Night Heater noise

[Shane&Michelle]

Hello. We have spent our first night in the cali and the night heater drove us crazy. We had it running on level 2. We could hear the fan running which is fine, it speeds up and slows down. There is also this annoying tapping sound that accompanies the fan speed which seems to be coming from the engine bay or underneath. Speeds up and slows down with the fan. It was like water torture, ended up switching the heater off. Is this normal or should I get it looked at.

 

[Hotel California]

It is the ticking of the external heather it's diesel pump .
Located somewhere under the kitchenunit near the diesel tank, get used to it or you will get cold at night.....

 

[Martin]

It is normal, you will get used to it .. Saying that, we have never used ours overnight, we always set it to turn off using the timer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[2into1]

Some reports they find the noise very comforting ! (Not me). It's common to all of them. Only alternative is hook up and an electric heater. Some report an oil filled one works (nice and quiet) but I've found them hopeless and take a tiny fan heater this time of year.

 

[Alan]

At least when you here these sounds,you know it's all working
As above ....you will get used to it and soak up the luxury when the weather turns foul outside

Alan

 

[sbmcd]

Noise is normal, we switch ours off at night.

 

[Skylark2.0]

I'm rubbish with over night noises. Despite this when forced I have got used to the ticking to stay warm. Give ita go, you'll be amazed. Do a long walk in the day it will help!

 

[CYCLOPATH]

Makes a good alarm clock if you set it to come on at sun up

 

[GrannyJen]

It drove me nuts at first.

I resolved to sell my Cali and buy a big white box instead


You get used to it. You also get used to being all snug and warm. You get used to burning diesel at 0.4L at maximum out of an 80 litre tank and not have blown air gas heaters and running out of gas. You get used to that comforting roar that sounds as though all units to the left and right have been incinerated in the noble cause of keeping you warm.

You never get used to the decadence of that remote control, going to sleep all snug, waking up to ice on the windows and needing to get up and have a pee ... one click, give it ten minutes and you get up all warm and snug.

You almost get used to programming it to switch on just at the time you wake up and think "I need to get up and brew a cup of tea".

I don't notice it now. I just let the van get all warm on a freezing cold morning, feel all snug in my duvet, and when it reaches centre of the earth temperatures finally crawl out of my fluffy cocoon and enjoy a nice cup of tea in the warm whilst the weather does it's worst outside.

If all else fails, think nice thoughts like "at least it's not deathwatch beetle"

 

[Freeley]

Don't know how people manage to sleep with the heater running, we find it suffocating.
We tried it on our first night away in the cali when we bought it on a cold autumn night. Woke up after an hour bathed in sweat!
Much prefer it cold but snuggled up nice and warm under the duvet.

Sent from my Galaxy S6

 

[sidepod]

Is it really that intrusive?
I can't hear mine (T4) unless I crawl under the van.

You could always take a piece of felt and wrap it around the pump to deaden the racket.

 

[Hotel California]

It can be annoing at some time , but it is not continusly only short times .
Guess in a T4 the pump is situated in a diffrent location and maybe less noisy.

We leave the heather on low setting most of the colder nights and are ok with the noise.

Wrapping the pump don't think be helping lots , the vibration off the thicking goes from the pump thru on the chassis as it is bolted on....

 

[WelshGas]

No problem with my 2014 SE. Have to keep putting my hand near the vent to keep checking it is on. No problem sleeping with it on overnight on Level 1.
Maybe some people are more sensitive to the sound frequency.?

 

[sidepod]

It can be annoing at some time , but it is not continusly only short times .
Guess in a T4 the pump is situated in a diffrent location and maybe less noisy.

We leave the heather on low setting most of the colder nights and are ok with the noise.

Wrapping the pump don't think be helping lots , the vibration off the thicking goes from the pump thru on the chassis as it is bolted on....

Bolted directly to the chassis? It must be mounted in a rubber cradle? perhaps thats why the T4 is quiet.

 

[Hotel California]

Bolted directly to the chassis? It must be mounted in a rubber cradle? perhaps thats why the T4 is quiet.

What i mean is the ticking is noticeble all over the verhicle , could be rubbers between don't know sure .
In this topic you see a close up off those pump
http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/cali-technical-tips-tricks.9457/

 

[Shane&Michelle]

Thanks for all the replies, it looks like it's perfectly normal. We turned it off on going to bed the second night much better. Even on number 1 it was too warm for us to sleep. Note to self, don't leave the heater remote at home, Michelle refused to get out of bed and turn it on.

 

[Hotel California]

Thanks for all the replies, it looks like it's perfectly normal. We turned it off on going to bed the second night much better. Even on number 1 it was too warm for us to sleep. Note to self, don't leave the heater remote at home, Michelle refused to get out of bed and turn it on.

I never ever used that remote , sits somewhere at home...
You can reach from in the bed to the controlpanel (IF sleeping upstairs witch we do 9/10)
If you sleep downstairs you need to get out bed for manupulating the controlpanel .
When sleeping downstairs you indeed get to hot with heater on as it practicy blows heat in your face....

 

[rod_vw]

The pump should be fixed on a rubber mounting but can transmit more noise onto the chassis if the plumbing is pressed against the underfloor parts. It's located in the chassis area under the left front seat, you need to take the plastic shield off to see it.
As for temperature settings, not being a Cali owner I don't know how your control panel works but an modern Eberspacher (or Webasto) controller is set in degrees Celsius which we set at 16 degrees and find it OK for overnight use. There is a four degree over-run on this meaning that it comes on at 16 degrees but does not switch off until the temperature rises to 20 degrees. After first run-up when the heater first powers up to boost subsequent cycles only run up to medium output so the noise is reasonably low.
Bearing in mind that we have a LWB High-top, the heater ducting is heat and sound insulated and we sleep heads to the rear so maybe our heater is less obtrusive than yours. One of the benefits of a self-build, I was able to pay particular attention to this fitting.

Rod

 

[Skylark2.0]

I never ever used that remote , sits somewhere at home...
You can reach from in the bed to the controlpanel (IF sleeping upstairs witch we do 9/10)
If you sleep downstairs you need to get out bed for manupulating the controlpanel .
When sleeping downstairs you indeed get to hot with heater on as it practicy blows heat in your face....

Not if you have the remote attached to the hand loop. What's the problem!?

 

[GrannyJen]

I never ever used that remote , sits somewhere at home...
You can reach from in the bed to the controlpanel (IF sleeping upstairs witch we do 9/10)
If you sleep downstairs you need to get out bed for manupulating the controlpanel .
When sleeping downstairs you indeed get to hot with heater on as it practicy blows heat in your face....

I sleep head to rear downstairs. I will have it ticking over on "1" when I am away this weekend.

 

[estresao]

The pump should be fixed on a rubber mounting but can transmit more noise onto the chassis if the plumbing is pressed against the underfloor parts. It's located in the chassis area under the left front seat, you need to take the plastic shield off to see it.
As for temperature settings, not being a Cali owner I don't know how your control panel works but an modern Eberspacher (or Webasto) controller is set in degrees Celsius which we set at 16 degrees and find it OK for overnight use. There is a four degree over-run on this meaning that it comes on at 16 degrees but does not switch off until the temperature rises to 20 degrees. After first run-up when the heater first powers up to boost subsequent cycles only run up to medium output so the noise is reasonably low.
Bearing in mind that we have a LWB High-top, the heater ducting is heat and sound insulated and we sleep heads to the rear so maybe our heater is less obtrusive than yours. One of the benefits of a self-build, I was able to pay particular attention to this fitting.

Rod

My Cali is 2015 Beach one, and what you say about set the temperature is kind of futuristic thing for my "control panel". Don't yet know how it works when you set it to work the whole night, but I don't think the start/stop is based on temperature, I got no way to set it (and cannot understand why it so shaby)

 

[Hotel California]

@Skylark2.0
Can't figure out what you mean by "hand loop"
But suppose you mean the heater remote hangs together with your keys?
As said i don't bother taking it with me . My Ipone weighs less than that remote....and i ever use it
Each has theire habbits.

@GrannyJen
Inyour case it is good to have the remote in reach...
Downstairs roof closed on 1or2 is more than hot enough indeed

"The lower you set it the less it ticks"

 

[Skylark2.0]

@Skylark2.0
Can't figure out what you mean by "hand loop"
But suppose you mean the heater remote hangs together with your keys?
As said i don't bother taking it with me . My Ipone weighs less than that remote....and i ever use it
Each has theire habbits.

@GrannyJen
Inyour case it is good to have the remote in reach...
Downstairs roof closed on 1or2 is more than hot enough indeed

"The lower you set it the less it ticks"

There is a loop at the side for the use of a rear passenger. Our remote stays attached there and it is easily reached from under the duvet without getting cold to turn the heating on.

 

[Cemswood]

Thank god for this forum. At 4am when I couldn't sleep due to said ticking noise I searched on here and found the answer. It didn't help me sleep and the noise is bloody annoying but st least I know what it is. Ear plugs are the next purchase I think!

 

[WelshGas]

Thank god for this forum. At 4am when I couldn't sleep due to said ticking noise I searched on here and found the answer. It didn't help me sleep and the noise is bloody annoying but st least I know what it is. Ear plugs are the next purchase I think!

You soon get used to it. Doesn't bother me - in fact reassuring when you're toasty warm.