Diesel heater Interior lights flickering

[PaulR83]

I've got a Webasto 2000 STC that was installed as part of my basic conversion, connected to the leisure battery along with all my lights and 12v sockets, all fused separately.
When the diesel heater kicks in the interior roof LEDs flicker. I had a 12v amazon regulator installed (stabilised 8-24v to 12v) to the lighting circuit and that sorted it. However, they have started flickering again.
could the regulator be faulty? lights still work though. when the heater kicks in it pull the battery voltage from 12.5 down to 11.8v but should should still be regulated. they do have a dimmer switch, maybe thats the latest issue, but again that still works.
I was tempted to change the regulator to a Victron 12-12 9A
any ideas?
thanks

 

[Dellmassive]

upgrade the Leisure battery to a Lifepo4 . .

they have much better voltage performance and rest at 13.6v.

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[Dellmassive]

but in answer to the question above. . . the voltage regulator has prob failed.

 

[PaulR83]

Thanks Dellmassive.
Shame I don't have an oscilloscope to monitor it.
I did consider a lifepo battery. Not the cheapest solution, but think my leisure battery isn't the best as voltage drops very quickly so maybe worth a change in the future.
I have a victron 12-12 18A charger currently so can change the profile easily enough.
Do you think the victron dc-dc convertor would work?

 

[Dellmassive]

possibly . . .

you can use a multimeter set to AC to measure the AC ripple on the 12vdc output.

 

[alexrw]

I'm having a similar problem with my heater.

My old heater (about 5 years old) packed in last month. I bought a new one to replace it which looked pretty much identical other than the display unit.

All fitted correctly. This is my 4th heater that I have fitted so I'm used to them now.

When I start the heater it runs for a few seconds and I can hear the fan kicking in then it shuts down. Sometimes it gives an e01 error and other times nothing. I have a new-ish battery (probably about 6 months old max) that is fully charged and averaging 12.4v.

The other problem I have is that when I turn the heater on, the LED lights in my shed flicker. They are on a completely different circuit than the heater. The shed is powered by 24V from my house and the heater is powered by a 12V battery which is only used for the heater.

Has anyone had this sort of issue?

It can't be a drop in voltage causing the flickering because they are on totally different power supplies.

Any help/advice would be most welcome.

Cheers

 

[oldiebut goodie]

"My old heater (about 5 years old) packed in last month. I bought a new one to replace it which looked pretty much identical other than the display unit."

If you have a proper heater like a Webasto it most probably was just in need of a service - heaters must be serviced to replace burner pads. What heater are you referring to - there are numerous ones on the market.
I have serviced 30 year old Webastos that have many more years of work in them, I can't see why a 5 year old heater has had to be replaced - unless it is a Chinese junk one.

A battery at 12.4v isn't fully charged!

You may well have electromagnetic interference if it is a cheapo Chinese heater - they are built to a price not to high quality.

 

[icn05]

I have a Roamer 160ah Lifepo4 battery & the lights still flicker when the diesel heater (Eberspacher) first starts up - even when the battery is 100% or near enough

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Totally different scenario!

 

[icn05]

Totally different scenario!

You mean my post? Different as in shouldn’t be happening?

 

[oldiebut goodie]

"When I start the heater it runs for a few seconds and I can hear the fan kicking in then it shuts down. Sometimes it gives an e01 error and other times nothing. I have a new-ish battery (probably about 6 months old max) that is fully charged and averaging 12.4v.

The other problem I have is that when I turn the heater on, the LED lights in my shed flicker. They are on a completely different circuit than the heater. The shed is powered by 24V from my house and the heater is powered by a 12V battery which is only used for the heater."

Your scenario is not comparable to his situation.

 

[icn05]

"When I start the heater it runs for a few seconds and I can hear the fan kicking in then it shuts down. Sometimes it gives an e01 error and other times nothing. I have a new-ish battery (probably about 6 months old max) that is fully charged and averaging 12.4v.

The other problem I have is that when I turn the heater on, the LED lights in my shed flicker. They are on a completely different circuit than the heater. The shed is powered by 24V from my house and the heater is powered by a 12V battery which is only used for the heater."

Your scenario is not comparable to his situation.

Ah sorry my post was referring to the OP - which I hadn’t noticed was a year old!

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Aaaaah... that's the problem when someone tags onto an old thread, it leads to confusion.

 

[alexrw]

Yes, sorry to confuse you. My first time using a forum like this.

To give a little more context:
- The 12.4V is when the battery is at about 75%. I didn't take a reading at 100%.
- Yes, it is a Chinese heater. I can't afford the more expensive ones at the moment. But I've had several in the past in vans that I have built and I've never had an issue with them like this.
- The old one packed in because the area that I kept it got flooded due to really bad weather. So I decided to replace it because it partially was underwater for a couple of days. I'm a little gutted that the old one went because it was a trusted workhorse for almost 5 years and never missed a beat.