Gas Heater

caspar · Post by **caspar** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 4:20 pm

i am trying to get my heater working, i have an manual, but i dont know where to start... 1 st is there a way to test fuel pump out of the vehicle.
2nd should the blower come on when the heater timer switch is turn on??
does anyone know anybody that works on these heaters?? i am in az i will travel with it to get it, worked on if i cant figure this thing out. LOL no pun intended.

thanks
caspar

radioman · Post by **radioman** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 5:06 pm

Check The Samba.com....."help cried the gas heater." The expert gas heater person is Ark Mirvis.....<heaterman@nac.net>. He ain't cheap but he stands behind his work.

radioman · Post by **radioman** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 5:10 pm

BTW: yes the blower should run when you turn the knob to the right and hear the timer running. The pump (under the gas tanks) will clearly "click" every second IF it is pumping. Gas heater is great IF working right....dangerous if not.

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 9:43 pm

Caspar there is a gray wire from heater to switch. That is the power wire. Jump hot to that and it should fire up. Before (I`m always backing up it seems) you do that remove the cover from top of heater control box (on top of blower) and flip reset button to pass side and see it it fires then. It the blower comes on but no heat remove the plug and clean it. Itll go then. Good luck. Bob Ingman

caspar · Post by **caspar** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 2:23 pm

thanks bob,and radioman.. i got the blower working. i found that in the temp. regulating switch, there is a white odd shape plastic thing(lol sry), that when i pulled up a little r trun a little the blower went on..the blower had 1 speed, is that correct??? When i hook up fuel pump to battery(out side of car, extra battery) it clicks, but it does not click every second. should it???

thanks again
caspar

stevemariott · Post by **stevemariott** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 4:56 pm

caspar wrote:When i hook up fuel pump to battery(out side of car, extra battery) it clicks, but it does not click every second. should it???

So the blower runs, but the fuel pump isn't clicking every second? It should... it could be something else, but when mine was doing this same thing I ended up taking the heater apart to adjust the points in the blower motor that activate the fuel pump. They were dirty and a bit out of adjustment.

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:02 pm

Caspar better be careful or you`ll end up like me. There is no way I can let that heater die but boy is it ever jury rigged to the max. Nothing but an on/off toggle to regulate the thing but it really does the job like nothing else I`ve ever known in a VW.
Yes the blower has but a single speed that i`m aware of and cannot testify as to the fuel pump. I am nearly deaf and do not hear common sounds like that but I think radioman has an accurate assesment due to the fact that he has just gone through troubleshooting his own and has had communication with Heaterman (Ark Marvis). Cheers. Bob Ingman

radioman · Post by **radioman** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:13 pm

When the heater is operating correctly, the fan speed will increase on its own when the heater firebox begins to reach maximum output. Adjusting the temp control to colder will slowly drop the fan speed. This is not a 1,2,3 change....its more like an infinitely adjustable speed....a little bit faster or slower over time, depending of the temp control lever position. I got confused over the "white plastic thing" in the temp regulating switch. The clicking (pumping action) of the pump is controlled by a set of points on the blower shaft...the pump "pumps" and the spark/glow plug fires based on the rotation of the motor shaft. As I recall the pump "clicks" every 33 revs of the shaft....but I could be wrong. Anyway, the pump operates on a pulse...it will not (to my understanding) click in rhythm while hooked up to a straight 12 volt source. It fires ,then is off, then fires, then off etc. based on the pulsing 12 volts as determined by the points running off the blower shaft (as I understand it). Connected to a battery it would probably only "click" once. The pump has no rhythm on its own, this pumping (or click) is determined by the points on the shaft> on,off,on,off. This machine is a hell of a lot more complicated than one's logic might seem. Additionally, there are parts in the little pump that go bad, rendering it inoperative or sometimes operative. Then there are the associated safety switches, other points for the plug, blower speeds, safety switches, thermostat controls and switches and safety switches!!!Mine drove me nuts for three weeks! Be careful.

alsehendo · Post by **alsehendo** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:42 pm

Maybe you want to know this it's from 181 manual.

Temperature Regulating Switch:
A cam-operated contact switches the current for the heating system on and off depending on the pre-set temperature. When the cutoff temperature range is attained, the temperature regulating switch interrupts interrupts current flow to the pump. As the air temperature cools down to the cut in temperature range, the temperature regulating switch automatically switches on the current to the fuel pump. The regulating range is adjustable and depends on the position of the regulating linkage. This linkage is operated by a push push knob via Bowden cable.

Cut--in or Cut-off difference: 20 degrees C 68 degrees F
Cut -in temperature approx. 60 degrees C 140 degrees F
Cut-off temperatures:
Type 1 / Module 181 (110 ? 130 degrees C ) (230-266 degrees F)
Type 2 (120 ? 140 degrees C) (250-285 degrees F)
These temperatures can be checked only with electronic instruments

The amount of fuel delivered by the electronic meetering pump is directly dependent the speed of the combustion air blower. At every 33rd revolution of the moter shaft the pump receives an electrical pulse via the breaker contacts regardless in changes in change in speed of combustion air motor.

There are also two types of Overheating switches will interrupt current to the fuel pump when heater gets to hot / regulation dose not work. Type 181 says its a contact that closes when the heater temperature is too high and blows the fuse connected to the same unit.

Winter is coming I am going try and many off you may need to get your heaters going. I'll try and get a manual I have up on the Web. It comes from book Thing Shop sells but I have e-mailed them several time to inquire if they hold any copyright to these pages or if they consider it intellectual property. They have not replied so I guess they don't care. If anyone knows different could they let me know?

I believe it comes from a generic VW 181 service manual and is like 40 pages on the heater.