Club 80-90 Forums

Hi Eberspachers experts.

I'm looking for a bit of help getting my Eberspacher working reliably. Its a D2L model factory fitted to a 1989 Westy.

The symptoms:
I turn on the heater and the fan runs for 30 seconds then the fuel pump starts ticking. It runs and smokes a bit, roughly 3mins 20 secs or so and then turns off automatically. No hot air. It's been doing this for a while, the last time it worked properly was perhaps 2 years ago. Needless to say it wasn't getting monthly use.

I've stripped the unit off the van and replaced the temperature switches as per the wiki. When refitted the symptoms were as before, turns off itself after about 3 and a bit minutes. The troubleshooting guide suggests it may then be the fuel pump not delivering enough fuel so I followed the guide to measure fuel rate. It's delivering about 7.5 to 8 ml at 11.2 volts which is near the bottom of the allowable range but should be OK.

As I was testing the fuel delivery the unit was running for a couple of minutes with the fuel disconnected but the glow plug still operating. It was smoking a bit as it burnt off the remaining fuel inside the chamber and after 2 or 3 of minutes running I refitted the fuel supply. At this point it fired right up and started to kick out some proper heat, with the fan running at what sounded like top speed. It was also throwing out a LOT of grey smoke. I let it run about 10 minutes to see if the smoke would reduce but it didn't so turned off.

So, does anyone have any idea what is going on?

Should I just let it run long enough to clear the smoke? Should I try paraffin for a clear out? Should I change the glow plug? I haven't opened up the combustion chamber to see how dirty it is.

I suspect the glow plug may be on its way out, it is rusted into the unit though so removal will be a challenge. The fact that the it turns off and doesn't seem to get hot within the allotted time yet runs when given a chance to really heat up before fuel is added would suggest that the glow plug is maybe working but not getting hot enough?

I'd be glad for any suggestions!
 

IIRC it has a mesh cage around the the glow plug. This cage suffers from carbon building up and restricting the glow plug from burning correctly. Remove the glow plug and cage. Clean the cage (or replace if necessary) with a soft wire brush removing the carbon and try activating the heater again.

Like this. I cannot find the D2L one though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223870644623 ... %3A2334524

You need to speak to OBG , he is the ebber guru around here …… he will be along soon enough ….. 

Just in case OP is not familiar with your initialism Mocki...OBG is Oldiebut goodie

 by maxstu » Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:45 pm
IIRC it has a mesh cage around the the glow plug. This cage suffers from carbon building up and restricting the glow plug from burning correctly. Remove the glow plug and cage. Clean the cage (or replace if necessary) with a soft wire brush removing the carbon and try activating the heater again.

^^^^^^^ Don't bother looking as there isn't one!

Check your voltage as it is starting first, 11.2v is a very flat, fooked battery!

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.

Oldiebut goodie, when I measured that 11.2 voltage it was at the silver control unit as I was checking the fuel supply. This was as it was drawings the current for starting, the glow phase from your extract in your post. It dropped to 11.2 and then ticked to 11.19 as the pump was clicking. The van was on hookup so the resting voltage was over 12.5 before I switched on the heater.

Saying that my leisure battery is not in the best condition. I'll try starting the heater with the engine running and see how that affects things.

Cheers.

Next step is to change the filter in the fuel pump, commonly gunged up.

Right, I took the filter out of the pump and gave it a clean / blow through and put it back. The heater fired up on the second attempt. It was a bit smoky while heating up but after the 3 & 1/2 minutes as it ran up the fan speeds and started kicking out heat the smoke reduced and it is now running clear. I gave it 20 minutes running and it steps up and down speed with the thermostat dial. No smoke even when turning it back up.

I'm pretty pleased with this as it seems to be working as it should now. I think I'll order a new filter and replace the existing anyway. I'm replacing the cold air supply duct as well which is totally rotten.

Just got to refit it properly now and test again once the exhaust etc is all connected back up. The fan is making a bit of a whine but I'm not sure if this is because its sitting on a box rather than being fitted properly.

Thanks for your help Oldiebut goodie.

So, I'm back to square one with this now. 

I ordered a fuel filter and while waiting connected everything back up properly. Now with the the new pump filter installed I have the same problem where the heater runs for the 3 1/2 minutes and then cuts out.

Not sure what to do now, the only time it ran was after I have been testing the fuel delivery and had been running the heater without any fuel going into it. My thought is that perhaps this let everything get properly hot before the fuel was added.

I have tried to start the heater quite a few times now. The glow plug definitely gets hot enough to burn your fingers from the outside so I assume it is OK. Fuel supply should be OK now but I haven't remeasured since the new filter.

Where to next?

Took it off again and the combustion chamber is full of unburnt diesel, I can pour it out of the exhaust air intake and fuel pipe. The 100 degree switch is working when tested with a separate heat source and when I measure the temperature near the sensor it gets hot from the glow plug running. Seems there is no proper combustion though.