Eberspächer B2l - Trying to get it working again

[irishkeet]

Hello

I know there is a couple of Eberspächer threads running but I didn't want to hijack anyone's....

The eber in my 81 westy is only blowing cold air only so I figured its worth trying to fix before thinking of alternatives.

Thanks to Oldiebut goodie for sending the manuals & troubleshooting guide. I got started today. I have tested the fuel pump which is working as it should, unable to remove filter as its seized so its been sprayed with penetrating oil and will be removed & cleaned.

Eber starts up and runs for approx 30secs then stops no firing happening I have now removed it from the van and opened the case up. Big thanks to irishdavid for his guide & California Dreamin for the excellent photos diagram.

Main causes by Oldiebut goodie:

Undervoltage - will this apply with the van on hookup?
Glow plug defunct - ?
Overheat switches open circuit - switches to be replaced as per irishdavid's guide
Blocked inlet/outlet ducts - clear
Poor solder connections/spade terminal connections on pcb in heater - good

I removed the glow plug (photo below) can anyone tell me how to test it please? I tested resistance from both spade connectors.



thanks, I ran out of daylight for today, plus I need to order replacement switches.
irishkeet

[Oldiebut goodie]

Undervoltage can still occur due to poor connections/underrated wiring.
Glow plug should be low ohms 2-4 on one side (Coil) and open circuit on the spark side.
Have you checked continuity on all three thermal cutout switches?

[irishkeet]

Undervoltage can still occur due to poor connections/underrated wiring.
Glow plug should be low ohms 2-4 on one side (Coil) and open circuit on the spark side.
Have you checked continuity on all three thermal cutout switches?

Thanks Oldiebut goodie, I have ordered new switches, when I install I will test and clean connectors. Will stick the charger on the leisure battery today so its in top condition for the next time I fire up the heater. Would it be better to have the hook up connected too?

[Oldiebut goodie]

You shouldn't need hook up as long as your battery is good.

[irishkeet]

You shouldn't need hook up as long as your battery is good.

cheers, I was just thinking of using the hookup to make sure I have the heater working, after this I will disconnect and test on the leisure battery.

[irishkeet]

inside of the casing & heater looks in good nick, as does the outside casing. Im guessing the outside was once sprayed orange? I will give the casing a good clean and spray before I pop it back, thats if it works.

[danmetallic]

Nice write up irishkeet! I'm in the process of doing the same with my B2L. Replaced my exhaust last week, will replace everything else hopefully next week. Always worth starter the Eber with the engine running if you want to ensure sufficient voltage. Will watch thread with interest.

[irishkeet]

Nice write up irishkeet! I'm in the process of doing the same with my B2L. Replaced my exhaust last week, will replace everything else hopefully next week. Always worth starter the Eber with the engine running if you want to ensure sufficient voltage. Will watch thread with interest.

Cheers danmetallic, I just did an eberspacher search in the archive and read through all the posts that I thought would help, a old post from Popeye-Doyle has given me hope
http://archive.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic ... er#p231522

[irishkeet]

well the switches arrived but the spade connectors point up and not to the side as they do on the original heater.
I followed irishdavid's guide, would it be a case of just bending them to install?



any advice much appreciated

[irish.david]

Yep, they'll be fine if you bend them.

[irish.david]

The best way to check the spark/glow plug is to connect it all up and fire up the eber with the plug outside the eber so you can get a good look at it. Before you do this though you'll need to make sure that there is absolutely no chance of it coming into contact with any fuel. Safest way to do this is to disconnect one of the terminals on the clicking fuel pump underneath and just having a good check to make sure that there's nothing flammable in the area.

Next thing to check is that all the terminals are connected correctly on the plug. If i remember correctly one of the spade connectors is the ground for the glow plug and the spark plug parts so if that's not connected then nothing will work. You can verify which one it is by either measuring the resistance between the spade connectors and the van chassis and only one of them should have a low resistance (should be pretty much 0). The other way is to fire up the eber briefly while measuring the voltage on the both spade connectors and the if meter says +12v then the connector attached to the 'COM' plug on the meter is the ground. If the meter says -12v then the one connected to the 'V+' connector is the ground.

After you've connected the ground, the glow plug connector (other spade connector) and the connector for the spark plug then either grip the plug lead with a set of insulated pliers (or just leave it hanging if it's in a safe place and you can see it) and switch the eber on. You should see the coil inside the plug start to glow red and then after a short delay you should see sparks between the tip of the electrode and the body of the plug. If you get both of those things then it's probably not the plug.

Dave

[irishkeet]

many thanks irish.david, I tested the plug and it glows red hot so thats a few quid saved I have changed the Safety thermal cut-out switch & temp switch but I am not confused over the heating coil switch , According to the repair instructions below...


My Westy is petrol and I assume my early eberspacher is a B2L.....Yet I cant see this switch on my heater or anywhere it would be mounted





any thoughts....?

[irish.david]

I don't have all the documents on hand at the moment but i'm pretty sure it's referring to the thermal switch on top of the combustion chamber. It's the thermal switch that's just above the pipe that the glow/spark plug goes into. The idea is that when the unit starts it runs both the glow plug and the spark plug to ensure that the petrol is in vapour form and doesn't just condense on the walls of the cold combustion chamber. The system keeps the glow plug switched on until it detects that the combustion chamber has got hot enough to make sure the petrol stays as vapour and then switches the glow plug off.

When the system is working properly and you switch the eber on, after about 30 secs you should hear the fan unit suddenly speed up a bit. That is the combustion chamber reaching temperature and the glow plug being switched off. As the glow plug takes such a lot of current to run it causes a voltage drop for the rest of the components on the eber and when it's switched off the voltage returns to normal and the small increase in voltage means the fan motor runs faster. Good way to make sure your switch is working This is also why the D2L's don't have nearly as many problems with undervoltage problems as they don't have the glow plug.

Even is this switch is faulty it wouldn't stop the eber from firing up and would only cause problems by causing a big drain on the battery and the eber tripping on undervoltage after a few minutes. Did you get a blue spark from the glow/spark plug when you tested it?

Dave

[irishkeet]

Hi Dave

Sorry I should have popped up a diagram...as you can see the thermal switch on top of the combustion chamber is No3 I don't have a place for No13 (heating coil switch) and there are no screw holes where it could have been in the past

As for the glowplug I connected it to a 12v battery and it glows, can I leave it a but longer and see if it sparks? ATM the heater is in bits on my work bench

[Oldiebut goodie]

Keith
I can't see a spark generator on yours - have you removed it? If not yours is most probably a D2L and not a B2L!
Also explains why you can't find the switch as it is B2L specific.
Unless they did away with the spark ignition at some point - but I have never seen any mention of that.