Help no heating working :(

[Lottie2010]

Hi :)

I have just brought a fiat Ducato 707. 2011 I got quite low on diesel, but only when driving it. Not sure if that will effect the heating. Light comes on seems to start then cuts out. It's cold :( thanks

[Tracker]

Hi Lottie/Rachel and welcome to the forum.

 

I'm afraid your message was a bit mixed and if you can clarify a few points we might be better placed to advise.

 

At a quick glance I see that several makers use the 707 designation, Carioca, Mooveo and Roller Team to name three - which one is yours?

 

Not that it will help me as I am unfamiliar with any of those models but someone will be and meanwhile I will blunder on in general terms?

 

Is your heating gas or diesel?

 

If it gas then running low on diesel will not affect it but if it is diesel powered then it may need to be reset in some way if it ran out? Do you have a handbook for the heating?

 

We need to isolate whether it is a gas issue or a heater issue or maybe a 12 volt power issue.

 

Do the hob and the fridge work on gas and if not can we assume that you have gas in the bottle, that it is turned on at the bottle and regulator and that any inside taps that feed the heating are open.

 

Do your lights and water pump work and can you see if a 12 volt supply is reaching the heating to power the igniter and the blower fan (if there is one). Sometimes the controls illuminate when the heating is in use.

 

Does the heater flue have an external cover as that would prevent it running if it is not removed?

 

Do you have mains hook up where you are and does your heater have mains capability and if so does it work on mains electric?

 

Not much help now I admit but we always carry a hot water bottle in case of heater trouble letting us get too cold to get warm again easily!

 

Sorry I can't be more help but we need to rule out a few of the basics before we can resolve the specifics.

 

The best place to start might be to ask the person / dealer you bought the van from but I do appreciate that will have to wait until tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Keithl]

Hi Rachel and welcome to the forum,

 

My guess would be that you have Diesel heating and these are nearly always set up so they cannot run if you have less than one quarter of a tank of fuel. This is to prevent your heater from emptying your tank and leaving you stranded.

 

Top up your Diesel tank and try again.

 

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

I’m guessing that the motorome is a Roller Team “Auto Roller 707” as that model had Webasto diesel-fuelled heating.

 

As Keith advises the first thing to do would be to make sure that the motorhome’s tank has plenty of fuel in it.

 

If the heater still won’t cooperate (and assuming it’s a Webasto unit) operating instructions can be found here

 

http://dealers.webasto.com/Sections/Public/Documents.aspx?SectionId=6&CategoryId=9&ProductTypeId=10&ProductId=453&ShowResult=true

[Steve928]

If the diesel supply to the heater has been interrupted (by running the tank below the pick-up level as KeithL describes) and air has been introduced then it does take several start attempts to get fuel back to the heater along the narrow bore fuel pipe.

 

The heater's fuel pump works using small pulses, about one per second during startup, and depending upon the distance between the fuel tank and heater it can take a considerable time to purge the air from the fuel pipe. A reasonable estimate would be that each failed start attempt would fill about 1 metre of fuel pipe, so by looking at the distance between the fuel tank and the heater you may be able to get an idea of how long this will take.

 

The best solution is to remove the fuel pipe at the heater and use a suction pump such as a Pela oil extractor to suck clean air-free diesel along the entire pipe right up to the heater.