Tele Thermo Top T not working? Get help now!

Hi everyone,

I have the aforementioned auxiliary heater installed in my car. It's about 6 years old now, and it has actually worked perfectly well all this time.
Yesterday evening, she heated it up one more time, but when I got to the car, it sounded like this: "wupp...wupp...wupp..." (how else should I explain it??? )

I then turned it off, and it emitted a large cloud of smoke.
Today, I wanted to test it, but it wouldn't work anymore.
Normally, after turning it on, there's a high-frequency noise that sounds something like >>fiiiiiii<< and it starts to click. Then, after a moment, you hear the burner. But now, nothing happens. No noise... absolutely nothing.

I know as much about auxiliary heaters as I do about flying fighter jets myself... but I would still try to repair them myself.

What kind of error could this be?
2. Is it possible to do the repair myself? I mean, regarding specialized tools...


Thank you for your help.

Regards,
Wool.

hi!
"So, my car also always starts with a small to medium puff of smoke. This is normal and intentional, because the auxiliary heater uses it to dry out the combustion chamber from the inside. Therefore, I wouldn't worry about the soot."
The sounds are more likely. But there are really only two possibilities there.
1. The forced-air blower is defective/difficult to operate.
2. The coolant circulation pump is difficult to operate, or something may have gotten stuck inside.
Both can be checked relatively easily (depending on the installation position!).

Here's the translation:

"Regarding point 1: The STH has black caps/covers on top. If I remember correctly, the connections are hidden under one of them, and the combustion air blower is located under the other. Both covers are very easy to remove."

Here's the translation:

"Regarding point 2: You could simply disconnect the pump from the main control unit (STH) and power it directly with 12V, or, as a precaution, remove the pump from the cooling circuit and check if anything is stuck inside. Oh, and I just remembered, the connector between the STH and the pump in the STH itself might be corroded..."

And, as mentioned in another STH thread, a very basic check: Are the 3 fuses okay? You could also try directly applying voltage to the dosing pump and see if the armature engages (clicks) in the pump. Also, the contacts of the dosing pump often corrode (this has been discussed in the forum before).

The best thing to do would be to have the error memory read out.

Good luck.
Dirk.

Hi Dirk,

Thank you for your explanation.
Okay, I'll take a look. I'm going to disassemble the STH and examine everything. The fuses are probably fine. Interestingly, it at least started up again. But I immediately turned it off again because I don't know what's wrong or what happened.
Since an oil change is already due, I'll check everything else at the same time.

I'll post the results later. It might take a few days, but they're coming.

Thank you again, and see you soon.
Have a nice weekend.

Regards,
Wool.

Okay, so...

The burner assembly is broken. Half of the ceramic insert is missing. I ordered a replacement part and should receive it tomorrow. Let's see if that's all it was. The circulation pump starts up perfectly, and the relay is always engaging. The burner fan is also working correctly.
Actually, that's probably what it should have been.
I'll get back to you again once everything is reassembled.

Regards,
Wool.

Great, I hope that was the reason. You could also post some prices sometime, I'd be interested to see them. And... could you take some photos (as many as possible ) of the open STH? I saw one in cross-section at the IAA, but it's more interesting to see what a used STH looks like.
I'll send you my email address later.

Dirk.

hi

The burner insert for a diesel Thermotop looks kind of strange, unlike the one for the gasoline heater, which looks complete.

Best regards,
Eric

@Dirk

Sure, I'd be happy to. I'll get back to you.

Here are the prices:

Central lid (made of plastic, screws included): €4.52.
Brenner cap (screws and gasket included): €21.55
Brennereinsatz f. Diesel: €71.84

Everything already included, including the VAT increase.



@Eric

You described that very well... *mischievous grin*...
I think you meant the "Flies" (likely referring to a specific product or item). The casing that contains the "Flies" appears to be almost identical.


Regards,
Wool.

@Dirk

Okay. The photos are ready. Unfortunately, they turned out a bit blurry. I forgot to switch to Macromodus...
It wasn't possible to capture it in a photo because it couldn't be properly documented with a camera. I only removed the burner and didn't completely disassemble the entire system.
The location where the burner insert was installed was clean. There was no soot visible inside the burner insert. However, some of the ceramic material was crumbling. This likely caused the unusual burning noise.

I somehow have no idea how to attach the pictures...

Just send me your email address and you'll receive it.

By the way... it's actually quite easy to maintain the STH yourself. Just a little note on the side.

Thank you again for your advice!

Regards,
Wool.