Don’t Let Error-8 Freeze You Out.

Keeping warm is one of the primary things you need to attend to when you’re on the road.

After enduring too much brass-monkey weather I finally bit the bullet and installed a diesel heater. Before long it began behaving erratically – it got to the stage where I was ready to ditch it.

Then I figured it out.

Save yourself the heartache, and the panics.

There is a lot of hot air (heh heh, see what I did there?) going about with Error 8. I’ll tell you what worked for me – I fixed it – inexpensively and easily too.

Even better, if you implement this step during your installation process, and remember to use it each time you shut the heater down, no guarantees, but I’m pretty sure this will stop the problem before it occurs.

Error 8 presented to me as follows: I ran the heater the first time after installation for a while and then closed it down. All went well. I repeated this for a week and all was good.

Ghost in the machine.

Then one night as I sat at my computer I heard the fan come on, by itself, and began to blow cold air. I tried to stop it with the controller but the controller did nothing, I was unable to do anything to stop it or change it.

It was as if the controller was disconnected. The only way I could stop the fan was to pull the fuse. This had me worried.

I have yet to work out why it could start itself up, and it really irritates me that it’s possible. It shouldn’t be.

Not only that, but after this happened I waited a while and refitted the fuse, went to start the heater with the controller, and it wouldn’t start.

Hissy-fits don’t help the problem.

After many attempts (and hissys) it finally started and shut down correctly when I pushed the controller buttons, as it is supposed to.

After it started itself up and blew cold air again several more times and each time refused to start again, I was ready to abandon the thing.

Then something occurred to me.

Next time I got it working as it should, I pulled the fuse as soon as it finished shutting down. I left the fuse out until I wanted to run the heater again, effectively making it impossible for it to start itself up.

And voila! It started behaving itself.

So all I had to do was put a switch in the line before the fuse, and remember to switch it off each time after the heating cycle completes the shutdown process. I switch it back on before pressing the start button on the controller. Fixed – and I feel a lot safer now as well!

The one thing I’d like to rig up is an alarm to remind me to switch it off. I’ll work on that.

Alas, it didn’t end there.

The first (12v stainless steel) switch melted and ceased to function. I replaced it with an identical one and it melted as well, so there must be some serious current running through there.

In the end I stuck a 30 Amp resettable circuit breaker in there, just to make sure.

Next I started getting white smoke from the exhaust, again.

Lots of it. By this time I was fed up and so nervous to use it. I pulled the unit out and examined it, and there was nothing to be seen. It is still new.

I refitted it and made doubly sure everything was sealed.

That bleeding fuel line!

Then after much head-scratching I decided to carefully bleed the fuel line again and with the help of a mate holding the end of the fuel line into a can and observing the bubbles, we made doubly sure there was no air at all left in the line.

At last!

Since that careful effort it’s been running as it should. I’ve put 20 litres of diesel through it and it’s behaving itself.

I’ve also been making sure to run it hot for a while before turning it off – just to make sure any carbon build-up is burnt.

Fingers crossed that’s the end of the dramas.

I must admit I won’t really trust it now until it’s been running faultlessly for about 12 months. (Edit: 6 months in – so far, so good, touch wood!)

***

The following are other explanations I came across as I researched the problem initially.

I found it hard to accept that any of them were plausible on a heater that had only been used a handful of times. However, anything is possible I suppose.

Error code 8: Failure to ignite fuel. Error 8 is often considered one of the most critical and problematic error codes on Chinese diesel heaters.

It typically indicates a flameout or a failure to ignite the fuel properly.

When the heater fails to ignite, it cannot generate heat, which renders it ineffective in providing warmth.

There are several other potential reasons why error code 8 occurs:

• Fuel-related issues: It could be due to a lack of fuel supply, improper fuel flow, or a clogged fuel filter that restricts the flow of diesel.
• Ignition system problems: Faulty or dirty ignition electrodes, malfunctioning spark plugs, or issues with the ignition transformer can prevent proper ignition.
• Air intake or exhaust blockages: If the air intake or exhaust vents are obstructed by debris, dust, or other foreign objects, it can disrupt the combustion process and cause a flameout.
• Electrical or sensor malfunctions: Problems with the control board, sensors, or wiring can result in error code 8.
  For example, a faulty flame sensor may incorrectly detect a lack of flame, triggering the error code.