Van heater

[rallyevo3]

it's in great condition, I'm really pleased... one thing it has a Webasto Air Top 2000in the back, does anyone know how to work it?

[MrMPuk]

What is it a compressor?

[rallyevo3]

no it's a cab heater that runs off diesel......

[stevew]

Welcome.
Which controler do you have?
See here for examples: http://www.webasto-marine.com/v_products/pr_controls_en.php?prod_id=-1
Any of those, or just the reostat? (a plain rotary control)
Steve

[rallyevo3]

There is a reostast on the dash..... a button to the right of it that if you push it a relay chatters beind the seat... there is also what looks like a timer beind the seat.....

[madmark]

all these lucky people getting these vans with night heaters in them! a night heater is expencive the last one i bourt was over £500 and that was a good 10 yr ago!
do your self a favour if the arches are in good nick with no rust then get a pot of greese on them in this wether, the salt will kill them unless you wash it every day! i have just got a v reg and my arches are all ready on the way!

[stevew]

Rallyevo3:
Sounds like you've just got the simple hotter/colder control. What does the timer look like behind the seat? The heater will have some sort of control box with it but this is all automatic and not for user control. What do you mean by chattering? If the relay keeps clicking then it sounds like there's not enough voltage getting to it. The heater requires a large current (20A) to start as it has a glow plug in it. If you have a dodgy connection or too thinner wire the voltage at the heater will drop when it tries to start causing the relay to turn back off. Try it with the engine running as you then have a slightly higher voltage. Of course I don't actually have a Webasto heater but I have an Eberspacher and they're supposed to be very similar. Eberspacher provide all their manuals for download but I can't find any for Webasto.

Mark:
What do you mean by grease? Actually grease or is this some slang term for underseal?
Steve

[madmark]

steve any form of stuff that stops rust ,waxoil will do or normal grease out of a grease gun etc or wd40 will help, i spray wd40 all over the mk1 to keep it at bay!

[rallyevo3]

There is a dial on the dash... reostat.... then a red non-locking push switch to the right.. when you turn the dial.. nothing.. when you have dial in off position and push button a relay behind the seat pulls in and drops out when you release the button.. if the dial is turned on and you press the button the relay goes mad until the button is released... the timer behing the seat has a dial that goes from 2 to 60 mins.. Ian

[stevew]

Hmmm, well ok it's nothing like my Eberspacher then
My guess would be that you set the temperature on the dial and then press the button. The heater then comes on for the time set on the timer. This way you can't leave it on accidently. With the relay continuously switching I would suspect a dodgy connection somewhere. It will still need a large current to start it and should have some chunky wires straight to the battery. Just check all the connections between the heater and the battery.
Steve

[rallyevo3]

We will have to stop this Steve people will talk

There are two massive cable as you thought one to earth and one through a massive fuse direct to the battery... can't see any fuses gone anywhere I have found the service manual on the web (60 pages) and it looks like there are so many fail safe devices that it's just a matter of finding which one isn't happy.... Thanks for all the very useful and detailed replies... about to raise a new post about my latest challenge...

Ian

[rallyevo3]

Latest on the Webasto Air Top 2000... It has an Eltimer model TB822 that times 2 - 60mins... When I test the input accross terminals A1 & A2 I get 13v... when I test the output accross terminals 18 & 26 I get 6v... my guess is the Eltimer is knac***ed... has anyone got one to confirm? do you think I would be ok to bridge it out.. I did bridge it temporary and the heater fired up..

[stevew]

Yes I would think you can as the timer was probably an option. You'd have to be a bit careful though. I have spent a few hours trying to get my Eberspacher running today with no luck but at least I have ruled out a few things. Looking further into it it seems that if the Eberspacher control unit tries to start and fails 20 times then it becomes locked and requires a special device to unlock it that is so expensive only dealers have it
Steve

[rallyevo3]

Steve
By our comms I can tell you are smart enough to have looked at all of this but... look at this http://www.narrowboatworld.com/NBW__z-Eberspacher.htm it suggests dropping the power supply may reset.. otherwise a reset gadget is 200 notes

Ian

[madmark]

steve you might find the glowplug is fallty! so it wont fire up!