Are Aux Heats Interchangable ?

[marinabrid]

hi all given up on this on now. anyone know if you can swop the d3w for a d5w ?

putting on a 97 year model. are the wiring plugs the same on most models without the remote timer facilty ?

have found a refubished unit that chap says will fit but folk on here know muchn more me thinks.

[Masked Marauder]

The wiring and plugs are pretty much the same, the only problems you could come across is that timed ones have a pump that needs to be connected, however someone put a 12v bulb in and that made his work, so I am sure that a resistor would work, and I don't know if the metering pump is the same, but I will check for you.

[dave_m]

i have the wrong heater fitted on mine(which was why it never worked) and as stated above it needs a water pump connecting to it otherwise shows an error in the diagnostics and heater won't fire.

 

I originally put a bulb on it but this kept failing, I have now a caravan relay (for fridge etc) connected to it which works a lot better. The type of heater i have has two wiring plugs (the 16 pin? multiplug and a two way one with a purple wire and a brown wire)

 

the two way one is where the pump should connect to and this according to Elsawin sits just infront of the aux heater (you can see the rubber hose bridging the gap in the metal pipes where it would go on the relevant models)

 

However on my Gal the heater will fire and run as soon as you turn on the ignition as i believe it is the one for the Auxilliary Heating system (the other unit needs to see an engine running signal before it will start)

 

so if you do not start the engine straight away then the water does not circulate and it overheats and again shuts down and need resetting.

 

If you add a small electric pump to it to circulate the coolant it could actually heat the coolant without the engine running but i am not sure what this would do to the car battery level although a small pump like the coolant run on pump will not draw a huge amount of current

 

but the answer to your question is Yes you can interchange the heaters, and it works fine as long as you don't sit for too long with the ignition on before starting the engine

[Masked Marauder]

Would yours originally have had a D3W heater Dave, or would it have been a 5Kw?

 

As for the ignition problem it should be an easy fix using little more than a minture 12v relay and the alternator feed already present. But if your not bothered then it is not an issue.

[marinabrid]

mine just has the single plug on with i think 6 or 8 wires connected thats what i need to know if the later models have the same wiring just to swop and job done or would later ones need rewiring.

[Masked Marauder]

The original "D" plug is the same, but some of the wires do different things with the unit that has the clock function, but it will still work.

[Masked Marauder]

The metering pump seems the same too.

[marinabrid]

ok thanks for your help mm.

[dave_m]

i think originally it had the 3 but has the 5 on now, the main plug is exactly the same.