Carver P4 Heater not working HELP !!!!!!

bobuk

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Hi All

I hope someone can help me

I have a 1999 Peugeot Autosleeper Harmony which is fitted with a Carver P4 Gas Heater

I’ve had the van about 8 months and It’s been working fine but we haven’t used it much over the last few months

Now when I try to start it the green LED comes on on the control panel as it should and the heater goes through its purge and start up as it should and if I look at the heater unit its self there is a yellow LED that comes on when it fires up

This stays on and the unit produces a bit of heat for about 30 seconds the yellow LED then flickers a few times and goes out and the boiler shuts down it goes though this cycle twice then the whole unit shuts down and I get a steady red LED in place of the green one on the control panel

I’ve had a good look online but can’t find a decent fault finding flow chart for this system

If anyone can be of any help it would be greatly appreciated as were off to the New Years Bash in Hereford and I suspect it’s going to be cold

It also has a separate water heater but that’s working fine

Thanks Bob
 
Here's the fault finder for you. If you need further help or spares the arcsystems.biz are you people you need for all things Carver.
When I had that system it used to take anything up to a dozen relights to purge before it would stay on so keep persevering. The chart shows its air in gas supply or no gas.

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Sorry I am not familiar with your Carver heater. However the sequence you describe sounds consistent with lack of gas flow. Other devices will often behave ok with the first sign of a gas flow problem showing up with the heater, because it uses a great deal more gas. Some Truma bulk head regulators have a particular reputation for failing in this way, they can become gummed up with residues/condensates coming from the lpg and then can’t supply enough gas to keep the heater running properly. The pressure may build up again when the heater shuts down, sufficient for the start up procedure to be repeated until eventually it locks out.

I don’t know of any foolproof way of testing the regulator. I would start by lighting all the gas rings and then the oven and grill to see if perhaps the flame sizes got smaller when everything was running. You might also do this when the heater is firing up, if the visible flames got smaller as the firing up took place it might suggest a flow problem.

I am making several assumptions, including that you are using propane and that your bottle is reasonably full.
 
I may have a spare heater Bob, if it isn't just a gas problem. Pm me if you want me to bring it :)
 
Thanks for the help everyone
Im sure its not just a gas problem so looks like its going to be an interesting new year in our van
 
Hi all

Thanks for taking the time to help but it looks like it’s more than just a gas problem

But don’t worry we will still be at Hereford we will just have to pack a few extra jumpers

I have one if those little gas heaters that you put the cartridges in so it looks like I’ll be using that over the weekend

And don’t worry we have a CO2 monitor in the van so we shouldn’t gas our self’s

see you at the weekend

Bob and Carole
 
Thanks for the help everyone
Im sure its not just a gas problem so looks like its going to be an interesting new year in our van
I would be interested to know how you ruled out gas flow, I have been wondering how best to check a regulator.
 
I would be interested to know how you ruled out gas flow, I have been wondering how best to check a regulator.

I have a spare one and fitted that and a full gas bottle and everything else works fine
 
I have a similar problem but with 2 flashing red lights, but haven't found a good way to get to the heater. Any ideas would be a help here.
 

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