Wabasto won't fire up

K

knotflying

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 25, 2010
Messages
6,014
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2731J011
Non-Fluid Motion Model
25' Parker & 246 Robalo Cayman
Vessel Name
http://illusionsmikeandjess.blogspot.com
Anyone have suggestions to troubleshoot a Wabasto heater that won't fire up. I checked the meager troubleshooting guide and their solution is turn it off and then turn it on and if that does not work have an authorized technician repair it. Here are the symptoms.
It goes on and starts the ticking sound
The fan starts to blow, but not as loud as it usually does on startup. Isuspect this is because it has not ignited.
Eventually the little green light starts to flash and the fan goes off

I have plenty of fuel since my source is the boat fuel tank. Are there any filters of screens that need cleaning? Good thing I have my reverse cycle A/C and we are at a marina, but going north or on the hook it will be a major inconvenience.
 
We experience something similar with our heather and it was the glow plug. They need to be replaced after a while so I would check of your heather uses one as an ignition source as it may need replacement. Diesel heathers are super simple and they only require air, fuel and a ignition source (and power) to function, one of them is disrupted on yours.

Hope this helps.
Jorge
 
As I recall from my Webasto manual, there is a fuel filter in there, somewhere, that is recommended to be be replaced at some interval (maybe 500hours?) . Sorry I can't be more specific since my unit is only a year old. Be sure there is adequate air intake and exhaust (no blockage if the exhaust like I had).

Ray
 
Mr. Knot Flying,

Can you give me the code it's flashing? The code on the heater control panel will flash 5 longer flashes telling you that it has a code, then the quick flashes after that tell you what the actual code is (1-12 I think).

Mine is currently flashing 1 short flash, the troubleshooting manual says it's for either a blocked intake combustion air, blocked exhaust combustion air, or blocked inlet or outlet heated air. I checked all those to no avail, also checked the drain on the heater itself (it runs through a SS coil and then into the bilge, you can disconnect it and blow through it).

To answer your question about a filter, yes it does have one. On my boat ( I have a 2012 25SC) the filter is contained in a small black metal box bolted to the top of the aft end of the fuel tank. Four little screws in the corners takes off the lid. Filter is inside there, easy to change. I happened to have a spare in my spares kit, but you can probably get away with an automotive type filter, it's not like you're rebuilding a helicopter transmission here...anyway, after you change the filter, you'll eventually get a new code, "I'm out of fuel". It will eventually clear itself once the air is gone from the lines.

Also of note, you may want to leave the cover to the fuel filter access off for a while. After messing with the system long enough, you'll eventually get a whole bunch of quick flashes on your control panel telling you that you don't know what you're doing and you're now locked out of any further guessing/troubleshooting and it's time to call the pro's. You can easily reset this by pulling off the two wire connector in the metal box that holds the fuel filter. Remove it for about 30 seconds or so.

Let me know how it turns out. I still haven't figured mine out. I like the glow plug idea. I might check that. Might runs, no heat, tries to catch, belches smoke out of the exhaust vent and smells really bad, then shuts itself off. But sometimes it actually works...frustrating. Can't rely on it.
 
The information you gave me may be helpful. I think I was reading the code wrong. I was getting one long blink and then 5 short ones. There was no code 5! So from your description is sounds like the 5 fast blinks are lketting you know there is a code and the one longer blink is the code. So a code 1 from what I cant tell is that it attempted to fire twice without success. That could be anything! I will see if I can find where my filter is because my fuel line goes right into my fuel for the engine. I would suspect that if it is not firing it is either fuel or the glow plug. I hear the ticking sound so I assume it is attempting to pump fuel. Also the air flowing our seems somwhat warm so hopefully that, to mean, means the glowplug is working. Hopefully this is as simple as a filter. Although, according to Wabasto they say you should only use their filter. I am not sure if this is a marketing ploy or their filter is finer than the average automotive filter.
Thanks,
Mike Rizzo
 
Well, I found the filter, tapped it a bit and tapped the small pump a bit and turned on the unit and observed. The small pump was pumping away and walla, it is working. I did nothing but threaten to work on it. I did notice initially that the exhaust had a trace of smoke, but it seemed to clear after a few moments. I guess now it is a wait and see. Intermittent issues can be worse!
Mike Rizzo
 
I had a similar problem New Year's Eve around 11 PM. I called Andrew as we were on the hook and freezing our butts off. Believe it or not Andrew answered and told me what to do. With the wabasco on, I turned off the house switch. Waited about 30 seconds and turned the switch back on. Apparently it reset the computer and the system has worked flawlessly since then.
 
Interesting, my Wabasto was installed by my dealer and is connected directly to the battery with in line fuses. If it happens again I will pull the fuses and reconnect. Funny how the standard fix on computer directed equipment is disconnect power and then reconnect. Wabasto's first direction in their troubleshooting guide is turn off unit and restart. :lol:
 
Well, it was a bit chilly here this morning in Lighthouse Point Florida. I fired up the Wabasto and it worked. I guess either, disconnecting the wires and cleaning the terminals, tapping around on the pump and filter or the threat of me working on it scared it into working again.
Thanks all for your input.

Mike Rizzo
 
I am still having issues with the Wabasto starting up. I called a local Wabasto dealer down here in Florida because my intent was to order a new glow plug and fuel filter and then start a breakdown of the unit. I figured if the problem wasn't either of those I would at least have spares. He asked me what my problem was and when I told him he told me not to buy any parts yet. He said a common problem is that people run the heaters on low all the time and it tends to build up carbon. He said I should try to get it started and then run it on high for about 2 hours and that should hopefully burn out the carbon. If not, a cleaning of the combustion chamber is in order. I'll keep you posted.
 
No joy on letting the heater blow high for two hours. I got it started and initially it smelled outside like the old 18 wheelers after they fired up. Then she worked for about 45 minutes and shut down. I think next will be removal and clean out of the burn chamber. I will also check the resistance on the Glow plug. I won't do this project until I get back to Rhode Island early Spring.
 
Update. Well first things first. The mount that was adhered to the hull dislodged and the unit was just hanging in the breeze. Not sure if that is what caused the misfiring issue, but I now have made a better (hopefully) attachment for the bracket. I disassembled the unit and there was a considerable build up of coke in the diesel burner. All cleaned up and ready to go hopefully. Waiting for the 5200 and epoxy to cure before I mount everything and test it out.
 
Up and running. I was told by the Wabasto dealer that running these units hot is much better than running them on low.
 
Jim: Well done... perseverance at its best. 🙂
 
Well I finally figured out my heater problem, both operator(s) error. Actually, one was a problem with the heater, the other a problem with the owner. Now that we're breaking heat records in the PNW, it's nice to finally have the heater working!

Anyway, the problem with the heater was caused by excessive coking in the burner can assembly. This was caused by my wife hitting the off button on the heater then immediately killing the house power causing the heater to not be able to run through the cool down cycle.

The second problem after I fixed that one was operator error. I knew the heater fuel pick up tube had a fail safe in it to prevent you from burning up all of the fuel in the tank when on the hook, I was just surprised to find out the pick up tube is located above the 25 gallon range of the tank. Needless to say, after a full fuel up in Port Orchard yesterday, I thought I'd give the heater a shot and Presto! It works.

I know Ranger gives a detailed intro on the boat and all of its systems upon purchase, we bought our boat used and weren't able to benefit from this. The heater itself is incredibly simple, the hardest part of it it accessing and removing it.
 
Rob,
Both interesting points that you discovered. My installation was an after market and I questioned my dealer as to why he connected directly to the house battery and he said it was the recommended installation. Now that makes sense since even if you turn off the house battery the Wabasto can run through its' cycle. The 25 gallon limit on the pickup is also interesting. I will have to ask my dealer if he remembers where he set it. 25 gallons seems a bit much, but then again you don't want to be picking up crud from the tank. In one of my previous posts I also mentioned that the dealer told me it is best to run the heater on high and that this helps avoid the coke build up. I guess having to leave a window open a bit isn't all that bad either.
 
I've already decided to take your advice and run it hotter for shorter periods. Something else I'm going to do is reroute the ventilation air. On my boat, I think like most, the heated air intake is plumbed from inside the cabin. When it's cold, people obviously like to keep the windows closed for warmth and things get steamy in a hurry so I'm forced to run with windows open. Haven't really looked into a plan for that yet, add it to my to-do list I suppose. At the very least, the heater will need to be moved outboard of its current location to allow for a hose to fit on the intake side of the heater.

Rob
 
I have not had that issue with windows steaming up due to the heater being on. Are you sure it is the heater causing the issue? Think about it; the combustion air is taken from outside and exhausted to the outside. The heater case acts as a heat exchanger and takes existing cabin air and passes it over a finned casing that warms the air and then passes it throughout the cabin. Therefore you are not introducing air that has any more water content in it that already exists in the cabin. You will get window fogging if the outside is cold and the interior air, which contains water (humidity) condensates on the colder surface, the window. Now boil water on the stove and you add additional moisture in the air and it gets worse. Add people who expel moisture in their breath and you have more water in the air. Perhaps my thinking is off base here and someone else can chime in, but I don't think taking air from the outside will improve your foggy windows. It could make it worse if the outside air is moist and heating cold outside air will make your heated air coming out of the unit possibly colder. Also with the current setup you are recirculating cabin air. Taking in outside air will cause positive interior pressure and require the introduced air to escape somehow out of the cabin. On a boat I am sure there are enough openings throughout that this won't necessarily be an issue. However if less air can escape then is coming in you will also decrease efficiency of the heater.
 
Hi,

The issue is is that here in Seattle, it's either raining, or about to rain, or it just rained. Humidity is normally very high. I do cruise all year 'round and on a typical winter day, it's 45 degrees and humidity very high. You get more than two bodies on board in a very humid environment with no fresh air coming inside, windows closed because it's normally a little windy on a typical winter day on the salt. We all know that more than a 1 foot head sea on these boats provides plenty of splashing, enough to have to keep the windward window closed. So there's my dilema. It's basically like running the heater in your car on the "recirc" mode in the rain with windows rolled up.

So far as pressurizing the cabin, these boas are not that tight. Plenty of air spaces vented aft under the gunnels, or the engine compartment. Regardless, the round window in the head on my tug is always open.

Take this all with a grain of salt though. I can't leave any of my toys alone. Just when I finish the last project to make something perfect for me, I think up something else to improve! I'm happy with my tug, cracking both forward sliding windows open a inch or two is probably going to be a heck of a lot easier than replumbing the heater.

Radar and remounting the useless search light above it and I'm done!

Rob
 
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