Our Webasto Quit and We're at 32 degrees!!!

[JackandLiz]

Howdy, WOGers.

Our Webasto Scholastic Series School Bus heater quit working this AM. It has worked perfectly for the last 3 weeks. Duh.
We are at 32 degrees here in Dhanis, TX. We are expecting snow today and tonight's temp is predicted to go down to 23 degrees.


We turn on the thermostat in the kitchen, the fans start blowing air, then we flip up the 2 switches, the light comes on for about 25 seconds and then goes off. I don't hear the pump come on nor do I hear the diesel ignite.

This is what Jack has done so far this AM to troubleshoot this problem. Jack has checked the fuses and they are OK. He also hears the sparking from the igniter. He disconnected the fuel hose from the output side of the Webasto's fuel filter and there was no diesel coming out of the filter.

Any ideas or suggestions would REALLY be appreciated.

TIA,
Jack

[gcyeaw]

Is there enough fuel in the tank? The pickup tube for the Webasto should be shorter so you don't empty the tank.

Is the filter cloged? I don't know if fuel would run out of the filter or not since I don't know where it is in relationship to the fuel tank and fuel level.



For now that is all I can suggest.

[markusfmeyer]

Good question - don't the "accessory" items like generator, etc cut off at about 1/4 tank of fuel so the engine itself doesn't run out of fuel?

[giderich]

Turn on your ignition switch and the heater on your Racor with thaw out the diesel...you likely have 'summer diesel' and the diesel has gelled. Starting the big diesel will help warm the fuel also but that's not too neighborly.

This time of year up north I usually dump some Howe's in the tank.

[JackandLiz]

UPDATE
Thanks to all that have replied, so far.

Jack has determined that the Webasto is NOT getting fuel. We have a FULL tank of diesel.

Originally Posted by giderich

Turn on your ignition switch and the heater on your Racor with thaw out the diesel...you likely have 'summer diesel' and the diesel has gelled. Starting the big diesel will help warm the fuel also but that's not too neighborly.

This time of year up north I usually dump some Howe's in the tank.

We did start the engine fairly easily and ran it for about 5 minutes, no problem.

Thanks again,
Liz

[Ernest Ekberg]

make sure your freeze protection heater are on, especially tonite

[JackandLiz]

Originally Posted by Ernest Ekberg

make sure your freeze protection heater are on, especially tonite

Hmmmm. Guess I need to check the circuit breaker panel for those. O.K. I found that breaker. Thanks for the concern.

Regards,
Liz

[JackandLiz]

Howdy, WOGers.

Jack strikes again!!! The Webasto is now working so far. After determining that he could get fuel into the fuel hose from the Racor and then through the fuel filter, he cleaned the fuel nozzle and the photocell. He put it all back together and turned on the unit. It is working. Whew!!

Thanks again for all of your help. It is much appreciated.

Y'all stay warm, now,
Liz

[gcyeaw]

I'm glad Jack was successful, but I'll bet his fingers were freezing while trying to fix it.

[Rob Robinson]

Originally Posted by JackandLiz

Howdy, WOGers.

Jack strikes again!!! The Webasto is now working so far. After determining that he could get fuel into the fuel hose from the Racor and then through the fuel filter, he cleaned the fuel nozzle and the photocell. He put it all back together and turned on the unit. It is working. Whew!!

Thanks again for all of your help. It is much appreciated.

Y'all stay warm, now,
Liz

Jack and Liz if you lose your Webasto and only have electricity to heat then besides heating the interior put a 60W lamp in each tank bay as well as the bay that houses your water pumps. I've done this in temperatures as low as high twenties.