Truma Combi D6 heater - fuel-pump noise

[spirou]

I've been thinking about a diesel unit for the next van so this has been interesting and I've searched for more info. Seems you can't get completely rid of the noise but proper installation and sound proofing of the unit should help a lot. Mentioned specifically was mounting the pump on a rubber mat to prevent sound transmission to the chassis.

[Derek Uzzell]

As this 2003 boat-related discussion will show

 

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?29952-Clicking-noise-from-heater-fuel-pump

 

the ‘ticking’ noise that can be made by the fuel-metering pump of Webasto or Eberspscher heaters is far from a new phenomenon.

 

As I said above, there is plenty of on-line advice/syggestions on how the noise might be addressed and - for the Combi D heater - guidance in the related Truma Installation Instructions on how the pump should be mounted.

 

In Trevor’s Westfalia’s case, either the pump is unusually noisy and requires replacement, or the pump and its fuel lines are not optimally fitted to keep noise to a minimum, or the pump is located where its operating noise will be very obvious to people trying to sleep. I’m not sure how easy it might be to relocate the pump so that its ticking would be unlikely to disturb a sleeper, but it should be practicable to decide if the pump is louder than it should be and/or whether the installation fails to meet best practice.

 

As the Combi D6 is a Truma/Eberspacher mongrel it’s reasonable to assume that the metering pump is an Eberspacher product and that it should be installed as Eberspacher recommends. Earlier in this thread Keithl suggested contacting a Eberspacher specialist

 

https://www.eberspacher.com/dealers/dealer-listings/heating-dealers.html

 

who ought to be in a position to say whether the pump’s operating noise is normal or not, whether the installation is acceptable, and what might realistically be done to reduce the noise.

 

There is a Westfalia Mobil Facebook page

 

https://www.facebook.com/WestfaliaMobil/

 

and participants seem prepared to write in their native tongue (not just in German). I’d be tempted to write

 

"I recently bought a 2017 Westfalia Amundsen 600D motorhome. The metering pump of its Truma Combi D6 diesel-fuelled heater produces a constant loud ticking noise that makes sleeping very difficult. Can other owners of Westfalia Amundsen motorhomes with this Truma heater say whether they also find the metering pump very noisy and, if so, how can the noise be reduced?”

 

I’m no fan of Facebook generally, but companies tend to monitor their own Facebook pages, so there’s a reasonable chance of getting feedback.

 

I’d also contact “Campersales” about the ticking noise

 

https://www.campersales.co.uk/contact/

 

(unless, of course, they sold the Westfalia to Trevor...)

[bobalobs]

All our Campers since 1985 have been fitted with either Webasto or Eberspacher diesel heaters in various formats . The Webasto is quieter but they all have the diesel pump "tick" which can be irritating in the dead of night. Our current Webasto has a sophisticated timer and if we need heating when in bed we use an oil radiator with the webasto starting an hour before we need the shower and increased heat. If we are off hookup there is normally no need for any heating when in bed.

[monique.hubrechtsgm]

I did some trips whit my new T6 and webasto airtop running. and that can be heared. But no ticking. What ever you have in the house mobile and at home, and their location some noise will occur. Cheers.

[htrevor]

Thanks Spirou

 

Yes that could be a possible solution.

 

Trevor

 

 

 

 

 

[htrevor]

Thank you so much Derek for all of your advise and time. Very much appreciated. I have so much to go on with now. I am not sure the company that I bought the vehicle from are that interested in spending time trying to improve the problem that I have but I would willingly pay for someone to spend the time.

 

Thank you again

Trevor

 

 

 

 

 

 

[htrevor]

Thanks Bobalobs

 

I don’t how big your campers are but my Fiat Ducato is 6 metres long. It has a fixed double bed at one end and is the same layout as most of the 6 metre campervans that I saw at this years NEC show. In my opinion my van although having a fixed double bed and 4 belted seats is only comfortable for one person, more than one is uncomfortable. Luckily I am only one which is ok but for the ticking, I have tried a small oil filled radiator but it did not provide enough heat. There is not enough room for a bigger radiator. I have tried electric fan heaters but as everyone will probably tell you they are as well as being noisy are only for emergencies.

 

Regards

Trevor

[htrevor]

Thanks Monique

I know what you are saying. There are all kinds of noises in this day and age. Everything seems to have a beep or three, but they don’t continue all day and night like this one does. Funny enough it sometimes makes a very loud noise for about 5 minutes sounding like a jet taxiing but that doesn’t bother me at all because I know it will end shortly when it has reached temperature.

 

Regards

Trevor

[Derek Uzzell]

Eberspacher metering pumps differ according to the output of the heater that the pump supplies fuel to. It’s also plain from on-line discussions and photos that the way a Webasto metering pump is normally mounted (and, consequently, the methods suggested for combating its operating noise) differs from standard practice for Eberspacher pumps.

 

The 1st attached photo shows a rubber ‘noise reduction’ mounting clamp to hold an Eberspacher pump, and this seems to be commonly used as shown in the 2nd photo where the pump was fitted to the chassis of a 2006 Ducato. However, Truma’s Installation Instructions for a Combi D6 show the pump mounted using the type of bracket shown in the 3rd photo.

 

Monique mentions that the heater installation in her Westfalia Kepler motorhome does not make ‘ticking’ noises, but her heater is a Webasto product and her motorhome is based on a VW. The only directly applicable comment in this discussion so far is from David Lloyd as he has had hands-on experience of a Combi D6 - but in David’s case his motorhome was a coachbuilt Chausson (not a panel-van conversion) and, although the pump constantly ticked, he did not find the noise it made particularly intrusive (and nearly always turned off the heater at night).

 

It’s tempting to think that there’s nothing actually ‘wrong’ with the installation of the Combi D6 in Trevor’s motorhome and that the pump’s ticking noise is no worse than the noise the metering pump produces in other 2017 Westfalia Amundsen 600D models that have the D6 heater. But that’s just speculation...

 

I’m not sure why Trevor seems to be so reluctant to progress this issue through the dealership that sold him the vehicle (Perhaps the dealership is a long way from where he lives) but, as the motorhome is still under warranty, it’s the dealership’s responsibility to react to Trevor’s criticism. Maybe (if the dealership has expert knowledge of this Westfalia model) Trver might be told “They are all like that, sir - nothing can be done” and he may need to accept that, but the dealership should still be the first port of call.

[htrevor]

Hi Derek

Once again thank you very for your advise and time.

 

I know that many people might think about the problem I have being trivial and a case of just getting used to it. But I cannot and if I cannot do something about it I will have to think about selling the van soon and losing lots of money in the process.

 

Regarding your last paragraph and your querying why I do not consult the dealership that sold me the vehicle. I am reluctant to use them because I would not be confident in them showing enough interest. I have had 4 months of various problems with the company so that is the reason for my reluctance (long story.....). I would love to find someone to look thoroughly at my problem, with or without warranty.

 

Thanks again Derek

 

Kind regards

Trevor

 

[david lloyd]

Trevor, I know how something like this can simply become an unacceptable annoyance but, if you are really happy with the rest of the van, selling at this point is a costly business and you could very well end up with another vehicle that has other issues you may find difficult to live with - as I know to my cost.

 

If you are happy to try getting a solution to the noisy pump may I suggest you use an NCC registered motorhome technician with Eberspacher/Truma experience to try and reduce the noise problem. Many have a mobile service so can come to the house. I have used one quite local to me for servicing and find them far more knowledgeable than dealerships I have used and more meticulous over their work.

 

Just a thought rather than going down the route of selling.

 

David

[mgnbuk]

I have a Chausson 610 with a "ticking" Webasto diesel heater pump. Chausson choose to mount the heater outside the van in a sheet steel enclosure under the floor. The fuel pump is bolted to an "L" shaped bracket bolted to this metal enclosure, using the Webasto rubber holder as shown above. The the large metal enclosure was amplifying the "tick".

 

Unfortunately the heater & pump is mounted directly below the head end of the drop-down bed on the 610, so my head is less than 3 feet above the pump, which sounds like a blacksmith at work on an anvil in the quiet small hours ! I was able to subsantially improve on this quite inexpensively using a couple of rubber stud anti-vibration mounts bought from Ebay - like the M6 version here eBay item number: 283302194116

 

I used these in place of the bolts that mounted the bracket to the heater mount plate, and between the bracket & the fuel pump rubber mount. There was sufficient slack in the wiring loom & pipework to the pump to accomodate the extra length of the rubber mounts & the noise reduction was quite dramatic.

 

Maybe worth a small investment to try this ? Cheaper than swapping the van !

 

Nigel B

 

[htrevor]

Hi David

 

Many thanks for your advice. This is probably what I will probably do after reading of your experiences.

One of your remarks about them even coming to your house, made me realise that I had not made it clear as to my my current situation and maybe a couple of comments from others were based on that fact I.e. I am sitting in a house with my van outside that I occasionally use.

I am living full time in my van. 4 months ago I decided to let my home to tenants with a 2 year contract sell or give away all my belongings except what I could take in the van and travel around Europe for those 2 years. I decided being not mechanically minded that it would be better to purchase a new van which eventually cost me £65,000 and head for Europe as soon as possible. To cut a long story short 4 months later I am still in a campsite not too far from my home and have had continual problems with the van and the company that sold it to me. Just a couple of snippets or else I would bore you, a water pipe has burst twice, flooding the floor each time and their response each time was to trim a bit off the pipe and replace without finding out the cause of the problem and at the moment i have a problem with the loo which has been repaired 3 times by 2 companies and now a 4th. company has sent to Holland for but can’t look at it until after Christmas, so it looks like Christmas in my van. I have clocked over a 5 thousand miles in those 4 months, over a thousand back and forwards to the van suppliers, the rest of the time just driving around out of boredom awaiting the next repair. So that’s how my great adventure is going and if I had an empty home to go back to I would have cut my losses, sold the van and gone home by now. I am sure sometimes after a couple of whiskeys that this blinking continual ticking noise problem is the little people hiding in the corners laughing at my situation.

Thanks again David and sorry you were on the end of this.

 

Trevor

 

[htrevor]

Hi Nigel

 

Many thanks for this. Sounds good, given me food for thought. Thanks for your time.

 

Kind regards

Trevor

[david lloyd]

htrevor - 2018-12-16 10:06 PM

 

Hi David

 

Many thanks for your advice. This is probably what I will probably do after reading of your experiences.

One of your remarks about them even coming to your house, made me realise that I had not made it clear as to my my current situation and maybe a couple of comments from others were based on that fact I.e. I am sitting in a house with my van outside that I occasionally use.

I am living full time in my van. 4 months ago I decided to let my home to tenants with a 2 year contract sell or give away all my belongings except what I could take in the van and travel around Europe for those 2 years. I decided being not mechanically minded that it would be better to purchase a new van which eventually cost me £65,000 and head for Europe as soon as possible. To cut a long story short 4 months later I am still in a campsite not too far from my home and have had continual problems with the van and the company that sold it to me. Just a couple of snippets or else I would bore you, a water pipe has burst twice, flooding the floor each time and their response each time was to trim a bit off the pipe and replace without finding out the cause of the problem and at the moment i have a problem with the loo which has been repaired 3 times by 2 companies and now a 4th. company has sent to Holland for but can’t look at it until after Christmas, so it looks like Christmas in my van. I have clocked over a 5 thousand miles in those 4 months, over a thousand back and forwards to the van suppliers, the rest of the time just driving around out of boredom awaiting the next repair. So that’s how my great adventure is going and if I had an empty home to go back to I would have cut my losses, sold the van and gone home by now. I am sure sometimes after a couple of whiskeys that this blinking continual ticking noise problem is the little people hiding in the corners laughing at my situation.

Thanks again David and sorry you were on the end of this.

 

Trevor

 

Don't worry Trevor - if anything helps during these long dark times I'm happy to have been of help. I know exactly how it feels but sincerely hope you can find a way through and finally get to follow your dream.

 

David

[htrevor]

Thanks David