Eberspacher - heat output

[fjj1]

Hi,

I recently got an Eberspacher fitted to my Bongo (new Eberspacher, petrol version fitted by a registered dealer).

It seems to work ok, I've had a few instances of it giving errors in high winds (I think the wind is blowing up the exhaust and extinguishing the flame) and it doesn't seem to like being on whilst the engine is running (tried this on an icy morning to heat the car whilst demisting the windscreen).

My main question for other owners is this: Does your Eberpacher output cycle from hot to cold regularly? I.e. when I put mine on it fires up and gets hot, blows hot air for a while then the air transitions to cool, it then seems to spool up again to hot and then cycle cold and so on. I was under the impression that the heat was varied by lengthening the drips of fuel onto the evaporator, i.e. lots of drops per minute for full heat, and fewer for a lower heat etc.

It is fitted with the new smart controller (LCD panel with 7 day timer and rotary control knob).

Thanks,
Fraser

[jimmo62]

They normally cycle between 4 heat levels so you will get full power on startup then it will drop to a lower level and eventually go into standby and then back up to power as the temp drops. Different heat levels also have different fan speeds.

If you have a smart controller it will use a thermostat to monitor the internal air temp to work out when to switch between levels. If you have a simple controller it uses the air temp at the intake so needs to draw air in from the inside of the van or it will be on full all the time. Depends which model controller you have.

Should be fine with the engine running and should not blow out in high winds so I'd get back to the dealer for investigation - your controller may be able to display diagnostics codes or the dealer should have a diagnostic cable/reader

[fjj1]

Thanks, it is the smart controller and does read error codes etc. which is why I knew it had blown out (flame failure). They did rest the exhaust a bit, so I'll see how I fare in winds now.

I think the fuel feed comes from the fuel return, i'm not sure if the flow of fuel down that pipe is maybe starving the pump of fuel which causes an issue when the engine is running, not a huge issue I suppose as I'm not likely to want it running with the engine on that often.