T4 Night Heater 'problems'...?

[bxl_lad]

Hi,
(I did warn there would be questions...)
Had our first outing with the T4 this weekend and getting to grips with the night heater.
Is it normal that it gives a sort of combination of a knocking a clicking sound continuously?
It seems to function correctly in terms of heating, but the sound seems a little excessive...
Need to gauge whats the 'norm' or know if we should get it checked out...

(on a similar subject, anyone any ideas as to what the consumption of the heater is on average?)

Cheers,
Matt

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

It's normal, it's the type of pumps they use.

Somewhere around 0.25l an hour on full heat.

 

[bxl_lad]

Ok, thanks, so we have to get used to things that go bump (and click) in the night

 

[Tactical]

It's a new sound for you at the moment. In time your brain will mostly edit out the regular ticking noise of the pump and you'll no longer be particularly aware of it.

 

[mrcheesbrough]

Yup. They tick. It might be worth checking the mountings on the dosing pump. They are made of rubber, or at least should be, as this reduces the transmission of sound - a bit. The heater itself should generally only give off the gentle roar of burning diesel and the whoosh of the blower pushing the heat into your camper. The volume of this depends on how active the heater has to be as it adjusts its output. I imagine it was pretty busy this weekend as it's suddenly rather cold.

 

[bxl_lad]

But as well as the ticking, there's also a dull knocking noise (I will check the mounts...)
It works though, was 3-4 degrees this weekend on the French coast and we were a toasty 21-22 inside
Just wanted to be sure the noises are not an impending failure in the making...
Cheers!

 

[Tactical]

But as well as the ticking, there's also a dull knocking noise

The 'ticking' as some of have called it, is the dull knocking noise'. It's a regular 'clunk' (if you want another word).

 

[mrcheesbrough]

They certainly produce some unusual sounds if you've never experienced them before. It's probably worth pointing out that they are completely serviceable too and that if you have an Eberspacher specialist nearby, and the funds to do so, it might be worth getting it thoroughly checked and serviced.

Although these heaters are fitted to various vans, trucks, boats etc. and are easily available to purchase and replace, the one used by VW has a different spec to the 'off the shelf' versions. You can end up paying a pretty penny for them too - that's personal experience talking.

 

[bxl_lad]

Thanks folks! Will look into getting it serviced, no idea when it was last done, so wouldn't do any harm...

 

[sidepod]

They certainly produce some unusual sounds if you've never experienced them before. It's probably worth pointing out that they are completely serviceable too and that if you have an Eberspacher specialist nearby, and the funds to do so, it might be worth getting it thoroughly checked and serviced.

Although these heaters are fitted to various vans, trucks, boats etc. and are easily available to purchase and replace, the one used by VW has a different spec to the 'off the shelf' versions. You can end up paying a pretty penny for them too - that's personal experience talking.

To a point. The control module that sits inside the interior cowling behind the drivers seat is obsolete. If it packs up (and they do) you're screwed. I had a leaky side window (above the sink unit). The water dripped down inside and eventually corroded and knackered the control module. I got lucky and found a van being broken. Luckily the module was intact.

Regarding fuel usage of the heater, bear in mind it has a tapping on the main fuel tank about a quarter of the way up. The reason being, you can't drain your main tank overnight. It does however mean you need to make sure you have enough fuel in the tank to run the heater.

I also had a problem with my switch/stat control unit (above the sink). There are two pcb's inside and the soldered joints failed. Easy fix but it took some finding.

The pump should only be a slight ticking. Your "dull knocking noise" sounds unusual. As stated above, I'd check the rubber cradle it sits in.

P.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

The control module that sits inside the interior cowling behind the drivers seat is obsolete

Is that true for late vans? It is the case for early vans which have the D2L (of B2L) heater.

Later vans have the D3LP and look self contained to me, very similar to the Airtronic D2.

https://www.partsbase.org/vw/transp...9-auxiliary-heater-fan-fuel-pump-heater-unit/

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Just to prove myself wrong, they do have an external control module, it's located in the cold air intake (17).

https://www.partsbase.org/vw/transporter-tr-eu-2000-26132-auxiliary-heater-air-guide/

 

[mrcheesbrough]

I guess mounting the module in the ducting goes some way to reducing the risk of moisture damage. Which is all well and good as long as you don't overconfidently follow a tractor through a deep flood as I did. A costly lesson, but one well learnt. Having replaced our heater it gets fired up regularly regardless of the weather just to make sure it's all functioning as it should.

 

[MattBW]

Pretty sure these pumps (at least on my old eber) can "pump" a few hundred times when priming and starting up for the first time. That's a lot of clicking. I seem to recall they also can fire around 5 times a second when just running.

 

[WelshGas]

They also should be fired up on a monthly basis, from what I've been told, to clear the cobwebs out, and run for about ban hour to fully warm up, to increase longevity.

 

[sidepod]

Pretty sure these pumps (at least on my old eber) can "pump" a few hundred times when priming and starting up for the first time. That's a lot of clicking. I seem to recall they also can fire around 5 times a second when just running.

About 1/second.