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Eberspacher Remote Control


Simon D

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Hi All,

 

I have an Eberspacher Hydronic D5WSC running the water heating and radiators on our London based canal boat, with a basic on/off/timeswitch, and I am tempted to back-fit the remote control which lets you switch it on and off remotely with a smartphone app. Does anyone have any experience of these.

 

Do they work OK?

 

And how easy are they to back fit? Is it just a case of unplugging the old unit and plugging in the new one, or is it a big rewiring job?

 

And if I can't back-fit it myself are there any London area engineers anybody can recommend who could do it for me?

 

Thanks fro any help

 

Simon

Edited by Simon D
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Yes, fitted quite a number of these and the Webasto Thermo Call 3 units over the past year and they are simple to fit and use, Some see them as a gimmick, and in fairness they probably are to those people, but for those that will actually use them due to their lifestyle and unpredictable movements they are a sensible and usefull control method.

Edited by NMEA
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  • 1 month later...


Having made the first posting above about Eberspacher remote controls, I have fond a succesful way forward and so I am posting this in case anybody else is searching for an answer - good luck.



I first looked at the official Eberspacher "EasyStartCall" unit, which costs abouut £300. The supplier told me that my 6 year old Eberspacher D5WSC was too old to work with the EsayStartCall but that "One of our engineers suggested that a non Eberspacher gsm switch is available that will enable you to be able to control the heater remotely. As by putting a 12v feed on the yellow wire on the heater turns it on. Unfortunately we cannot really recommend or supply these but it may be worth looking at."



I then got some very helpful advice from the guy whom posts here as "NMEA" who put me onto this http://www.gsmgateop...m-remote-/c20mm



72e5e4_e2103b9da43f4eca8ef4914c2ab6f2cc.






It is basically a remotely controlled 12v / 24v switch which can be opened or closed with a text message sent from any mobile. I think the idea started off as a remote control garage door opener, but once on the market the number of uses grew, and it is now being sold as an Eberspacher or Webasto controller. It cost me £60.00 on Ebay and took about 2 hours to fit, connecting up three wires to the Eberspacher 701 controller loom. It only took that long because I chose to add a couple of isolation switches and a red indicator LED to show when the heater unit has an "on" signal being sent to it.



It fits alongside the normal 701 controller. Basically an hour before I arrive at the boat I send it a text, the heater turn on, and I arrive at a warm boat. Once on the boat I then turn on the local 701 controller, and switch off the remote control, and run the eberspacher as normal. All it does is tun on and off remotely, but that simple function is very useful. The guy who runs the company, Nigel, is very helpful with his after sales advice, and I understand he is about to bring out an updated unit which allows switching on for preset time intervals, but I don't have more details.



Simon


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Well done. We have a GSM remote control for our Mikuni heater. It was a little more expensive than yours but also allows me to interrogate the boat for battery voltage and ambient temperature (and quite a few other things, if I were to wire them up).

 

Very useful as we live in Scotland and fly down to the boat. I text the boat when we are boarding and by the time we get to the boat a couple of hours later, it is cozy. It's the kind of thing that once you have it, you can't imagine why everyone doesn't have one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys, new to this forum but was just wondering if this gsm divice may help me to get my eberspacher working?.. and you guys seem to be pretty well gen,d up on this kind of thing....

 

Basically iv got a eberspacher D5WS hydronic ll that came out of a 2008 mercedes sprinter.

Iv looked up all the eberspacher literature i can find and it appears they may be two types.

One type has two looms coming from it, one an 8 pin , the other a 2 pin(2 pin for the water pump it seems).

The one that i have has an eight pin and a four pin.

eight pin as follows ;

pin 1 -red...........................................................................battery 12v pos

pin 2-brown........................................................................battery 12v neg

pin3-black/red..........?

pin4-green.................................................fuel pump i believe?

pin5-blue/white...........?

pin6-blue....................?

pin7-yellow..................I believe this is usually the signal wire to turn the heater on, but i found a diagram that seems to suggest it may be water pump + ?????

pin-black/white .........?

 

second loom 4 pin

pin 1- white/red.......?

pin2-white/yellow....?

pin3-yellow...............?

pin 4 _black/white....?

 

Im not sure but think these maybe go to some kind of controller, possibly a radio remote???

I would be most obliged if anyone can help point me in the right direction as to how to wire it up and if it would be likely that a gsm controller would help solve the problem... been banging my head against the wall for weeks with this and iv printed that many sheets of eberspacher literature off iv got a folder as thick as a bible... almost worn the printer out too now

steve

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Hi guys, new to this forum but was just wondering if this gsm divice may help me to get my eberspacher working?.. and you guys seem to be pretty well gen,d up on this kind of thing....

 

Basically iv got a eberspacher D5WS hydronic ll that came out of a 2008 mercedes sprinter.

Iv looked up all the eberspacher literature i can find and it appears they may be two types.

One type has two looms coming from it, one an 8 pin , the other a 2 pin(2 pin for the water pump it seems).

The one that i have has an eight pin and a four pin.

eight pin as follows ;

pin 1 -red...........................................................................battery 12v pos

pin 2-brown........................................................................battery 12v neg

pin3-black/red..........?

pin4-green.................................................fuel pump i believe?

pin5-blue/white...........?

pin6-blue....................?

pin7-yellow..................I believe this is usually the signal wire to turn the heater on, but i found a diagram that seems to suggest it may be water pump + ?????

pin-black/white .........?

 

second loom 4 pin

pin 1- white/red.......?

pin2-white/yellow....?

pin3-yellow...............?

pin 4 _black/white....?

 

Im not sure but think these maybe go to some kind of controller, possibly a radio remote???

I would be most obliged if anyone can help point me in the right direction as to how to wire it up and if it would be likely that a gsm controller would help solve the problem... been banging my head against the wall for weeks with this and iv printed that many sheets of eberspacher literature off iv got a folder as thick as a bible... almost worn the printer out too now

steve

Hi Steve,

I went through some similar pain to you trying to get an Eberspacher D5Z-H to work. There didn't appear to be a wiring diagram or manual available, so with a bit of detective work, a manual for a different model heater and help from here, I eventually got the thing to fire up.

 

I've not seen a wiring diagram which matches your pin configuration, but there are various combinations where two timer switches can be fitted.

I haven't got my notes here but basically, you will need one of the current Eberspacher Easy Start timers to get the unit to switch on.

 

The basic wiring is:

 

Red 12v+

Brown 12v-

Black/Red relay control for vehicle fan

Green fuel pump +ve (you'll need a -ve return to the brown wire)

Blue/white isn't used, if I remember correctly, it's for the optional second easy start timer

Blue data signal wire from easy start timer - This is what switches the unit on and sends diagnostic codes back to the timer.

Yellow is normally the switch wire on older models. Didn't work on the D5Z-H

Black and white is, I think for an internal or external temperature sensor (either one can optionally be installed, not both). If you have that then the unit can switch on automatically at the preset temperature.

 

Not sure what the white/red and white/yellow are for.

Does your heater have a coolant pump built in? Mine doesn't so I had to supply power separately via a switch and relay. I'm trying to integrate that into a control system at the moment. If yours is built in, then it'll be controlled automatically so no need to worry about it.

 

Search ebay for "Eberspacher Easystart" I bought mine from Butler Technik for 124.99, they now list the same one for 95.99. It looks a lot bigger in the picture, it's only about the size of a matchbox.

After biting the bullet and buying the right timer switch, I had a working diesel heater within 20 minutes, a toasty boat within an hour and flat batteries within six hours.

It's great to whack the Eberspacher on if the stove is out, it warms the boat quickly but while it's running, I relight the stove as it's noise free and doesn't drain the batteries.

The right controller also has a pin, where if you momentarily ground it, the boiler starts. I'm toying with attaching this to an SMS controller and maybe integrating with a Raspberry Pi for yet more control options (it'll simplify the coolant pump switching) but add complexity and a constant power drain, two things I'm not keen on.

 

Further advice would be to use the heaviest wires that'll fit the plugs and pins possible and get good quality fuse holders and fuses. The biggest problems with these heaters seem to be caused by voltage drop, fatter wires and decent fuses will reduce running problems for a small cost increase.

 

 

Good luck, hope that helps.

 

Rob

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The guy who runs the company, Nigel, is very helpful with his after sales advice, and I understand he is about to bring out an updated unit which allows switching on for preset time intervals, but I don't have more details.

 

That sounds very interesting - I am still considering a GSM unit but also a timer than can cope with more than 1 program per day i.e. on every morning at 6am and every evening at 4PM without having to manually set the Program each time. Sounds like the new unit could do this and have GSM starting?

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I have ordered one of these today, I only need it to work when the temp drops below freezing for a while, or I finish work and want hot water by the time I get home.

It seems far easier to text it when it's needed, rather than a timer (at £90 plus) to keep it running every day regardless of necessity.

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I have ordered one of these today, I only need it to work when the temp drops below freezing for a while, or I finish work and want hot water by the time I get home.

It seems far easier to text it when it's needed, rather than a timer (at £90 plus) to keep it running every day regardless of necessity.

Have you thought about an external aerial? The device seems to come with an attached aerial which may not work too well inside a steel narrowboat. But you should be able to plug in an external aerial - we have a small magmount one that sits unobtrusively on the back deck - when the doors are open it is pretty much hidden, and when they are closed it gets a good signal.

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Hi Steve,

I went through some similar pain to you trying to get an Eberspacher D5Z-H to work. There didn't appear to be a wiring diagram or manual available, so with a bit of detective work, a manual for a different model heater and help from here, I eventually got the thing to fire up.

 

I've not seen a wiring diagram which matches your pin configuration, but there are various combinations where two timer switches can be fitted.

I haven't got my notes here but basically, you will need one of the current Eberspacher Easy Start timers to get the unit to switch on.

 

The basic wiring is:

 

Red 12v+

Brown 12v-

Black/Red relay control for vehicle fan

Green fuel pump +ve (you'll need a -ve return to the brown wire)

Blue/white isn't used, if I remember correctly, it's for the optional second easy start timer

Blue data signal wire from easy start timer - This is what switches the unit on and sends diagnostic codes back to the timer.

Yellow is normally the switch wire on older models. Didn't work on the D5Z-H

Black and white is, I think for an internal or external temperature sensor (either one can optionally be installed, not both). If you have that then the unit can switch on automatically at the preset temperature.

 

Not sure what the white/red and white/yellow are for.

Does your heater have a coolant pump built in? Mine doesn't so I had to supply power separately via a switch and relay. I'm trying to integrate that into a control system at the moment. If yours is built in, then it'll be controlled automatically so no need to worry about it.

 

Search ebay for "Eberspacher Easystart" I bought mine from Butler Technik for 124.99, they now list the same one for 95.99. It looks a lot bigger in the picture, it's only about the size of a matchbox.

After biting the bullet and buying the right timer switch, I had a working diesel heater within 20 minutes, a toasty boat within an hour and flat batteries within six hours.

It's great to whack the Eberspacher on if the stove is out, it warms the boat quickly but while it's running, I relight the stove as it's noise free and doesn't drain the batteries.

The right controller also has a pin, where if you momentarily ground it, the boiler starts. I'm toying with attaching this to an SMS controller and maybe integrating with a Raspberry Pi for yet more control options (it'll simplify the coolant pump switching) but add complexity and a constant power drain, two things I'm not keen on.

 

Further advice would be to use the heaviest wires that'll fit the plugs and pins possible and get good quality fuse holders and fuses. The biggest problems with these heaters seem to be caused by voltage drop, fatter wires and decent fuses will reduce running problems for a small cost increase.

 

 

Good luck, hope that helps.

 

Rob

Hi Rob , soz for late reply and thanks for your help and advice, no my heater doesnt have a built in water pump, i believe from what little i can gather that pin 7 (yellow) may well be the the power to the external water pump, though still not certain. Easy start timer sounds interesting, though a little concerned about shelling out nearly hundred quid only to find it still wont start, ... but i guess at some stage im just gonna have to bit the bullet. Do you reckon i should be able to get it working without it being attached to the vehicle it was designed for then(merc sprinter)?

I notice the d5z-h heaters you have seem to sell very cheaply( for new heaters) on ebay.... did you have no problems wiring it up then once you got an easy start timer?... sounds like it runs well too.

Im just wondering if i buy an easystart only to find i still cant get get my heater going, would i be able to use the same easystart on a d5z-h heater if i ended up having to buy one of those? or are they different timers for the different models of heater?

 

thanks again

steve

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opps last minute addition , iv just come accross a diagram that shows pin 5 attached to CAN-high and pin 6 attached to CAN-low sounds like they are wired to the vehicles ecu... would that have a bearing on trying to wire it independantley in a boat?

also shows the wires on the four pin plug attached to a switching device of some sort and two of those wire attached to a radio remote control TP 43i

would be grateful for any further advice

 

steve

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I have a multi input and output gsm switch 42 quid off ebay, it switches on the ebby and the fridge and also texts me if the bilgemate alarms or the boat alarm is triggered.

I have the ebby d5w hydronic set to kick in at 15 degrees on the stat but can send a text to switch it on and overide the stat.

 

Rick

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opps last minute addition , iv just come accross a diagram that shows pin 5 attached to CAN-high and pin 6 attached to CAN-low sounds like they are wired to the vehicles ecu... would that have a bearing on trying to wire it independantley in a boat?

also shows the wires on the four pin plug attached to a switching device of some sort and two of those wire attached to a radio remote control TP 43i

would be grateful for any further advice

 

steve

Yes it will cause problems, the CAN signal can rely on all sorts of things in a vehicle, like external temp sensors, engine coolant temperature sensors etc so its a lottery. The on off signal for an earlier model universal heater is a simple presence or not of +DC at what ever chosen voltage from 4.5 to 30. Though all hardware is common for these and universal heaters there can be up to 30 different ECUs in the parts list for various markets and vehicles from electric cars to tanks and locomotives. It's a common occurance, people think they are getting a bargain and wind up paying more than a proper kit by the time the thing is installed and working. There is a company that makes a CAN signal generator for some heaters but it's not materially cheaper than a new ECU. Some later universal heaters also have their own BUS signal but that is taken care of by the controller.

Edited by NMEA
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Thanks for that information NMEA, not exactly what i wanted to hear but along the lines of what i expected may be a distinct possibility. Wish id of read it before i ordered my easy start timer though. Oh well i guess i will just have to wait till it arrives and see how it works out, at least i wont be banging my head against the wall if it doesnt start i will have a good idea why......

I believe the timer has diagnostics on it , so maybe it will tell me why anyway.. though then again maybe not, if its not compatible with that particular ecu, although it does state works with D5WS and all hydronic 11 heaters... time will tell i guess.

Thanks again guys

steve

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Hi Rob , soz for late reply and thanks for your help and advice, no my heater doesnt have a built in water pump, i believe from what little i can gather that pin 7 (yellow) may well be the the power to the external water pump, though still not certain. Easy start timer sounds interesting, though a little concerned about shelling out nearly hundred quid only to find it still wont start, ... but i guess at some stage im just gonna have to bit the bullet. Do you reckon i should be able to get it working without it being attached to the vehicle it was designed for then(merc sprinter)?

I notice the d5z-h heaters you have seem to sell very cheaply( for new heaters) on ebay.... did you have no problems wiring it up then once you got an easy start timer?... sounds like it runs well too.

Im just wondering if i buy an easystart only to find i still cant get get my heater going, would i be able to use the same easystart on a d5z-h heater if i ended up having to buy one of those? or are they different timers for the different models of heater?

 

thanks again

steve

Yellow is almost certainly not for powering a coolant pump.

The same easystart timer will work with one of the d5z-h's.

 

Once I go the right timer switch it was really quick to get the heater working. I had a few teething problems where the 2nd hand coolant pump stopped working, (this was because there was a leak from the header tank hose directly onto the pump, the motor housing then filled with coolant and shorted out) and I've yet to automatically sync the coolant pump switching on and off with the heater, at the moment it relies on remembering to switch the pump on and off manually. I've got the bits to automate it, just not had the time or inclination while the weather is so mild. I will crack on with it though.

 

Rob

The diagnostics codes from the timer are really useful. I know know that 014 translates to 'you've forgotten to switch the coolant pump on'! See below for a list of error code numbers and their proper meaning.

 

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.uk/Fault_codes.html

 

An installation and wiring diagram can be found here.

http://www.80-90.co.uk/techhelp/Eber_Webasto_Manuals_All/hydronicB5WS%20-%20D5ws_technical%5B1%5D.pdf

 

hg_201909050000_tech_EN_14088.pdf was the closest I could find to a correct wiring diagram, but it seems to have disappeared from Eberspacher's website.

Once you've got the timer switch, you'll find getting the unit working dead easy. If your heater has outputs for a coolant pump happy days, if not, getting the coolant pump to work automatically is the bigger hurdle.

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Thanks for that information NMEA, not exactly what i wanted to hear but along the lines of what i expected may be a distinct possibility. Wish id of read it before i ordered my easy start timer though. Oh well i guess i will just have to wait till it arrives and see how it works out, at least i wont be banging my head against the wall if it doesnt start i will have a good idea why......

I believe the timer has diagnostics on it , so maybe it will tell me why anyway.. though then again maybe not, if its not compatible with that particular ecu, although it does state works with D5WS and all hydronic 11 heaters... time will tell i guess.

Thanks again guys

steve

The easy start timer will at least put out a CAN start / stop signal instead of simple +DC, the rest is pot luck.

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well tried the easy start as you suggested rob and got the message "int" and then "no signal".It was the same when i tried blue wire(pin 6) to blue/white controller as when i tried blue/white wire (pin 5)to blue/white on controller. So no luck there... as you said NMEA... its a case of pot luck.

 

Found the eber site that gives easy start wiring configurations for different water heaters including vehicle auxiliary heaters, so gonna have a play about as soon as i get some time..... seems scanning through them that my heater could possibly be a type that doesnt have a wire for eberspacher diagnostics, .. would sound about right for mercedes as they like to play about with wiring configurations just as much as eber seem to do.

 

If all else fails may end up buying one of those d5w-h heaters that you have rob, seems to be working well enough for you and there's lots of them selling cheap enough on ebay at the moment. Just a case of rigging up a water pump with a overrun timer relay it seems.

 

Thanks for you help guys will keep you posted.

steve

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Hi again guys,

Well tried all the different configurations given on the eberspacher site for easy start timers and still get the same response "int" and then "no signal"

Had a fish about on a couple of the sprinter forums regards these heaters and its seems from what i gather on there that to get these heaters to work independently of the vehicles can system they have to be unlocked and reprogrammed via the vehicles ecu by an authourized mercedes dealer using star diagnostics system ..phew!

....sounds far to complex and expensive!!!

Think i will give up on that one!

Do you recomend one of these D5Z-H heaters on ebay rob? sounds ok from what iv heard !

To recap;

Its just a matter of red to positive,brown to negative, green to fuel pump (then fuel pump to earth),blue wire from heater to data signal wire on easy start timer(blue/white wire)

Then a matter of relaying power to water pump and incorporating an overrun timer relay on the water pump side ?

obviously observing necessary fuses etc in wiring system on the way...... and thats it? ... up and running yea?

If thats the case , think i may just as well invest in one of those and save myself a lot of headache

steve

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Hi rob soz didnt see that link it was on the next page.

That is the model of heater yes but its a different version(the long number after the model number) , mine is a mercedes sprinter version and has a different ecu and different wiring (two looms , one 8 pin other 4 pin) altogether. Basically its configured so if you need or want anything doing to the heater you need to go to the main dealer.

Lots of heaters have the same model number but different version numbers(hence different ecu s) depending on what vehicle they are intended for.. and unfortunately for me mercedes are as bad for playing about with wiring configurations as eber are just to make you dependant on them!...... germans eh!.... lol

steve

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Think i will give up on that one!

Do you recommend one of these D5Z-H heaters on ebay Rob? sounds ok from what I've heard.

To recap:

It's just a matter of red to positive,brown to negative, green to fuel pump (then fuel pump to earth),blue wire from heater to data signal wire on easy start timer(blue/white wire)

Then a matter of relaying power to water pump and incorporating an overrun timer relay on the water pump side ?

obviously observing necessary fuses etc in wiring system on the way...... and that's it? ... up and running yea?

If that's the case , think i may just as well invest in one of those and save myself a lot of headache

Steve

 

You'll also need to get the correct connector, available on ebay, or chop and replace the socket on the D5Z-H.

Would I recommend it... ...It depends how you'll be using it.

I use it to heat the boat while I relight the fire if it's gone out. I also use it if I want a quick boost of heat in the morning. It's great for that. I run it for an hour or so at a time. I have a calorifier in the system, but it isn't connected to the taps. I'm going to sort that as the Morco isn't really

If there was a way of getting the coolant pump to run in sync with the heater it'd be perfect, I'd fit the room stat and let it run automatically. Trouble is, I haven't really found a satisfactory way to run the pump. At the moment I have a manual switch which feeds a relay, which then powers the coolant pump. There's no 12v+ output from either the timer or the heater.

Someone cleverer than me could probably come up with a thermal switching mechanism that, when the eberspacher heats up, triggers the relay. That'd be neat.

 

Discovered someone cleverer than me has already been busy. I wonder if this could be a solution.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/temperature-activated-switch-kit-n29fl

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Hi rob, yea i just wanna use it to run heating and calorifier basically, im familiar with the d5 series(not the mercedes ones) so know what i need is well within its capabilities. Was really more interested in how easy it was to wire up and how well it runs really , which both seem to be ok from what youve said, so think i may go out and find myself one.

 

Regards wiring up a water pump heres a possible solution.... if you go to the eber site and find the diagrams for different wiring configurations for the easystart, then look up the configuration for easystart timer with" button connection for auxiliary heater" , you could use the pin 5 wire to relay power to a water pump or alternatively instal the button connection as shown(if required) and use the pin 6 yellow wire to relay power to water pump.

Also you will need and overrun timers relay(2 mins i think but check on the eber site for details)as the water pump has to continue running for a short while after the heater is turned off to disperse heat and avoid damage to the heater.Relays are available on ebay.

 

Hope that helps mate .. couldnt open the maplin link so havent been able to view that as yet

 

steve

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