thread for busdaddy to share his knowledge of Espar heaters

[outcaststudios]

I searched and searched but apparently i am the only person who has a D1L heater. this is in a vanagon Doka td 1.6 and before you freak out that its in the wrong category consider this:
the heaters themselves are in both types and the amount of info that busdaddy has is far greater than the amount of speculation i may get in the vanagon forum, although there are plenty of threads in both subtopics NONE talk about the type of repair i am attempting.
mods- feel free to move this thread where you think it's best suited to the community!

story: 89 Doka from berlin with Eberspacher DL1 heater. the existing control is a round switch with three positions mounted in the dash. looks like a factory install. from day one when i turn that switch i hear a faint clicking from the heater. the heater is mounted below the rear passenger seat. it has been installed according to specs, as i said woudlnt surprise me if it were factory.
i contacted Ray at Espar and he sent me a Thermostat Switch to replace the Control unit. I am perhaps wrongfully assuming that the problem is that i welded the frame and didnt disconnect the battery, this in turn may ave fried the control unit. otherwise i cant figure out why it wont power up or run at all.
since i hear the relay click when i turn the switch i assume there is power. i can not find a decent copy of the original D1L manual but i have found the manual for a D1LC (compact) and as the images show the wires i have are different colors than the wires the Tswitch install manual describes. some are the same.
hoping that busdaddy can drop some knowledge and help this poor skinny man stay warm.

my questions are these:

1) what role will the relay shown play now that the new control unit is installed? will i still need it or is there an internal one in teh new controller?

2) what wires shown would correspond to the wiring configuration the new control unit describes?

3) what tests can i perform to determine that the heater itself is functioning?

thanks!
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[outcaststudios]

for instance the new thermostat calls for a brown/white wire and I dont have one anywhere. the same for the green wires i do have, it makes no reference to them at all. also if you look c;osely the digram shows the wiring for a 'standard harness' and a different one for an 'extended harness' neither of which even show a green wire. i also do not have a blue/white wire, a brown/white wire, or a grey/red wire.
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[outcaststudios]

original arrangement:

i am replacing the silver unit next to the black relay
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[busdaddy]

It's kind of you to think of me as the single guru here, but Jason (Notchboy) is just as qualified, unfortunately I don't think either of us knows a whole lot about later electronically controlled units, but I'm willing to take a stab at it.
The lack of a diagram is a problem, I wonder if there's something available from a non VW application (Unimog, etc..)?
Dave here recently dealt with a D2: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=699008 I wonder how close the schematics are for that?
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[outcaststudios]

thanks for the reply! yes i saw that dave had put one in and i also hoped there was a schematic in that thread but alas none shown, hopefully he can chime in here,as well as notchboy. i found a B2L/D2L troubleshooting guide (https://www.butlertechnik.com/downloads/Eberspacher_B2L-D2L_Troubleshooting_manual.pdf)on the Espar/Eberspacher site and its close too but still no idea what some of these wires are for.
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[outcaststudios]

it also occurs to me that the guys at Espar sent me a thermostat switch, and that may not be what i need here. i need the Control unit replaced, they claimed that the switch woudl do that but i fail to see how it can regulate the gloy plug, motor speed and ignition all from the thermostat? the universal switch mounted on the dash works fine for me, and it uses less batteries and is easier on the glow plugs ,from what i read. maybe they sent me the wrong part? i opened up the control unit and it seemed ok, no obvious burning , but then when i replaced the fuse and put it back in and tried it the fuse blew again, it turns out, so i think it may just be another problem entirely now. i will have to find the main fuse and diagnose the blower motor as the fuse in the base of the Control unit is connected to the motor...
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[outcaststudios]

lol totally correct ,as usual , skillz, i found that about ten minutes ago, i also relized that after taking out the control unit, its actually doing what its supposed to do, that is ,its activating the relay to teh fuel pump ,which pumps about four times until it realizes the blower isnt running and it cuts off. so now i think the control unit is fine but the fuse in it blows when there is a problem in the blower. ( as noted in the troubleshooting guide ) so now im 100 percent convinced that the blower needs replaced or is suffering from an electrical malfunction causing it to blow fuses.
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[outcaststudios]

miraculous D1L 12v blower is new on ebay for 350bux from butlertechnik wish there was a way to diagnose for sure what its deal is.
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[busdaddy]

Bench test your blower with an ammeter or fuse in line? If it's a biotch to get out there must be wires leading to it.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!