Auxillary Heater

[Dunhamkid]

My 2001 E320 CDi has an auxillary heater. Purely for interest, how does it work? I presume it is diesel fired or is it an electric heater? If so where does it get its fuel supply? Does it need any service attention? Does it need venting after the cooling system is drained and refilled? How can you tell it is working?

 

[fuzzer]

http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=21014&highlight=heater

 

[guydewdney]

its made by www.eber.com or eberspacher - often used in trucks and motorhomes...

 

[Madferrit]

its made by www.eber.com

ROBERT I. EBER
Attorney and Counselor at Law
828 South Broadway - Suite 300
Tarrytown, New York 10591-6650

You sure?

Reminds me of the Simpsons with the lawyer who is part time Shoe Repair

 

[tamrsoft]

I have a similar unit and even in the cold weather (3 deg.C and lower) I can't say I notice any difference with it switched on or off regarding the car warming up. I suspect mine is not working but I don't know how to check it out. If it works based on ambient air temperatures then I assume it must use an external air temp sensor, could this be faulty. I also notice the water temp never goes above 60 deg.C in normal winter running. Any suggestions ?

 

[fuzzer]

I have a similar unit and even in the cold weather (3 deg.C and lower) I can't say I notice any difference with it switched on or off regarding the car warming up. I suspect mine is not working but I don't know how to check it out. If it works based on ambient air temperatures then I assume it must use an external air temp sensor, could this be faulty. I also notice the water temp never goes above 60 deg.C in normal winter running. Any suggestions ?

It does sound like there is a problem with your engine , should be hitting the 80ish mark no matter what really

 

[Dave K]

I must admit, I never known how to tell if the aux heater is working. I hear no whirring noises or smeall any paraffin on my E320 CDi.

 

[robert.saunders]

My C220CDi has the aux heater; of late I notice the aux heater stays on pretty much permanently and the engine temp doesn't really go above 65/70C anymore - new thermostat needed I reckon.

 

[fuzzer]

i can hear mine kick in on my 270 cdi , engine starts and then with the heater set to auto , it starts about 30 seconds later

 

[Dunhamkid]

its made by www.eber.com or eberspacher - often used in trucks and motorhomes...

Mine is made by Delphi. Contacted their technical services dept but was told that as it was fitted as OEM any problems must go through Mercedes!

 

[guydewdney]

sorry - www.espar.com

Are you sure its MADE by delphi - and not just a re-branded espar / eberspacher or webasto heater? Have a look at the espar pages...

 

[DieselE]

I must admit, I never known how to tell if the aux heater is working. I hear no whirring noises or smeall any paraffin on my E320 CDi.

I don't know if it was different with the W210 but diesel powered W211s come with a "heater booster" which I am fairly certain is electric. It allows warm air to be blown into the car while the engine is warming up. The "auxialiary heater" is intended for cold climates and is more accurately a pre-heater. If fitted, it comes with its own remote control and you can use this or the timer function to set the coolant to warm up before you get into the car and start the car.

 

[Dunhamkid]

sorry - www.espar.com

Are you sure its MADE by delphi - and not just a re-branded espar / eberspacher or webasto heater? Have a look at the espar pages...

Went to a eberspacher service centre who said it wasn't one of theirs!! There is a tag on the power supply to unit which said "Delphi" so they assumed it was a Delphi unit

 

[Dunhamkid]

I don't know if it was different with the W210 but diesel powered W211s come with a "heater booster" which I am fairly certain is electric. It allows warm air to be blown into the car while the engine is warming up. The "auxialiary heater" is intended for cold climates and is more accurately a pre-heater. If fitted, it comes with its own remote control and you can use this or the timer function to set the coolant to warm up before you get into the car and start the car.

Your are correct, I should have called it a "heater booster" I thought it may be electric but I have noticed steam coming from underneath the O/S/F wing, which would suggest it was diesel fired

 

[DieselE]

The handbook refers to a PFC(I think those are the right initials) Element which is why I thought it would be electric. I haven't gone as far as looking under the bonnet. Digging the handbook out was hard enough!

 

[tamrsoft]

The handbook on mine says that the unit unit will only switch on when ambient air temperature is below a certain temp (but it does not say what temp) and that to use it will increase fuel consumption so I assume it must run on diesel. I have never heard any noise from the unit or noticed any parafin/diesel smell when the unit is supposed to be operational, ie at below 3 deg.C ambient air temp. There must be some simple user test. I phoned my local Stealer but they don't seem to have a clue about how the unit works so there is obviously no point in taking it along to them to check.

 

[blassberg]

our local Carwood estimated around £800 +VAT for an eberspracher unit, diesel or petrol

 

[Dunhamkid]

Couldn't resist a look so I removed black plastic cover. This does not have anything to do with the heater. I think it is a vacuum reservoir for EGR valve etc. Below cover is heater which on my car is electric. No sign of air inlet, exhaust or diesel lines but large diameter electric cable with Delphi on it. (Makes sense now, Delphi supply wiring harness)

 

[tamrsoft]

Cabin Heater Photo

This is a photo of the unit in my car, can anyone confirm whether this is an electric or diesel powered unit.

 

[Dunhamkid]

Looks identical to mine. Black corrogated line is electric power supply. Does this cable have a Delphi sticker on it?
Just found out that fuse 17 is missing in fuse box so this will explain why it doesn't work. I have just replaced fuse and will have to wait for weather to cool down to see if it is working!!