Hillclimber

The Alphy will be going to my local specialist about April time, for a service, MOT and sort a couple of issues. I'll get them to check the campervan specific wiring and confirm if this switch is indeed an isolator for the heater. Thanks Gamith for your feedback and for giving me the trigger to look at other things, not just the heater itself.

Tested again this morning, and while the leisure battery was on during yesterdays test, I found an unlabelled switch on the van auxilliary panel that looks like it might be for the heater, as when it was switched on the heater started to work as expected. Took about 4 minutes to get the temperature to the maximum on the display and another 4 minutes to power off. Gives off a reasonable amount of heat, so other than the noise, it looks like it will do the job.

Yeah! Link didn't work for me, even though it was copied from the page with the heater details. My heater is similar to the red one on the left in the video and you might be right about the glow plug. I'll check again tomorrow, once the frost has cleared. Too cold otherwise! Edit: Also just thought that it might be an idea if my leisure battery was switched on during testing..

Here is a link to the heater concerned and all that is provided in the kit. HTH. https://www.good-yes-2023.com/?product_id=537180733_58

My Alphard is fitted with one of these diesel heaters. When we bought it back in June, the seller (the owners father) didn't give us any info on how to use it, other than supplying the instruction manual - which is less than helpful! As it is a chilly morning, I thought I would see if it works and how good it would be at warming the van in conditions such as these. Managed to locate the digital display and once connected was able to switch the heater on and set the temperature to 20. Trouble was that all I got was cold air blowing from the fan, and the display was not showing the graduated heat display. Question is, has onyone else got one of these heaters and can supply some basic instructions on getting hot air out, and also how the remote control works?

Hi Nigel, It doesn't help in these matters when you weren't told by the previous owner how they all work together! On my auxilliary control panel I have a 3-way switch. Car-Off-Aux. I had taken it that this was controlling where the solar charge was being directed, so normally have it in the off position, except when the van is being used and the fridge is on. In the off position the extra room lights and the water pump are also off. Apparently there is also a Victron controller somewhere, but not yet found, that could affect what is being charged. I have now been told that it would be best for the 3-way to be in the Aux position so that the leisure battery is being charged at all times. Just concerned about what overcharge cutout is in place if I do.

Having spoken with a very helpful engineer at Portable Power, the conclusion was that the vehicle battery had discharged enough, through not being used, but not to the point that the engine wouldn't start. This was enough to trigger the relay into action. Engine start and run for 5 minutes and relay is silent. One thing to put on the list during winter is to either disconnect the +ve lead to the relay, and/or keep the vehicle battery on a trickle charge.

As the leisure battery is fitted under the passenger seat, access is not a quick 5 minute job! What I have done is to remove the lead from the +ve post on the starter battery that went to the relay. That has stopped the relay flip-flopping while I further research what the problem may be. Thankfully I have no plans for using the Alphie for the remainder of this month, so will have time to get this sorted.

Just come across an interesting electrical issue on my 10 series Alphie. It's fitted with a solar panel on the roof and there is a Portable Power Technology split charge relay between the main and leisure batteries. The solar panel is off according to the 3-way switch on the auxiliary panel at the rear. This morning I heard a regular clicking noise coming from the front of the Alphie and found it was from the relay. Presumably it is sensing a full charge in one battery and switching to the other. Sensing that is also fully charged, it switches back, ad infinitum. Not heard it before, so wondering if I have a fault, and also will this switching slowly discharge one or both of the batteries until the next time it is driven.

Did you ever get to fix this, as I've got the same issue. Just going to investigate further as both bulbs are good. As an aside, has anyone found a UK source for the 8w bulbs used in the front personal light?

Thanks for this info. After a bit of research, it turns out they were the cheapest as well as being confident its the correct one.

When I bought my 02 model Alphard I found that it only had a temporary petrol cap fitted. The seller kindly forgot to mention that! Looking online for a proper cap, some seem to retail at £30 or more. Is that right? Is there a supplier that I should be looking at and should it be a locking type or plain.

Don't forget to let us know how you get on with fitting the new one. We might need to be following suit!

Just to let everyone know that the part has been refitted. The two pivots (near the top of the item in my pic) fit into two holes on the underside of the main part. Positioned one pivot then pushed the other side up and it clicked into place. Now just need to test that it will hold a full cup without dropping.

Thanks Picasso! I found someone who is prepared to sell me a pair for £20, so hopefully that will mean I'm sorted. I found that parts list as well, and know that as a backup I can get them from Partsouq