New owner 2005 3500 158

Ricksan

Ricksan

Rick
In the process of purchasing a converted (RV) 2005 T1N 3500 (158 in WB). It's in the driveway and I have been reading all I can on the forum about the new critter!! Lots of fun and lots of questions and answers found on the site. And thanks in advance to all of you experts out there! I think you are all amazing!

But... I'm baffled about the booster heater on my Sprinter. I accidentally found the Espar behind the driver side headlight (I was really trying to find out how many amps my alternator put out (still working on that one). I got all excited about finding the Espar (I was thinking about the mods for having it come on while camping). So, I read the owner's manual and all the post related to turning the booster heater on.

The control that I have has the snow flake icon on top and I can push that while the engine is running and it lights up (AC)?. On the bottom is the "rest" indicator and I can press that with the engine off or on and it lights up. With the engine off the fan blows (but I don't think the Espar starts). Now, in the manual there is are wavy lines and a light on the left of the control. Those are absent on my control but I think that there may be a light (just not an icon). But when I push on the center (Horizontal) button it does not feel like it wants to or is supposed to turn anything on.

So, here is the question. Do you think the control is broke or do I not have the option of turning on the booster heater at this control? If I can't turn on the Espar from this control, then how does the Espar get turned on?

Thanks in advance for any help you all provide. And I also apologize in advance if I am breaking any forum etiquette (this is my first post to this type of forum).

Rick
Oak Harbor, WA
 
sikwan

sikwan

06 Tin Can
Ricksan said:
The control that I have has the snow flake icon on top and I can push that while the engine is running and it lights up (AC)?. On the bottom is the "rest" indicator and I can press that with the engine off or on and it lights up. With the engine off the fan blows (but I don't think the Espar starts). Now, in the manual there is are wavy lines and a light on the left of the control. Those are absent on my control but I think that there may be a light (just not an icon). But when I push on the center (Horizontal) button it does not feel like it wants to or is supposed to turn anything on.

So, here is the question. Do you think the control is broke or do I not have the option of turning on the booster heater at this control? If I can't turn on the Espar from this control, then how does the Espar get turned on?
Click to expand...
Welcome Rick. :clapping:

This is strange. The only other way that I can think of that can turn on Espar is from the Timer module (rectangular box with a clock display). Depressing the the horizontal bar (switch) will give a click.
 
Ricksan

Ricksan

Rick
Thanks Seek,

I'm should be meeting up with the previous owner today and I'm going to ask about the control module. I suspect it may be broken. The missing icon mystifies me some though. I'll get back to you when I find something out!!

Thanks
Rick
Oak Harbor, WA

PS: Was raised in San Leandro. CA :rad:
 
Ricksan

Ricksan

Rick
This may be old new but here is what happened regarding my booster heater.

The booster heater that I found behind the driver side headlight was not working. The heater control module had icons for A/C and Rest but no icon for the booster heater (wavy lines). And the button did not seem to want to be pushed either.

So I goggled heater control panels for my 2005 3500 Sprinter and I found that there were actually three heater control modules available. 1) with a blank 2) with just the A/C and the Rest and 3) with the A/C, Rest and the Wavy Line icon.

It seems that sometime in the past, my heater control module was replaced with the wrong (no wavy line icon) module.

So replacing the module with the correct # 3 version solved the problem and the mystery.

I hope the pictures I tried to attach come through and that this may help somebody someday!

Cheers
Rick
Oak Harbor, WA
 

Attachments

blessedmomof8

blessedmomof8

New member
First off...congrats on the new van!

Second...thanks for showing me that I have an Espar! I had read about it in the forum but didn't pay any attention because I had no clue what one was! :lol: But looking under the hood today I noticed that box behind my driver's side head lamp. I did read about the rest heater buttons from my owner's manual, but I didn't remember the word Espar...which threw me off!

So thanks to this thread...I now have another piece of machinery on my van that I have to think about possibly going bad! LOL!

I really doubt it was used all that much as my van lived in Tampa, FL most of its life before it came to Columbus, GA. :)
 
B

bc339

New member
Ricksan, Are you still trying to ID your alternator? If you crawl under the right front side, you'll find the alt. The Amp rating will be printed on the back of the alternator on the black plastic cover. You may need a mirror.
You can also find out by calling a Dodge parts dept, they'll need your VIN - this will tell you what it was originally equipped with. Ask the previous owner if it was changed.
And welcome to the forum.
Bruce
 
Ricksan

Ricksan

Rick
Jill,

Ain't it fun learning about Sprinter Vans! :cheers:

Vic,

Thanks for posting the additional thread for heater booster. That helps a lot! :)

Bruce,

I crawled up under the van today and cleaned off the alternator label. Looks like it's a 120 amp output! Thanks for the direction! :rad:

Thanks to everyone!
Cheers
Rick
Oak Harbor. WA
 
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