Artic heater Questions

[Bigdog123]

My Duce has an Artic heater. It was running perfectly till this morning. It was a warm day for Northern New York (19) and I had to go to work today so i decided to take the Duce. I started up the Duce and heater went inside for a few minutes to let the truck warm up. I came outside and the truck was running but the heater had shut off. I tried to restart the heater to no avail. Went to work and looked at it in the parking lot. With the switch in the run position I can hear the pump running in the fuel tank, but as soo as i push the switch to the start position you can hear a breaker pop and then nothing. I waited for the reset and tried again and as soon as I hit the start position the breaker pops. Any ideas of where to beging to trouble shoot?

 

[Bigdog123]

Also where can I find a manual (TB) for this heater? Thanks

 

[blacktop]

Had to same problem a few weeks ago. In my case the thermal (overheat) switch had grounded out on the inside of the heater and caused a short. I will include a picture of the switch I got some good advice from cranetruck and a guy that repairs southwind aircraft heaters. If this is your issue let me know.

 

[cranetruck]

The circuit breaker in the control box is rated 15 amps and will handle the blower motor and igniter element without a problem.
You may want to check for a short circuit, bad insulation, where the wire to the blower/motor goes thru the sheet metal (circled in the image below).

 

[Bigdog123]

Thanks guys,
Parkinglot check seemed to show wiring ok through the firewall. This was the first thing I checked. I think your right it is a short somewhere I just need some time to look at it. Working 12 hours shifts this week and on family vacation after that. As soon as I get time to look at it further I'll let you know. But thanks for pointing me in some direction.
Steve

 

[Bigdog123]

I checked and did not see any obvious short. heater looks like new. This weekend I plan on taking out the igniter to check there. Any other Ideas. I'm kind of baffeled
Steve

 

[Bigdog123]

Had to same problem a few weeks ago. In my case the thermal (overheat) switch had grounded out on the inside of the heater and caused a short. I will include a picture of the switch I got some good advice from cranetruck and a guy that repairs southwind aircraft heaters. If this is your issue let me know.

This is the exact part i need. Do you know where I get it? Sorry for waiting so long to reply. I'm currently in Afghanistan

 

[Bigdog123]

Had to same problem a few weeks ago. In my case the thermal (overheat) switch had grounded out on the inside of the heater and caused a short. I will include a picture of the switch I got some good advice from cranetruck and a guy that repairs southwind aircraft heaters. If this is your issue let me know.

This is the exact part i need. Do you know where I get it? Sorry for waiting so long to reply. I'm currently in Afghanistan

 

[coyotegray]

I am having this same problem and suspect the same cause. Anyone have any advice on testing and a source for parts..?

I had a situation where the heater back-fired with flame out the intake and after that it trips the breaker when I try to start it.

Thanks,
Andy..

 

[coyotegray]

Ok, I disconnected the leads from the overheat switch and it fires up now but with lots and lots of smoke from the exhaust and makes a loud "fog horn" type sound so I immediately turned it off.

 

[coyotegray]

I checked the TM and I may have a bad fuel control solenoid... Anyone have a source for parts. My heater is NSN 2540-01-194-3923.

The Overheat switch lead 9 was shorted out (welded) to the internal chamber so I need a replacement for it also.....

 

[rosco]

Is the blower motor running, if it isn't, that will naturally give you lots of smoke. Trouble shooting: disconect some of the circuits and check them with a meter. Disconnect the blower motor and with a jumper wire, see if it runs by itself. Check for fuel pressure. Did you check the fuel filter for clean? take it out and blow it out, depending on the type. With a simple meter, you can check a lot. With a clamp meter, that has the ability to check DC current, you can check for overloading.

 

[rosco]

Last winter, I installed a brand new heater because it was time. It didn't run 3 hours and the blower motor failed. I swaped it out with the old one. If you try to start it several times, and it doesn't start, the burner section becomes overloaded with fuel, and when it does start, there is alot of smoke. That says your getting fuel.

An old heater is a good source of parts! Good Luck

 

[coyotegray]

Is the blower motor running, if it isn't, that will naturally give you lots of smoke. Trouble shooting: disconect some of the circuits and check them with a meter. Disconnect the blower motor and with a jumper wire, see if it runs by itself. Check for fuel pressure. Did you check the fuel filter for clean? take it out and blow it out, depending on the type. With a simple meter, you can check a lot. With a clamp meter, that has the ability to check DC current, you can check for overloading.

Yes, the blower runs great, heat in the cab just lots of smoke and noise out the exaust...
Fuel pump/presure is fine, I bled it at the solenoid..

 

[coyotegray]

OK, got it running...

The initial problem was with the damper cable, causing restricted air flow, causing fuel buildup & smoke, causing an overheat, causing the overheat switch to trip, causing the unit to shut down hot with fuel, causing a back fire.


I was able to repair the shorted overheat switch but still need to calibrate it although it seems to be working.

So, just in time for summer I have my arctic heater working.....