XSeries-forum

Hi all,

I have been banging my head since I purchased my second hand E53 with this issue to no avail.
Initially I tried to start the unit just giving 12v to pin 1 as indicated and it did not start. Since the car was under second hand warranty I had the whole webasto unit replaced (by non BMW garage). They could not test it because I do not have a remote fitted nor when it was replaced the Aux Heater option was enabled.
Now after several months (and expired warranty) I enabled the Aux Heater option using a BMW Scanner 1.4.0 and thus I can see it and turn it on from the console alongside Aux Ventilation. When I do it, the fan red light blinks however:
- the ventilation fan does not start
- the aux heater does not make a sound (thus does not start)

From Scanner 1.4.0 I see there is a generic aux heater error, which I clear, but then appears again.
The Webasto unit is brand new and never even turned on.
Initially to avoid locking it I refrained from starting it directly giving 12v to pin one, just in case. As a last resort now I tried that too. When I do here is what happens:
- the unit begins to make a noise (sounds like the internal fan)
- the car ventilation fan does not start (I would expect it should ...)
- I do not hear the metering pump ticking (which I had tested separately and it works)
- the unit shuts off after about one minute

I am testing all of this now with temperatures below 5 degrees C.

I was wondering what could be wrong. Is ticking the box to Aux Heater using BWM scanner 1.4.0 recoding option sufficient or something else should be done to activate the heater properly?
Why doesn't ventilation start at least when I turn the heater on either from the display or 12v to pin one? I would expect it should and it might be an indication that perhaps something is missing.

I do not have a webasto USB interface to read codes on the unit, but (1) I am not an expert and (2) the unit is brand new therefore I do not expect anything wrong with it.

Please could you help?

The basic set up of these auxiliary heaters is automatic, there being no remote/telematic option, nor activation by the MID/monitor. This is referred to as auxiliary heating.

If the MID/monitor shows Auxiliary Heating, then this perhaps better thought of as 'Independent Park Heating' which is the term used by BMW in the WDS description of the system. This function is in addition to the automatic function.

Now Park Heating, as supplied by the factory, has additional plumbing, and to control this there is an additional water valve, which can be seen in the ETK. This valve is activated by the MID/monitor. It follows that if this is not installed, the IHKA will register this as a fault, since it can't activate the valve. The valve, incidentally, looks like one half of the twin heater valve.  See if you have an IHKA error code.

[quote="chrisn7"]
The basic set up of these auxiliary heaters is automatic, there being no remote/telematic option, nor activation by the MID/monitor. This is referred to as auxiliary heating.

If the MID/monitor shows Auxiliary Heating, then this perhaps better thought of as 'Independent Park Heating' which is the term used by BMW in the WDS description of the system. This function is in addition to the automatic function.

Now Park Heating, as supplied by the factory, has additional plumbing, and to control this there is an additional water valve, which can be seen in the ETK. This valve is activated by the MID/monitor. It follows that if this is not installed, the IHKA will register this as a fault, since it can't activate the valve. The valve, incidentally, looks like one half of the twin heater valve.  See if you have an IHKA error code.
[/quote]

Thank you for your kind reply, I do not find the IHKA error.
Please could you post a picture or point me to a picture of what the valve look like so that I can check if it is present in my case?

When I replied, I assumed operation would be as per E38 and E39,but when I checked the diagrams, there is no additional water valve, so apologies for misleading you. :-[

However, it is easy to test the circulation pump, the air fan, the glowplug and dosage pump. I found all these to be functioning ok, which narrowed non operation to the circuit board well known issues, and this proved to be right in my case.

What is odd is that when I activate the Aux Heather, either from the console (tick box to Aux Heater) or directly applying 12v to pin 1 on the heater, the internal air fan does not activate. I would expect it to activate, or is this delayed and depending on the Aux Heater having started?

Probably needs the coolant temp to come up first?

Richard

It's a sequence of activations and the internal air fan is the last thing to activate.. No point it running until coolant is heated and all that.

Unit shuts down if coolant temp is already hot or if external temp is high etc