2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

by philbuck Wed Oct 04, 2023 11:23 am

Well, I'm making progress with getting my "new to me", 2005 T5 Trident working again !!
Now on to the Eberspacher heater (or not, as the game it's currently playing !!

)
I'm getting diddly squat from it, apart from either the heater light coming on (red), or the fan light coming on (blue), but no action!!
I therefore wish to inspect it, but don't know where it is exactly, or how to access it! Is it accessed from inside, or underneath? (I can see the exhaust pipe).

I have looked underneath, to be met with covers concealing just about everything..........and these appear to be held on with some metal fastenings, that are so corroded, I can't make out what they actually are!!

Any tips or help would be appreciated.
TIA
Phil

by Roopert Wed Oct 04, 2023 12:47 pm

Phil - our Trooper is away at the moment so I can't go and look, but I'm pretty sure it's inside - there is not much space above any of the plastic shielding panels underneath. I'm pretty sure it's located under the cupboards that run along the driver's side of the van, hidden under the floor of one of them.

BTW, if the fixings that hold the underneath panels are very badly corroded it may be worth replacing them, because if you hit a large puddle they can get ripped off (or partially ripped off and end up jammed under the vehicle and dragged along the road). The fixings are a combination of bolts (into plastic inserts) and large round metal perforated disks which can rot badly. The latter are cheap to buy.

by philbuck Wed Oct 04, 2023 1:50 pm

Roopert wrote:Phil - our Trooper is away at the moment so I can't go and look, but I'm pretty sure it's inside - there is not much space above any of the plastic shielding panels underneath. I'm pretty sure it's located under the cupboards that run along the driver's side of the van, hidden under the floor of one of them.

BTW, if the fixings that hold the underneath panels are very badly corroded it may be worth replacing them, because if you hit a large puddle they can get ripped off (or partially ripped off and end up jammed under the vehicle and dragged along the road). The fixings are a combination of bolts (into plastic inserts) and large round metal perforated disks which can rot badly. The latter are cheap to buy.

Thanks for that Roopert, I may take the plunge and start taking up the cupboard floors, but I could do with seeing the underside of a "not corroded" VW Trident, just so I can get an idea of what the bolts/inserts should actually be, before I butcher them.

by frederic Wed Oct 04, 2023 3:24 pm

In our T5 Topaz its under the drivers footwell access is from below I think, air intake is in the side of the drivers door step.
Don't rely on firing it up on battery alone, start engine or have the leisure battery on charge. (High current drain by glow plug) Heater is very voltage sensitive, see previous posts about Ebers.
Room temperature sensor is in the return air intake mentioned, the coldest place in the 'van, so regulation of the interior temp is somewhat arbitrary. People have fitted an auxiliary sensor which cures this.
frederic

by philbuck Wed Oct 04, 2023 3:42 pm

frederic wrote:In our T5 Topaz its under the drivers footwell access is from below I think, air intake is in the side of the drivers door step.
Don't rely on firing it up on battery alone, start engine or have the leisure battery on charge. (High current drain by glow plug) Heater is very voltage sensitive, see previous posts about Ebers.
Room temperature sensor is in the return air intake mentioned, the coldest place in the 'van, so regulation of the interior temp is somewhat arbitrary. People have fitted an auxiliary sensor which cures this.
frederic

Hi Frederic, I did try it on just the Leisure battery initially, then on Electric Hook Up, and then with the engine running. I had heard that initial current draw is high, so didn't expect the Leisure battery to work, although it is a newish one, and holds its charge well, after just having it tested.
Thanks
Phil

by frederic Wed Oct 04, 2023 4:33 pm

Hi Phil
So where is yours?
Servicing by an approved agent can be expensive but may be your only option, boat yards also do them.
Glow plug screens tend to carbon up and inhibit ignition.
Perhaps a small fan heater with a back up mini 5/600 watt oil filed radiator may be the way to go especially
if not doing wild camping do check out the Search for Eberspacher top rt. of page
frederic

by philbuck Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:22 pm

frederic wrote:Hi Phil
So where is yours?
Servicing by an approved agent can be expensive but may be your only option, boat yards also do them.
Glow plug screens tend to carbon up and inhibit ignition.
Perhaps a small fan heater with a back up mini 5/600 watt oil filed radiator may be the way to go especially
if not doing wild camping do check out the Search for Eberspacher top rt. of page
frederic

Hi Frederic
I'm in Cheshire.
I had heard that boat yards may have diagnostic testing equipment, and am quite prepared to take it to one of them (there are many marinas near me). However, I have to find the bloody thing first !! hugegrins

I did search on this forum, but didn't get the answers I was looking for.
The previous (only) owner I suspect, never even used the heater, and that, coupled with my YT searching leads me to suspect that there is an automatic shut off preventing the unit from restarting again (given certain no-start scenarios), unless it's reset via diagnostics. I may have inadvertently entered this situation. Some have said that a battery disconnect sometimes resets it. I'll try this.

Thankyou for your replies.
Phil

by frederic Wed Oct 04, 2023 8:41 pm

2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher Empty

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

A lot is discussed in this site including the 2007 Troopers location
15 or so down
Also check that both the in line Eber. 15/20A and 5A fuses are passing current,
voltage drop on the leisure battery will be pronounced on startup
frederic

by philbuck Wed Oct 04, 2023 10:22 pm

frederic wrote: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

A lot is discussed in this site including the 2007 Troopers location
15 or so down
Also check that both the in line Eber. 15/20A and 5A fuses are passing current,
voltage drop on the leisure battery will be pronounced on startup
frederic

Thanks, I've read about the location on the Trooper, but as the inside layout is different, I'm not convinced the locations will be the same..............we'll see scratch head

Not even seen any fuses, other than some on the Sargent 2005 AS unit, so will recheck those.

Thanks again for your input

by Roopert Wed Oct 04, 2023 10:50 pm

philbuck wrote:I've read about the location on the Trooper, but as the inside layout is different, I'm not convinced the locations will be the same

At floor level the Trident and Trooper are almost identical in layout.

The best advice I can give is to find the Eber's exhaust. It's reasonable to assume that the heater itself won't be far away from that. (It is of course possible to run the exhaust a significant way away from the heater, but A/S won't have done that because it takes time and effort to do, for no gain).

One other observation: the underbody plastic panels are 100% VW. Nothing is added by A/S during the conversion, so you don't need to see under a Trident to see how they are fitted - any T5 of the same type will do. If you want to see an exploded diagram of how the panels are fixed and what the part numbers are, look your van up in one of the online parts catalogues (e.g. 7zap.com) and you'll see how it's supposed to fit together.

by philbuck Thu Oct 05, 2023 10:01 am

Roopert wrote:

At floor level the Trident and Trooper are almost identical in layout.

One other observation: the underbody plastic panels are 100% VW. Nothing is added by A/S during the conversion, so you don't need to see under a Trident to see how they are fitted - any T5 of the same type will do.

I was getting the Trooper mixed up with the Topaz - you're quite right, the Trooper and Trident have identical floor layouts.......

Knowing that the underbody bits are standard VW is good news.

Thankyou again for the info.

by frederic Thu Oct 05, 2023 4:43 pm

Is there really no one who knows where the Eberspaecher is situated on a Trident /Trooper
Come on all you lurkers spill the beans
frederic
G--y knows where it is on the Topaz cos he has had a remote temp. sensor fitted.

by repoort Thu Oct 05, 2023 7:52 pm

Mine's underneath the drivers floor. There's a vent in the footwell. It's easy to think it's not working, for (in mine, at least) there is quite a delay before there's any sign (or smell) of it starting up.

2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

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Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher

Re: 2005 T5 VW Autosleeper Trident - Eberspacher