Which diesel heater controller do I have?
Updated
Chinese diesel heaters ship with several unrelated controllers, and each has its own fault table. Look at three things: whether there is a screen at all, how the code is written (E-08, E-8, E8, a bare digit or a count of LED flashes), and which buttons or knobs the panel has. Then use the table for that controller only.
Match your controller
Vevor colour panel with M button (XMZ-D1, XMZ-D2)
Also called: Vevor Bluetooth controller, AirHeater controller, talking controller
How to recognise it: A wide black panel with a colour screen on the left and a speaker grille at top right. Four keys sit in a cluster on the right: up, M, power and down. The screen shows large digits, an arc labelled LEVEL and the words AirHeater Controller, and the panel gives voice prompts. It is built into the front of Vevor all-in-one boxes and supplied loose with the split XMZ-D2.
How it shows a fault: The digits flash E-xx. The manual's table lists E-01, E-03, E-04, E-05, E-06, E-08, E-09 and E-10; it has no E-02 or E-07 row. The last fault can also be read at item 002 of the engineering menu.
Rotary knob controller with LEDs (no screen)
Also called: rotary controller, manual controller, knob controller, dial controller
How to recognise it: A small panel with one large rotary knob and no screen or digits anywhere. The Belief and Dieselheat version has three push buttons (power control, temperature control and fan) with red and yellow LEDs beside them. Vevor's CY heaters have a related panel with a row of LEDs, a dial and separate ON and OFF keys.
How it shows a fault: No code is shown. An LED flashes a number of times, pauses, then repeats: count the flashes in one group. On the Belief and Dieselheat controller, an LED blinking evenly about once a second with no pause means the heater failed to start and has locked out. Vevor's LED-bar dial shows an unsuccessful start as 8 flashes instead.
LCD panels that show E-2 to E-10 (no leading zero)
Also called: Vevor CY LCD switch, Gasmate controller, Liwolf controller
How to recognise it: An LCD panel whose fault codes have a dash but no zero: E-2, E-3 and so on. Vevor's CY manual shows two such panels, one with five keys (up, on/off, down, set, OK) and an infrared receiver, and one with three keys (left, right, power). On the five-key panel manual mode is shown as six gears, H1 to H6. Liwolf's five-button panel also uses H1 to H6, and Gasmate's DH203 prints the same style of fault table.
How it shows a fault: E-2 to E-10 on the screen. There is no E-1: voltage faults, high or low, are E-2.
LCD switch with rotary knob and remote (E0 to E15, no dash)
Also called: EnControl, T4 controller, LF Bros style controller
How to recognise it: A wired LCD switch operated by turning and pressing a knob, with a wireless remote. Heatport's EnControl has one rotary switch; the T4 has two knobs (one for time, one for mode and power). Codes have no dash: E1, E2, E3. Two strings identify it: the screen shows Polr when you start fuel priming and 433 when you pair the remote.
How it shows a fault: E0 to E15 on the LCD, without a dash. The T4 manual adds C2, C4 and C7 for control-switch faults.
LCD panel with push-turn knob (Hcalory HC-A01, A-2209)
Also called: A-2209, Bluetooth control switch, one-knob LCD
How to recognise it: A landscape colour LCD with, at its right-hand end, a small Set key on top, a round knob that both turns and presses, and a power key below. A pump key with a fuel-tank icon sits at the lower left. Unlike the screenless rotary controller, this one has a full display and shows E-xx codes.
How it shows a fault: E-01 to E-10 on screen, in a different order from the common LCD: E-01 is start-up failure, E-02 is flame-out from lack of fuel and E-03 is abnormal voltage. The last fault is also stored at item En01 of the query menu.
B2010 controller (E-01 to E-12 with F1 to F3 sub-codes)
Also called: B2010, spanner-button controller, P-01 controller
How to recognise it: A black five-button panel laid out like the classic LCD, but its setting button is marked with a spanner. In manual mode it shows gears such as P-01 instead of a Hz figure, and the screen sleeps after 5 minutes. Its fault codes go beyond E-10, to E-11 and E-12, and some carry an F1, F2 or F3 suffix.
How it shows a fault: E-01 to E-12 on screen. Glow plug, pump, fan and case-sensor faults add F1 (short circuit), F2 (open circuit) or F3.
Vevor CY knob LCDs (single-digit fault numbers)
Also called: Vevor knob controller, plateau-key controller
How to recognise it: An LCD with a knob button on Vevor CY-5001, CY-5002 and CY-5004 heaters. One version has a knob plus an oil pump key and a plateau (altitude) key; the other has a single knob button. Faults appear as a bare digit with no E.
How it shows a fault: A single digit. The two versions number their faults differently: on the knob-with-keys version 3 is the fuel pump and 4 the glow plug; on the single-knob version 2 is the fuel pump and 3 the glow plug.
5-button LCD with H1 to H6 heat levels and Alpine mode
Also called: new controller, the other type, Alpine-mode controller
How to recognise it: The same black case and five buttons as the classic LCD, so you cannot tell them apart until the panel is powered. Once lit, manual mode reads H1 to H6 with a bar graph instead of a Hz figure, and the battery voltage is shown on the main screen.
How it shows a fault: One owner quotes short codes without a leading zero (E2 for a voltage fault, E8 for flame-out). That matches the E-2 to E-10 table in the Vevor CY and Liwolf manuals, which describe a five-key panel with H1 to H6 gears.
Blue LCD controller with left and right arrows
Also called: blue controller, new blue controller, blue LCD
How to recognise it: Owners call it the blue controller: the screen graphics are mostly blue, with a heater drawing that animates when running. Its buttons are a settings (spanner) button, left and right arrows, OK and power. It usually ships with a small LCD hand-held remote with four buttons instead of a plain key-fob.
How it shows a fault: A fault page is reached by pressing OK repeatedly. No manual for this panel was found, so its code table is not confirmed here.
At a glance
| If you see | You probably have |
|---|---|
| E-01 … E-10 with two digits, on a black panel with five round buttons | 5-button LCD |
| E-xx flashing on a colour screen, four keys including M, voice prompts | Vevor M-button panel |
| No screen: an LED flashes a count, pauses, repeats | Rotary knob, LEDs |
| E-2 … E-10, one digit after the dash, no E-1 | LCD, E-2 … E-10 |
| E1, E2, E3 … with no dash, on an LCD switch you turn and press | Rotary-switch LCD, E0 … E15 |
| E-01 … E-10 on a colour LCD with one push-turn knob | Knob LCD (Hcalory HC-A01) |
| E-xx followed by F1, F2 or F3, or codes E-11 and E-12 | B2010 (spanner button) |
| A bare digit (1 to 9) with no E, on a Vevor knob LCD | Vevor CY knob LCD |
| H1 to H6 heat levels on a five-button LCD, no Hz figure | H1–H6 level LCD |
| Blue screen, left and right arrow keys, LCD hand remote | Blue LCD, arrow keys |
Related questions
- Why does the same error code mean different things?
- The controllers come from different designs. On the common 5-button LCD, E-01 is low voltage and E-03 is the glow plug. On the Hcalory HC-A01 knob LCD, E-01 is a failed start and E-03 is the voltage fault. On the rotary-switch LCD on Heatport and T4 heaters, E1 is failed ignition. Manuals for each are linked on the controller pages.
- My panel looks like the 5-button LCD but shows H1 to H6. Which is it?
- That is a different controller in the same case. It sets heat in levels H1 to H6, has no pump-rate (Hz) setting, and owners find no working PIN menu on it. See the H1 to H6 level LCD page.
- Can one heater model come with different controllers?
- Yes. Vevor's manual for the CY-5001, CY-5002 and CY-5004 documents five different control switches with four different fault tables. Go by the panel in front of you, not by the model number on the box.
- What if my controller is not listed here?
- Check the paperwork that came with the heater for a fault table first. If the codes are written E-01 to E-10 with two digits, the common table is the most likely match, but confirm it against your manual before replacing a part.
Go to the full error code table
Sources
Everything on this page is compiled from the documents and discussions below. We summarise them in our own words; follow the links for the originals.
- OnTrack Outdoor: LCD controller instructions V1 (PDF) (cdn.shopify.com)
- OnTrack Outdoor: diesel heater troubleshooting guide (PDF) (cdn.shopify.com)
- D2/D4 parking heater 12 V/24 V user manual, Alza import (PDF) (dwn.alza.cz)
- Hcalory air heater user manual, M98 (PDF) (cdn.shopify.com)
- Owner video: Chinese Diesel Heater Controller Instructions Advanced Settings PIN Code (The Wrinkly Nomads) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: Diesel Heater Advanced 1688 Menu (Arup Sarkar) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: Chinese diesel heater advanced menu password (Diy_thinks) (youtube.com)
- Vevor diesel heater manual, XMZ-D1 / XMZ-D2 (PDF copy) (tuitam.pl)
- Owner video: Bluetooth Diesel Heater Feature and Settings Discovered (Lowered Expectations) (youtube.com)
- Belief diesel air heater user guide, rotary control (PDF) (dieselheat.com.au)
- Dieselheat: diesel air heater fault finding guide (PDF) (dieselheat.com.au)
- Vevor diesel heater manual, CY-5001 / CY-5002 / CY-5004 (PDF copy) (xlrzbfnheqpszgtyhdkh.supabase.co)
- Gasmate portable diesel heater manual, DH203 (PDF) (snowys.com.au)
- Liwolf parking heater all-in-one manual V1.0 (PDF) (cdn.shopify.com)
- Heatport H2 / H4 EnControl user manual v1.00 (PDF) (cdn.shopify.com)
- T4 diesel air heater user manual, Alza import (PDF) (dwn.alza.cz)
- Hcalory HC-A01 toolbox heater user manual (archived transcription) (web.archive.org)
- A-2209 Bluetooth control switch manual, Alza import (PDF) (dwn.alza.cz)
- Manufacturer video: Likaci Bluetooth and app control switch operation (youtube.com)
- B2010 controller operating manual V1.2 (PDF) (cdn.shopify.com)
- Owner video: New/Different/Alternative Chinese Diesel Heater Controller (Grizzly Wears) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: Chinese Diesel Heater Controller, the Other type setup (Brett M) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: How To Prime Newer Chinese Diesel Heater (Rusty Rose Adventures) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: Chinese Diesel Heater New Controller Q and As (Mic S) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: New Blue Chinese Diesel Heater Controller Functions (Van Life UK) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: LCD Controller, Remote Pairing and Temperatures (Sam's Motor and Machine) (youtube.com)
- Owner video: Pairing a remote with the blue diesel heater controller (retrorestore) (youtube.com)