Webasto heater problem

[Jeffskywater]

The heater on our C30 stopped working and the error code is 17, indicating a problem with the exhaust sensor, I'm told that I have to pull the heater and take it to the Webasto dealer for diagnosis. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking it may be something simple.

 

[Hamish]

Hi there

I had some problems with an AirTop Evo 40 installed in a 2017 R27.

How old is the heater? Happy to discuss via PM.

 

[NorthernFocus]

Maybe silly to ask but did you try the ages old cure for all things electronic, power down/reset? You'd likely need to completely remove power by unplugging it from the power harness.

 

[knotflying]

Did you make sure there are no blockages in the exhaust?

 

[dpiano]

I suggest you call Sure Marine in Seattle. We had lots of trouble with ours, and they were fantastic, sending parts and advice.

 

[Jeffskywater]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. All good ideas. I have re-booted with the help of a factory guy, we cut the main power, no change. I'm going to start from scratch and start the unit as if new (it may have never been used by the previous owner, the boat is a 2016 we just purchased). If I don't solve it I'll go to Sure Marine, the factory pointed me to them.

 

[Jeffskywater]

Just to let anyone interested know how this ended up...
I took the heater to the Seattle dealer, Sure Marine. They were great, put it on the bench right away. The diagnosis was that a grommet in the combustion air intake had been misplaced and starved the combustion air, sooting the heater and ruining the control unit. They waived the labor charge but the part was around $800! The really bad news is that Webasto denied the warranty claim because the unit was started two years and two weeks before. The heater is warrantied for 2 years or 2000 hours, whichever comes first. And the heater had only 5 hours on it, per Sure Marine!

I asked Cutwater to help and they talked with Webasto with the same result. I had hoped that Cutwater would have some leverage with Webasto, or at least take some responsibility themselves. No such luck. I believe the misplaced grommet was a latent defect, it happened before the heater was put into use, and should not have been subject to the time limit of the warranty.

 

[dpiano]

I don’t have any advice for you, but some comments.
Just today we ran our 2013 Ranger to Shilshole. Hobson from Sure Marine came down to diagnose our webasto which shut down yesterday and again today. We have a long history of overheating problems with the heater. Sure Marine put a new drive motor in it last year (at cost), and it ran ok last fall and this spring. Now it is overheating again and shutting down. All ducts and exaust have been checked and there are no blockages. There are no codes showing on the evo controller. RT have long since said it is out of their hands, as well as Webasto. Both the temp sensors have been replaced.
Sure marine says that some of these heaters work fine, but some don’t, even in identical installations.
The Sure Marine tech recommended that I change the mounting of our furnace so the hot duct exiting the furnace has no 90 degree bend. I will try that, but doubt it will fix the problem.
I have no complaints about Sure Marine, but I would never buy another Webasto furnace after all we’ve gone through.

 

[Salty7]

Fortunately, the Webasto on my RT is working ok although the fan motor has a little tick like it is barely hitting something internally. I had problems on the boat I owned before this RT with a Webasto furnace. Sure Marine rebuilt it twice and it never did work correctly despite my spending a small fortune on it.

In the end, on that boat, I elected to buy a Planar heater instead of buying another Webasto. Planar heaters are made in Russia and less than 1/3 the price of a Webasto. That furnace worked extremely well, quiet, good heat control, I had absolutely no problems with it in six years. The Russians definitely know how to build a good diesel furnace. planarheaters.com