Night Heater Operation ?

[Westie82]

Hi Guys,

Just Bought my first T4 Westie and I am trying to get the night heater to work. I am doing something wrong as it doesn't seem to fire in when the switch is clicked to heating, here's what happens ......

1. Switch clicked to heating position
2. Fan starts to blow air from twin rear vents behind seats.
3. Spark igniter continuously keeps sparking but nothing seems to happen ??

My battery level is low as you can see from my LCD, could a low battery have anything to do with it ?

Or I am totally missing something, is there some isolator fuel valve on the heater somewhere that might be turned off ?

Any help most appreciated

 

[Westie82]

Also what is the fan Icon for ? Cold air ?

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Not sure about the icons but a low battery can effect the heaters ability to start up. Something to do with the glow plug I believe. Have you tried with your van on an electric hook up?

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Having looked at your photo again there does t appear to be an issue with your battery. The display suggests it's fully charged. Still it's worth trying to fire up the heater on a hook up to eliminate any power related issues.

The 'spark igniter' is probably in fact the dosing pump doing its job. They do tick quite loudly. Continuously. The problem could well be the glow plug which is replaceable.

 

[Westie82]

Oh, I thought that it's supposed to have bars all the way across the display for a full battery, I was reading it as just the one bar on the left so hence why I was thinking I had low battery. I don't have an owners manual.

Ah, so it's the dosing pump which is making that "Spark igniter" noise. Is the heater supposed to fire in straight away once switched on ?

I left it clicking for a about a minute then turned it off, strange thing is the clicking nose initially sounded quite loud then started to fade.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Owners manual is available in English here: http://westfaliat4.info/VW-T4-Westfalia-CaliforniaCoach-Manual-English-1998.pdf

It's a newer model, but not much has changed.

Click the battery button and that temperature (4c) will change to battery voltage.

That image is showing fully charged, not on hookup. Once the voltage drops it will show more bars, which will then reduce.

Yes, the fan symbol is cold air.

It takes a short while for the heater to blow warm air, I'd leave it more than a minute.

hth
dan

 

[mrcheesbrough]

They are quite a complex beast when you don't have a manual to refer to. And even then they can be quite baffling.

This website is very useful and I think even has a downloads section with manuals in it - http://www.westfaliat4.info/

I think the battery level display only shows bars once the supply begins to drop. So if you run the fridge and lights for an hour or so it will show you what percentage is remaining.

The startup cycle of the heater can take a little while. They have a bunch of built in checks to perform before actually firing up. Ours blows cold air for a short while before the pump starts and eventually the heat comes through. Maybe give it a bit longer to get going. The models changed a bit across the T4 but I think most will display a fault code if there is anything major wrong.

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Beaten to it by TwentyOneThirtyFive.

 

[Westie82]

Hi Dan,

Really strange now, just gone back out to the van. Pushed the switch to heating and now I get a totally different noise, I get a loud repeating clicking sound which is coming from the fuse panel. No fan just a loud clicking which sounds like a switch or solenoid if that makes any sense, totally different from the initial "Spark igniter" sound I was hearing.

Strange ?

Will report back.

 

[Westie82]

Really baffled now, lol

The new clicking noise is definitely coming from the fuse panel area.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Behind the fuse panel will be the heater's ECU and two relays. It will be the relays you can hear.

 

[Westie82]

And thats all it doing now, no

Behind the fuse panel will be the ECU and two relays. It will be the relays you can hear.

That's the sound, deffo a relay noise !

Strange as originally when I made this post I did not have any relay sounds coming from that area, only just starting making them now ?

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

I'm not sure what the relays do, Hopefully @sidepod will be along soon as he understands all this stuff. I just hit things with hammers until they either work or fall apart

I have to admit that I lost patience with my heater.

It worked fine when I got it the van, lovely and toasty. Then it became intermittent. I've tried all sorts fix it (glow plugs, checked wiring and soldered joints). Just before the winter it gave up completely. I think it was either the ECU or the pump. All discontinued.

So ripped it out and am in the process of replacing it with something more reliable. I've since read that the modern Airtronic D2 pump can be used with the D2L heater. D'oh!

 

[sidepod]

Right, as Dan says, there are two bits of electrical kit behind the fuse panel cowl (behind drivers seat).
One is a power relay that seems (I've never really got to the bottom of what it does) to supply the main control module. The power relay is fed from the main fuse panel below the steering wheel.
Both of these click loudly but not continuously.

I had a control module fail (now obsolete) so I opened it up and there is a power relay inside on the PCB. The point is it does make a loud click.
This relay essentially powers up the glow plug (I assume we're discussing a diesel heater here?) which runs for a time period (15 seconds?). The dosing pump then fires in fuel and away it goes. The heater does run for about 45 seconds before it goes into heat/blow mode. You'll hear the tone change.

Failure to start could also be a problem with the control panel in your photo. This basically puts power into the control cct of the control module.

I've been round this loop with mine (and many more) so happy to help with diagrams/advice etc.
It will take some methodical voltmeter action!

It could be the power relay at fault so bypassing/testing that would be a good place to start.

Pod.

 

[sidepod]

.....Ok more thoughts. I'd start by opening up the control panel (the one in your photo above).
It's easy. Pull it out of the roof lining panel and disconnect the harness.
At the back you can ease the tabs and slide out the guts.
Inside you'll find two small PCB's mounted at right angles to each other.
These two boards are connected together via a series of solid wire links, each link being soldered into each board.
Check these solder joints. Mine had several dry joints. Once re-soldered the system worked fine.

Before you do this, if you switch to fan (not heat) the fan in the heater box under the van should run and just blow cold air.

P.

 

[Westie82]

Hi Guys,

Well bugger me, for some strange reason it's working now

This time I started the engine and "Switched" the heater on, fan started up and then hot air started to blow in through the vent .

I take it the round dial is for fan speed ? As when I rotate it up and down it seems to change the fan speed from "High" to "low" ?

Well for the moment it's working, maybe something was stuck and it's freed up ?

 

[mrcheesbrough]

That's good news. Next test - will it fire up without the engine running? If it doesn't then it may be your leisure battery has seen better days.

 

[mrcheesbrough]

The dial is more likely a thermostat. The heater will increase the heated air it circulates by increasing the speed of the fan. Once it's reached the temperature you set it should reduce it's speed automatically.

 

[Westie82]

 

[Westie82]

ignore the attached image on my last post, can't seem to edit my posts ?

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Yep. Only one vent is used for the parking heater - the one behind the driver (left side). The other is used for secondary passenger heating which only works when the engine runs as it uses the engine coolant to heat. This has a button on the dashboard to activate. I'm not sure it was on earlier vans but you may find a button/switch on the dash with a symbol similar to the one pictured above (without a fan on it though).

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

It's a thermostat. Fan speed should be pretty constant, the heater just reduces the amount of fuel it burns to 25% when it reaches the set temperature.

What voltage do you have on the leisure batteries (you can view it on the main controller - press the battery button). With the engine running it will be 14.3, maybe 14.4v. Without the engine running, what do you see?

Early vans can have the rear driving heater (the vent on the passenger side). There's a 3 position switch on the dash for it.

dan

 

[sidepod]

It's a thermostat. Fan speed should be pretty constant, the heater just reduces the amount of fuel it burns to 25% when it reaches the set temperature. What voltage do you have on the leisure batteries (you can view it on the main controller - press the battery button). With the engine running it will be 14.3, maybe 14.4v. Without the engine running, what do you see? Early vans can have the rear driving heater (the vent on the passenger side). There's a 3 position switch on the dash for it. dan

 

[Westie82]

It's a thermostat. Fan speed should be pretty constant, the heater just reduces the amount of fuel it burns to 25% when it reaches the set temperature.

What voltage do you have on the leisure batteries (you can view it on the main controller - press the battery button). With the engine running it will be 14.3, maybe 14.4v. Without the engine running, what do you see?

Early vans can have the rear driving heater (the vent on the passenger side). There's a 3 position switch on the dash for it.

dan

Just nipped out to the van, LCD displaying no voltage and battery Icon is blinking on and off, so guessing this is saying my leisure battery has no charge in it ? (See photo)

When Engine is running Voltage display is 13.9v

 

[mrcheesbrough]

That sounds like it could be your problem. If it's as cold as it has been around us a weak leisure battery will usually show it's colours. A garage should be able to check the actual condition of the battery if you can give them access to the compartment under the wardrobe. Also, if you've a hook up cable it may be worth trying to start up the heater using that rather than running the engine - just as a way of eliminating any other potential electrical supply issues. You may need to get an adapter to use it on a household 3-pin socket but that's always useful to have so you can fully charge your leisure battery.