I fitted a Propex gas heater a while back which has had very little use. Being a man, I didn't really read through the instructions properly and was gutted the other day to find that the unit wouldn't work. After checking all the wiring and gas fittings I thought maybe I should read the instructions!
Lo and behold there was the answer in black and white. Like many 12v fridges, the heater won't fire up if the voltage from the battery drops too low. I'm sure I'm the only person in the world that would make such a stupid mistake but just in case.
Propex Heatsource.
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Simon Jones
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Re: Propex Heatsource.
The Eberspacher heaters have a similar low voltage protection system, but I think if it fails to start 5 times in a row it shuts down completely which then needs a software reset. This is not the time of year to find the heater doesnt work. Brrrrrrr.
Re: Propex Heatsource.
Our Eberspacher rarely starts when not on hookup due to this. I'm sure we could solve the problem with a bit of effort but it's just one of those things we've never got round to. On hookup it's never a problem and if we're camping without electricity then we just start the van engine to get the heater going - once it's going it's fine.
Re: Propex Heatsource.
I have this problem with my Webasto. It will always start with the engine running or the Leisure battery is fresh from a good run or has just been charged.
Now. My Webasto was fitted professionally but I am damn sure they haven't used the required 4mm cable that reading the manual seems to suggest they should. It is at the back of the van, diagonally opposite the leisure battery. I think the voltage at the heater is at least .5 Amps less than at the LB ( I have yet to measure this at the heater) and with the Webasto designed to trip if the voltage falls to 12V or less for 25 seconds or more it doesn't take much to make it fail.
When it was first fitted it was directly wired to the starter battery (via a fuse of course) and this problem never occurred.
On fitting the LB I only extended the positive cable, leaving the negative on the SB Post so am depending on the chassis between the two batteries which won't help and is something I am going to rectify when I get a minute. I have also just purchased a "Sea-Dog battery test switch" So I can check the charge (roughly) of either battery at the flick of a switch and also have something well blingy on my dashboard.
I did some experiments a while ago with a multimeter in my fridge socket which is very heavily wired to the LB and the Webasto was cutting out with the voltage there at about 12. 33 at its lowest which convinced me that the main problem is losses in the Webasto wiring. It may just be a loose or tarnished connector of course. It is possible that the heater's voltage sensor is out of calibration but I think that is the least likely hypothesis.
Now. My Webasto was fitted professionally but I am damn sure they haven't used the required 4mm cable that reading the manual seems to suggest they should. It is at the back of the van, diagonally opposite the leisure battery. I think the voltage at the heater is at least .5 Amps less than at the LB ( I have yet to measure this at the heater) and with the Webasto designed to trip if the voltage falls to 12V or less for 25 seconds or more it doesn't take much to make it fail.
When it was first fitted it was directly wired to the starter battery (via a fuse of course) and this problem never occurred.
On fitting the LB I only extended the positive cable, leaving the negative on the SB Post so am depending on the chassis between the two batteries which won't help and is something I am going to rectify when I get a minute. I have also just purchased a "Sea-Dog battery test switch" So I can check the charge (roughly) of either battery at the flick of a switch and also have something well blingy on my dashboard.
I did some experiments a while ago with a multimeter in my fridge socket which is very heavily wired to the LB and the Webasto was cutting out with the voltage there at about 12. 33 at its lowest which convinced me that the main problem is losses in the Webasto wiring. It may just be a loose or tarnished connector of course. It is possible that the heater's voltage sensor is out of calibration but I think that is the least likely hypothesis.
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