caliper something like this can be surprisingly good. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B8RWZ8CS/?tag=eliteelect-21 Have a look at a youtube channel by "Big Clive" he tears down one of these cheapy calipers.

Sorry to sound dim, but how do I do this? The vernier looks good thank you

 

[yossarian]

It's not particularly intuitive. Be prepared to do some printing to pdf as you pay per hour. https://erwin.volkswagen.de/

 

[yossarian]

Or you could ask @scabrero to send it to you privately. These things are copyright so don't put it on the open web.