Heater problem

John · Dec 5, 2011

Original post Chris

Hi
Yet another heater problem, which I hope you can advise on before I ring vw Ashford and book it in. Still got 6 months left on warranty

Van went in for a heater problem in April, and the fault was a lose nut under the sink ( that's what I was told). Have not had to use heater since.

Went camping this weekend and the heater failed to work, (without hook up,) the battery was 90% charged at 12.3v
When I tried it showed overload error. I turned the fridge off but would not work. The fan kicked in but no heat output.

I then connected electrics and the heater worked. Voltage showed 13.5v

Next day took van on a run. When returned to campsite, turned engine off and turned heater on. It worked. Voltage was 13.1v

Later on voltage at 12.3v 90%. It would not work.

Is my battery dead? Or is it the shunt? Battery was charged for three days before the trip. If I leave van on drive way for a week the battery would dropped to 70%
Help

John · Dec 5, 2011

Hi Chris and welcome to the forum.

It is helpful that you still are under warranty. Go to the forum Information Store :: Repairing bad shunt earth. Print out The excellent document. Take this with you and get the work done under warranty. Its something you will want to get done anyway as it is a common Cali fault.

If it does not change the heater fault it does look like the battery will need changing so you can get that changed before the warranty runs out.

John · Dec 5, 2011

Original post Chris

Van is back from workshop. The problem was the shunt and sorted under warranty. Ashford centre advised they found away of not removing the fridge. They used an endoscope with a camera and a small handed technician. Very happy as 1 I can come to Horsham for some winter camping now and 2 the thought of the damage of taking the fridge out was worrying.

By having the info and going armed with it printed out made it so simple to get sorted. Thanks

John · Dec 5, 2011

Original post johntowers46

Glad you got it sorted, the techni must be very small handed. Glad you also found the document useful

John · Dec 5, 2011

Original post smgcowfold

Good result and good that it was done under warranty!

John · Dec 5, 2011

Chris glad you got it sorted.

Look forward to meeting you at the Horsham meeting.

jts46 · Dec 6, 2011

Tried to find the document i submitted re earth shunt but couldn't find it

Calimark · Mar 5, 2012

I have a new Cali which may have the earth shunt problem. The heater was only blowing cold air when on 70% to 80% battery level (no hookup) and after a nights charging and 100% battery level the heater worked ok. Is it the voltage or battery level in display mode which is important in terms of the minimum level for aux heater to work ? What is the minimum voltage and battery level for the aux heater to typically function ok when not on hook up ?

Thanks
Mark.

Martin · Mar 5, 2012

It is here John:
http://www.vwcaliforniaclub.com/downloads.html

NZgypsy · Mar 30, 2012

I wonder if this explains the problem I have with my heater. I have had the van for just over a year. The heater only sometimes (rarely) fires when not hooked up to the mains - otherwise just blows cold air. When the battery is 90-100% then greater chance of firing (still not all the time - approx 20-30%) however when thermostat cuts in heater unlikely to restart. One night I tried over 20 times with only one short burst of heat then nothing.
When hooked to the main, starts first time every time and was running throughout the night with no trouble.

I have taken it in 3 times (still under warranty until June) but they cannot resolve. Any details that I could take back to VW to get this resolved one way or the other would be fantastic! Very frustrating as winter approaches - we use our van very regularly all year around.

Also my heater remote does not work...has not ever worked. VW say that there appears to be no receiver for the remote signal.

Cheers

calikev · Mar 30, 2012

Print this off and take it to your dealer
http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/downloads/earth_shunt.pdf

NZgypsy · May 17, 2012

Volkswagen NZ has just come back to me on my long standing problems with the aux heater (works on mains but not on battery, seems to be the earrth shunt issue discussed previously).

They say that it is just normal function and the heater only works when on mains. Sounds like bullshit to fob me off.

Could anyone with a pre-facelift (I.e. 2009) Cali confirm that the aux diesel heater is designed (and does) work on the battery when unplugged to mains.

Much appreciated.

Cheers
David

calikev · May 17, 2012

Hi Dave yes I can confirm pre facelifts do use the aux batteries to run the heaters
Well they do in the uk. That's the whole point being able to use the heater when there is no hook up. Hope this helps :thumb

John · May 17, 2012

David this is worth a look.

http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/downloads/t5_tech.pdf

I also have a Classic Cali and found this training manual really useful.

John

NZgypsy · May 27, 2012

Hi, VW NZ are looking into my continuing heater problems (works on 240v mains, not on batteries, appears to be the earth shunt fault described previously).

I am keen to hear from other California owners (esp pre-facelift models, particularly 2009) who have had (and had fixed) this issue. I'm keen to understand how common this issue is.

Cheers
David