Anybody around Los Angeles with an Espar code reader?

My Espar D4s house heater doesn't want to start anymore, I am trying to find someone (or a shop maybe?) with a code scanner for it. I'm in the Los Angeles area...


It used to work just fine, then it was only working for 5-10 mins, then only blowing cold air.

And now it doesn't start at all, no fan, no tick from the pump, no noises, nada. On the display it shows on, and it it not blinking.

So I took it completely apart for service, cleaned the soot in the burn chamber and the burner, unclogged the air hole, replaced the atomizer screen, the insulator/gasket under the burner (old one was all in pieces), new fuel pump filter. Glow plug looked brand new, so I didn't change it. The resistance on the flame and overheat sensors was within spec (don't remember exactly how much, I found a service pdf with the specified values somewhere).
Angle of the fuel pump is correct.
All fuses seem OK. (I checked all, but I think there's only one for the heater, #4 behind the bench?? - do correct me if i'm wrong pls)


And still not doing anything, after all that.

It's getting coooold

Too often people simply say 'help - my heater does not work'...

So it's a relief when someone takes the time to clearly define what the problem is and what actions they've taken to correct it!

I suspect - as perhaps you do - the problem is due to over temperature errors.

I think the most common cause is a restriction in the ductwork. For example - running the heater with the louver in the bathroom closed counts as a restriction. I suppose a restriction in the exhaust/intake airstream for the combustion chamber could lead to this problem as well. So your efforts to clean the combustion chamber, catalyzer screen and air intake port were not in vain.

At the Westyfest in Colorado one of the attendees had a Digi-Max D1000 and the adapter that Greg at Lubrication Specialists once offered for sale. Three or four Westy owners at the gathering had non functional heaters. The aforementioned Westyfest attendee was able to get them all running again by clearing the error codes using a Digi-Max. On some of them he was able to leverage the diagnostic functionality of the Digi-Max - but not all of them!

I had purchased a Digi-Max the year before the Colorado Westyfest and was unable to leverage the diagnostic functionality on my heater.

To make a very long story somewhat shorter...

I found in the OEM Westy Espar heater manual a notation that specified the model number of the ECU. I compared that with the model number of the ECU in my heater. They are the same except for the last two digits. IE: The manual states version 01 whereas my heater has version 02.

Couple that fact with what I observed at the Colorado Westyfest - IE: the Digi-Max diagnostic functionality works on some but not all heaters and one could infer the difference might be due to different 'versions' of the ECU firmware.

In the course of attempting to get my Digi-Max to 'read' the error codes I read every manual and document I could find on the internet and read every post on every forum and website. The more I learned the less I understood about Espar heaters...

The most 'mysterious' aspect of the functionality are the two control lines. I would like to think of them as set temperature and actual temperature. But in reality their actual purpose remains a mystery to me.

So that all my research would not go to complete waste I attempted - as best I could - to create a spreadsheet that - among other things - states which ECU firmware versions ( 1 vs 2 ) are compatible with the Digi-Max.

If you - or any past or future - Westy owners could confirm - or denounce - what I've stated in this spreadsheet - I'll revise it and repost it for not only my benefit but the other 249 Westy owners out there.

Specifically:

If you have a 'REV 01 ECU' and you are able to read AND clear error codes with a Digi-Max please let me know.

If you have a 'REV 02 ECU' and you are UNable to read AND clear error codes with a Digi-Max please let me know.

John...

i have version 2
part number on the ecu is 225101001702

still to be determined how to pull codes /reset the thing

so do we know for sure which of the of the alternate heater controllers (if any) are able to reset our ecu type2?

i don't mind if i have to bypass the Westfalia central command display

how is the eberspacher 801 diferent from digimax 1000 ?
they can both be found for around $100...

they can both (supposedly) erase codes, does that mean if the codes are all gone, the ecu is automatically un-locked (assuming no other problems) or is a "2nd level reset" of some other type?

I'm surprised no one has found a way to manually reset the ecu ... by jumping/shorting some wires, putting it in the freezer or something like that
There's some talk about unplugging the fuse while in operation, doesn't make much sense to me