Fuel Burning Heater (FBH) Not working

The FBH on my 04 TD4 Sport seems to have given up the ghost.

It was working all last winter and was a god send. Today the air from the cab vents is cool at best after the engine is up to temperature and I'm not hearing the spindown noise when I park up. And beleive me, it used to sound like a whale moaning and groaning.

Also, I've heard some rather perculier noises coming from the area where it is situated... Perhaps the sensor has packed in? Noises where like a really loud buzzing noise that vibrated throughout the whole car...

Also of note is that I recently had a turbo pipe replaced, is there a possibility that the garage has disconnected the sensor by accident?

Can anybody give any advice on what I need to check for etc? Can I short any pins somewhere to make it fire up manually?

Apparantly I need to take the bumper off to get to the sensor?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

OK, following up on my own post

Reading this thread http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/freelander-fbh-webasto-37166-5.html tells me "If you apply +ve 12v to pin 3. the FBH will fire up as this is the feed in from what would have been the timer switch if you had had one fitted."

If the heater still fires up then it looks like Maplin do a garage door kit that runs off 12v. This looks pretty suitable as a rempote for the heater. I might just have a bash at fitting this when I can work out whats wrong with the FBH. Single Channel Wireless Remote Control Kit : RF Modules : Maplin Electronics

I looked into the remote kits recently and they were stupid money.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/freelander-fbh-webasto-37166-5.html

The fbh will not affect the efficiency of your heater once the engine is up to temp - I would check for airlocks.

Basics to check before any dismantling or searching for sensors:

Plenty fuel in tank - fbh will not start if fuel is low.
Burner/nozzle clean - dose the fuel with a bottle of injector cleaner.
Check for air-locks - have you changed anti-freeze for example - open bleed screw to check.

I have a timer fitted with the possibility to fire it up anytime, so I turn it on about once a month to keep it active in the summer months.

Check Webasto for details of switches / timers etc. They do sometimes come up on eBay.

Singvogel said:

The fbh will not affect the efficiency of your heater once the engine is up to temp - I would check for airlocks.

Basics to check before any dismantling or searching for sensors:

Plenty fuel in tank - fbh will not start if fuel is low.
Burner/nozzle clean - dose the fuel with a bottle of injector cleaner.
Check for air-locks - have you changed anti-freeze for example - open bleed screw to check.

I have a timer fitted with the possibility to fire it up anytime, so I turn it on about once a month to keep it active in the summer months.

Check Webasto for details of switches / timers etc. They do sometimes come up on eBay.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I hadnt thought about airlocks. I have just had the car serviced recently... Perhaps they changed the coolant? I will ask them.

Bloody hell!

The coolant expansion tank is empty!

Mmmmm.

If there are no signs of leaks, this points to the system having being refilled in a hurry / or not bled properly.

I changed my antifreeze last week.

I filled to mid-way between the min & max levels.

When I started up and left it on idle with the heater set to max, the level fell to below the min mark. I topped up again and opened the bleed screw. I then had to top up again. Took me about 25 mins to get a steady level, and see the return flow to the tank free of any little bubbles.

Be careful to only slacken the bleed screw 1 turn. You can use a 1p coin, no need for a screw-driver. Don't take it all the way out as they are slippery little rascals that tend to jump out of your fingers and disappear down the back of the engine, never to be seen again.

Good luck that you've caught it, hopefully in time, before any over-heating.

Hi Logikstate,
Did you sort it in the end? My FBH has also packed in and trying everything I can to resolve.

Gordon

Hello i think mine also isnt working, but im not sure if i even have one (L-series) not a td4 as i thought tut, it takes a while for the heater to warm up coinsiding with the temp guage?
Should i have 1 with this engine, what am i looking for, and whats the usual fails/

cheers

I should be very surprised if you do have one - as your model shouldn't have.

Look under the near-side front bumper for a 25mm steel flexi-pipe pointing to the ground - that is the exhaust.

I will take it if it shouldnt then it wont lol, i was just wondering if there was somthing i was missing out on, glad theres not..