eberpacher fault code reader

[geoff]

I have an eberspacher 3dl which has given good service for 20years. It has just decided that its had enough. Just a 20 second fan run then shutdown without the fuel pump click/click that I remember . Voltage seems ok. Does anybody know if a cheap generic automotive fault reader will diagnose the faults , the dedicated unit is very pricey . Geoff

[Yngmar]

No, it's not an OBD system, if that's what you mean by "generic automotive fault reader".

If you want to troubleshoot the Eber heater, here is all the information you need: https://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/eberspacher_intro_1.html

A 20 year old Eber is unlikely to be worth repairing, when you can just do a drop-in replacement with a chinese heater for around 100-150 EUR. You won't get many Eber parts for that money. You already have the ducting and the exhaust fitting. It's what we did and are very pleased with it.

[dgmultimedia]

if you want a better quality unit than the Chinese ones ( which may only last a couple of seasons ) go to https://planarheaters.co.uk

[HappyAfloat]

if you want a better quality unit than the Chinese ones ( which may only last a couple of seasons ) go to https://planarheaters.co.uk

Could you post some statistics to back up your claim?

[JEN-et-ROSS]

Could you post some statistics to back up your claim?

Frankly I don't think there will be any published data on the performance of Chinese or Russian Copies and if there is it'll be extremely subjective...
But, having said that, I'll be similarly subjective and state that I am aware a few Chinese Copies that have been retrofitted in place of a worn-out Eber.
and they appear to give excellent service for many years, also the price makes it a no-brainer..
When our elderly Eber. puffs its last, its replacement will speak Mandarin..........Bill.

[geoff]

Having established that the eberpacher fault was not an easy [cheap] fix, I have just fitted an Ebay £82 lookalike . The thing fits on the same base and connects the same way. The only mini gripe was when I cut my finger on a sharp edge on the exhaust hose OUCH. Works very well and is quieter than the old . Good result thanks Yngmar  [but I do quite like your alternative engine name] Geoff

[Salty]

Yesterday aboard a friends boat, we had changed the engine fuel filters last weekend, and had tried to re-start his his Webasto, but without any success. The heater control panel had a flashing light on it which was flashing a particular error code sequence which didn’t mean anything to us. We had tried several times to get it started, but without success. It seemed when we got to his boat yesterday that the fuel pump for the heater was not working, and voltage on the heater system seemed low despite that the domestic and engine start batteries were all well charged.

I crawled through to the lazarette where the heater was fitted, and disconnected the heater power supply, it was a simple plug in arrangement, measured the voltage with an AVO meter, but here too it seemed a bit on the low side. So having measured the voltage there, I plugged the still live power supply cable back together, and in disconnecting and the reconnecting the power supply without actually switching the power supply to the machine off, it seems I had inadvertantly wiped whatever error code that had previously prevented the heater from starting. The heater immediately started its pre-heating run up, (causing me to make a rapid retreat from the lazarette because I didn't know at that point what was going to happen next and didn't want to be anywhere near it when it did) !!

Anyway, the next thing that happened was that the fuel pump suddenly started ticking where clearing that fault code allowed the pump to start working again. Whilst the machine didnt actually fire up that time, the fault code that had stopped it didn't reappear. Two more attempts to start the machine from the control panel and it then fired up and we had warmth again. So maybe unplugging the 12 volt power supply while it is still live is sufficient to at least temporarily wipe out an error code that is otherwise stopping the heater from running !! 

Give it a go, it might work for you too !!