Henrik97

Active Member
Hi!
I have now successfully completed the installation of a Webasto Thermo Top C parking heater in my '97 4.6. It was fairly involved, as the interior blowers don't have one terminal grounded when the ignition is off. On most cars, one side of the blower is grounded and the positive terminal is regulated to control speed. This car also has two blowers, which further complicated the issue. I solved it using a DPDT relay for each blower, to switch them from the BECM-supply to the webasto when it fires up.
The blowers are industrial-size; when I first tested it, they blew a 20 amp fuse on start up. I plan to install a PLM speed controller to bring down the power consumption and decrease the amount of cold air being pulled in from outside.
Anyway, it works like a charm, so if anyone plans to attempt this installation, I'll be more than happy to give you some pointers.

Cheers
Henrik
 
Sounds like a great idea! How much do you think it cost you to do, all-in?

If I remember correctly, I paid about £500 for the used Webasto with new wiring loom and timer, from this guy in Poland: Full kits, ready to work. - New and used heaters for car, narrow boats, vans, trucks. Relays, cables and other bits'n'pieces probably another £20. Speed regulator for the fans (which I have yet to test) was about £30 off ebay.

That's about it. So, not cheap, but a new professional install at a webasto dealer would be closer to £1500.

Cheers
Henrik
 
Hello Henrik,

First of all i'm new here, i'm the owner of a Range Rover Classic 3.5 V8 '88 and have recently bought a (second hand) Webasto Petrol Parking heater.

I was wondering, how did you connect it to the fuel tank ?. I'm still searching for a (easy and nice) solution. Was thinking of getting the drain plug out and replace it by a banjo bolt but i dont know the treadsize and its looking a bit rusty and fragile.

I might lower the tank completely, but that seems a to be a lot of (nasty) work.

Do you have any ideas ?


Thanks in advance, Frederik.
 
Hello Henrik,

First of all i'm new here, i'm the owner of a Range Rover Classic 3.5 V8 '88 and have recently bought a (second hand) Webasto Petrol Parking heater.

I was wondering, how did you connect it to the fuel tank ?. I'm still searching for a (easy and nice) solution. Was thinking of getting the drain plug out and replace it by a banjo bolt but i dont know the treadsize and its looking a bit rusty and fragile.

I might lower the tank completely, but that seems a to be a lot of (nasty) work.

Do you have any ideas ?


Thanks in advance, Frederik.

Hi
If you're placing the heater in the engine bay, the easiest by far is to tap into the fuel return line from the injector rail. The return is the better choice, since the supply has a fuel pump in the tank. I don't know, but it may be impossible for the Webasto fuel pump to suck fuel through the in-tank pump and filter. On the P38, the fuel lines are steel pipes all along the underside of the car, but there is a length of rubber hose between the fuel rail and the return pipe. This is where you install a T-connector for your heater supply.

Regards,
Henrik
 
Thanks for replying !.

The return fuelpipe would be a good choice as it is easy to connect to. However since the car is not running when the parkingheater is burning, do you reckon there is enough fuel left in the returnpipe to burn at least 20 minutes? (i'm not sure i but gess the returnpipe wont go to the bottom of the tank)

Frederik.
 
Thanks for replying !.

The return fuelpipe would be a good choice as it is easy to connect to. However since the car is not running when the parkingheater is burning, do you reckon there is enough fuel left in the returnpipe to burn at least 20 minutes? (i'm not sure i but gess the returnpipe wont go to the bottom of the tank)

Frederik.

The return does go to the bottom of the tank. At least it does in the P38 and I believe it also does in the classic.

Henrik
 
It does go down all the way to the bottom of the tank !. Its working nicely now :5bhurray:

Thanks !
 
Its mounted in the (spare) battery holder with a very robust bracket, i still have to learn to weld thin metal
icon10.gif


The pump is temporary mounted with tie wraps.
 

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Second attempt to send pictures, first time somehow dit not succeed :scratching_chin:

The bracket is a bit thick but i still have to learn to weld thin metal, the mounting of the pump is temporary allthough its functioning allright :)
 

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OK, I've done the google thing and rwad the marketing stuff on the Webasto web site but I still don't get why I would spend any money on this. What I am missing?
 
OK, I've done the google thing and rwad the marketing stuff on the Webasto web site but I still don't get why I would spend any money on this. What I am missing?


It's quite easy to explain why: Imagine getting into a warm car on a cold winterday - you don't have to use lot of time scraping snow of the windows - You just turn the key.... and off you go!


I simply love my Webasto preheater! Once you've had a car with a preheater you'll never have one without!
 
It's quite easy to explain why: Imagine getting into a warm car on a cold winterday - you don't have to use lot of time scraping snow of the windows - You just turn the key.... and off you go!


I simply love my Webasto preheater! Once you've had a car with a preheater you'll never have one without!

Exactly....
Worth the money? probably not, but Norway is a it cold in winter so it's a nice bit of extra comfort. Scraping ice is tedious, and on the short drive to my office, on a cold engine, this bugger sucks down fuel like there's no tomorrow. In the end, I think it's both economically and environmentally sound.
 
Exactly....
Worth the money? probably not, but Norway is a it cold in winter so it's a nice bit of extra comfort. Scraping ice is tedious, and on the short drive to my office, on a cold engine, this bugger sucks down fuel like there's no tomorrow. In the end, I think it's both economically and environmentally sound.

I fitted a heating element in the Cherokee that I have in Sweden which basically heats the coolant. It is plugged into an outlet at the side of the house which is controlled by a timer. It doesn't preheat the inside of the car but with the coolant already at a good temperature hot air is available within seconds of starting. The Swedish cars all appear to have these fitted as standard but my Jeep came from California so I had to do the mod myself. I think the total cost was around a tenner with a little bit of effort.
 

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