Diesel Heater Advice

[DefinitelyMe]

Well that was nice. We had heating for two days before it stopped working. Error code #10, which corresponds to 'failed normal startup'. It struggles to ignite. On the occasions that it does ignite the fuel pump immediately stops pumping, the flame runs out of fuel and it dies again.........

Fuel system is primed. Any other ideas? I'm hoping it isn't a faulty part but it does seem that way.

[Atcowboy]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Well that was nice. We had heating for two days before it stopped working. Error code #10, which corresponds to 'failed normal startup'. It struggles to ignite. On the occasions that it does ignite the fuel pump immediately stops pumping, the flame runs out of fuel and it dies again.........

Fuel system is primed. Any other ideas? I'm hoping it isn't a faulty part but it does seem that way.

Have you watched through the series created by the Australian and posted earlier in the thread? It was very informative.

I think it could help with your problems. The issue you describe sounds like it could by fuel type, fuel supply, fuel line, fuel filtration, pump orientation, combustion air intake restriction, exhaust restriction...

- AT

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by Atcowboy

Have you watched through the series created by the Australian and posted earlier in the thread? It was very informative.

I think it could help with your problems. The issue you describe sounds like it could by fuel type, fuel supply, fuel line, fuel filtration, pump orientation, combustion air intake restriction, exhaust restriction...

- AT

Yes, I've watched almost all of them now. Pretty sure it's not fuel. Fuel supply is clean. No bubbles other than the 'normal' cavitation bubbles. No restrictions in air intake. Can't really see how there would be in the exhaust since it was only installed two days ago. Removed drainage loop and no liquids in there. Can't believe it would have coked up after only 5 hours total run time. Guess I'll have to take the whole damned thing out again and take it apart.

[longjonsilver]

Here it is again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvwm...ature=emb_logo

enjoy

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by longjonsilver

Here it is again:

enjoy

Yup, a great series of videos. Unfortunately there's nothing I've seen so far (now on episode 14) which describes what's happening with our new heater. And I was so happy (and warm!) yesterday............

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Yes, I've watched almost all of them now. Pretty sure it's not fuel. Fuel supply is clean. No bubbles other than the 'normal' cavitation bubbles. No restrictions in air intake. Can't really see how there would be in the exhaust since it was only installed two days ago. Removed drainage loop and no liquids in there. Can't believe it would have coked up after only 5 hours total run time. Guess I'll have to take the whole damned thing out again and take it apart.

Ok it does try to start . Then shuts off .
Does it make any unexpected new noises ?
Have you unplugged it ( removed the inside fuse for a couple minutes then tried a restart?
If not did resetting the electronics fix the issue? .
What type of thermostat do you have ?

If all else fails it is likely the flame sensor ( whatever type you have in your unit )

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Ok it does try to start . Then shuts off .
Does it make any unexpected new noises ?
Have you unplugged it ( removed the inside fuse for a couple minutes then tried a restart?
If not did resetting the electronics fix the issue? .
What type of thermostat do you have ?

If all else fails it is likely the flame sensor ( whatever type you have in your unit )

Yes it tries to start. Sometimes it succeeds, but as soon as it lights the fuel pump stops and you can hear the burner getting quieter until it runs out of fuel. Then the pump starts up again and the cycle continues until it gives up at displays 'E10'.

Yes to new sounds. Kind of a popping in the late stages, which I'm guessing is because it gets a bit warm in there and the fuel in the chamber starts igniting more violently, though it doesn't stay lit.

Yes I've tried shutting off the power at the breaker panel, thus re-setting the unit. No change.

Thermostat is in the control panel I believe. It's one of the digital 'full function' panels.

Any ideas? If it has been in for longer I'd suspect a blockage, but it seems pretty unlikely given that it's only run for 5 hours and was fine yesterday. Nevertheless my next move will be to uninstall it, open it up and take a look inside. Unless someone can help with any golden advice?

[Windpilot]

E10 - One or more of the above error codes and the unit has been restarted a number of times without success. ... E08 lack of fuel may need to be restarted a number of times to refill fuel lines. You need to check fuel filter is FULL with NO air lock. After a few failed attempts the heater should ignite and clear errors.

Just googled the code e10, I didn't know what it meant. Are you sure you're getting fuel??
Before you tear into it.

[250224]

A shot in the dark:
Is the diesel ok? You said it looks ok, but... for me one time several years ago I thought diesel would be ok, but then there was water in it There were some randomly seeming shutdowns (don't remember Error code) and and after hours trying in vain I noticed the water and once this (the lowest layer) had been removed in the tank after the second restart the heater worked again as smooth as always.

[Windpilot]

And read this thread, a few videos there also to give you ideas.

"Diesel Heater E-10 error - Caravaners Forum - Since 2000" https://www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=81768

[DefinitelyMe]

Thanks everyone. Yes I'm sure the fuel is ok. I'm using an opaque tank and can see that there's no water layer. Diesel quality here is generally pretty good.

No air locks at all in the fuel line, however:

There was an airlock. The fuel line between the pump and the unit was in an 's' shape with a very slight down-turn. A bubble had formed in that section. The first thing I did when the heater failed this morning was to fix that, remove any down-turns at all in the fuel line and manually re-prime the system to remove any and all bubbles (except for the tiny cavitation bubbles produced by the pump itself). No change, but is it possible that the bubble's shock-absorbing properties (episode 12 of the series linked above) caused the fuel delivery to be so bad that it coked up in just 5 hours of run time?

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by Windpilot

And read this thread, a few videos there also to give you ideas.

"Diesel Heater E-10 error - Caravaners Forum - Since 2000" https://www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=81768

Thanks very much. It'll make great reading with coffee tomorrow morning.

[DefinitelyMe]

Is there a way to test the flame sensor? Can I stick a lighter under it and test resistance or something?

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by Windpilot

And read this thread, a few videos there also to give you ideas.

"Diesel Heater E-10 error - Caravaners Forum - Since 2000" https://www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=81768

Unfortunately nothing additional in those threads. Only videos I could find links to are the same ones linked above. Unlike his installation I do have a fuel filter, my pump does work (when it's activated) and it does ignite occasionally. It just goes out again afterwards.

[DefinitelyMe]

Update: we had a nasty storm here a few days ago so I got side-tracked dealing with that. Finally worked up the motivation to remove the heater today, gathered my tools, crawled into the aft lazarette and started it up one last time. It's running perfectly. No flame-out, no back-firing, no fuel pump cutting out. Perfect. So leaving it to rest for a week has fixed it. For now. Any ideas?