Help troubleshooting Espar issue?

[mikemikemike]

Originally Posted by AndrewInSeattle

The fact that the behavior of the control panels changed when futzing with the Refer fuse suggests a more general electrical problem than an Espar problem. Are your other systems working smoothly? Is your battery holding its charge? 13.3V right after unplugging from shore power doesn't mean much, it could just be residual surface voltage. What's it like a couple hours after unplugging (and in the dark, if you have solar hooked up)?

As a total stab in the dark, what's the status of your "H2O" breaker in the circuit breaker panel? That should be OFF, always, except for the rare occasions when you're camping and plugged in and want constant heat.

I agree with you that it feels like it's electrical. Not sure if the intermittency argues for or against this.

All other systems (lights, refrigerator, radio powered by extra battery) seem to work fine. Battery seems to hold its charge but I have not really put that to any test.
TO DO: observe battery charge unplugged at night.

H20 Breaker is off, yes. I'm careful about this. Have not been able to get the heat to work on 110 shore power, I don't think ever...

[mikemikemike]

Originally Posted by arctictraveller

Have you tried calling Rixen?

TO DO: Talk with SMB West.
TO DO: Call Rixen

[mikemikemike]

Originally Posted by Fremebe

There is a fuse that is located under the van near the heater. If you pull the fuse out for a few seconds and put it back in it can reset the system.

There are two fuses on the inside of the van. In my van one is marked D5 and the other alt 5. In my van both were connected to the espar control panel. I replaced the fuse as well as check both of those with the voltmeter to make sure they were working properly.

Jim also had me take a voltmeter to the control panel itself testing the yellow wire. Additionally I checked the wires coming out of the altimeter and down to the floor.

So far all of my issues were due to incorrect wiring at the beginning install. The altimeter wires were crossed and the coder was set up improperly. I am still working with Jim to resolve the current issue. I plan on taking it up to Oregon this year hoping that once he inspects the entire system it will work properly.

Regarding the coder

The coder, with the blue and red arrow is simply to read codes. It is not connected by SMW to do anything else.

If you hold the blue button down, and while holding the blue button down insert a paperclip to the small hole to the right and then release the paperclip while still holding the blue button.

It will begin cycling through and you'll see words such as firmware maintenance. Release the blue button and eventually you'll see it say read diagnosis codes. Hit the red button for yes and it will read codes to tell you what is wrong with the heater. You can provide that information to SMW or Jim.

Hopefully any of the information helps. Also would love to hear from anyone who has had a good experience with the espar heater… It'll give me hope that maybe I can get there someday.

I have tried to put the coder into diagnostic mode while the system is (trying to) run. It is unresponsive. The display is blank, all the time. I seem to remember it giving some messages from time to time.

I don't know what fuse you are referring to under the van. Resetting the system sounds like something worth trying - would I be at risk of losing important settings by doing so?

TO DO: acquire better voltmeter (mine is cheap and doesn't seem reliable thus far)
TO DO: Check wires as you describe, although I have no idea what I'd be checking for so would like to do this under the direction of Rixen if possible.

[mikemikemike]

Originally Posted by AndrewInSeattle

Ugh, that sucks. Good information on the fuses though, thanks.



Overall, our experience is good. The espar has made it possible to do cold-weather camping, especially to get an early start at ski areas. And we reliably get hot water for washing up and doing the dishes, although if we were to redesign from scratch, we'd make sure the espar and the sink were closer to each other, because we lose a lot of water just running the faucet until the hot water completes its journey across the van.

There have been challenges, of course. The first serious test in winter failed due to problems with ice clogging the exhaust pipe. And after about 1.5 years of use, we brought it to Rixen's for a check-up, where they discovered way too much build-up, and determined the altimeter wasn't working. Turns out Rixen had a run of faulty wiring harnesses for a couple months in 2017, but no way to track down who got them. They replaced it and cleaned up the build-up at no charge.

I do wish it smelled less, particularly at start-up. Most likely, I just need to run it a little longer more often to burn off the crud.

I do check the exhaust from time to time, and probably every time I run it. No clogs now.

I try to run mine for 20 solid minutes on full blast at the end of every time I use it for this reason.

TO DO: examine possibility of faulty wiring harness (my van was build somewhere around that timeline).

[mikemikemike]

Originally Posted by parisdakar

Even with the knowledge of those installs, we still had issues with the Espar in my van. It worked sometimes, but not always. It would fire up - or sound like it fired up - but then the furnace wouldn't kick on. It would flash codes that didn't make sense. The circulation pump didn't seem to push the glycol efficiently through the system. Then the small inline diesel pump went south, twice. Many calls were made to Rixen, parts were swapped out, etc. They were helpful with trouble shooting, I must say.

Ultimately, a few actions 'seemed' to make a difference. I say 'seemed', because it's still not clear what solved the issue(s), but they did clear up.

Here is what we did: First, we installed a larger pump to circulate the glycol. It pushes more volume than the one SMB uses, and the one Rixen normally recommends for vans. Our heating system components don't cover more than one sq. meter (we're just blowing the hot air out into the van interior via two big fans than are located maybe 50 cm from the circ. pump - glycol is not going through ducting around the van interior/exterior and covering some great distance). In any case, the pump that pushes more volume (and makes more noise, I will add), helped out.

The other thing that seemed to help with the Espar unit not gunking up anymore (so far, anyway) is using Cetane Boost in the van's diesel fuel. Once I started using cetane additive, issues stopped with the actual Espar furnace that burns the diesel.

I don't know if this helps, as my build isn't an SMB installed Espar system. You watch; tomorrow I'll try to turn on my Espar and it'll be all siezed up!


bryon

Yes, the intermittency is part of what's so hard to even figure out where to start with!

TO DO: Get some Cetane Boost. I know that is recommended.

[mikemikemike]

Thanks again, all, for your attention and suggestions. I'll keep plowing away at this, and/or shivering

[mikemikemike]

Resolved, I hope. Getting in touch with Rixen was indeed key, and should have been the first thing I did. I guarantee I never would have been able to figure this out on my own - involving multiple calls, crawling around under the vehicle, purchasing and using a multi-meter, and ultimately cutting and splicing wires within the controller to bypass some sensor in the heater. Mike at Rixen was patient and efficient. Hopefully I will be warm tonight...

Again, thanks for all the replies!

[eddyturn]

MMM - that is great news! Hope that does the trick.

[Bellpilot]

Just a thought. I had the same issue and found corrosion on one of the wires in the plug under the van going to the heating unit. I just cleaned it up and it fired right up.

[Bellpilot]

Awesome on finding the issue!