© 2013, Stanislav Jaracz Installation of Combustion Heater in 2012 Mitsubishi iMiEV Stanislav Jaracz November 20, 2013 Parts required: Description

Resource Liquid Parking Heater Set (JP-PH-03, Illustration 1) http://www.aliexpress.com Machine Screws, round head combo, 1/4” - 20 x 3/4” (SKU 334861) Home Depot Wing nuts, coarse, 1/4” - 20 (SKU 215175) Home Depot Lock washer Med. Split, 1/4”, zinc Home Depot 100 kΩ resistor Amazon.com Stainless steel bottle 24 o.z. or similar Target Electric tape Home Depot Duct tape Home Depot Duct seal Home Depot High temperature resistant insulation (for exhaust pipe only) Home Depot

Count 1 ea 5 pk 4 pk 5 ea 2 ea 1 ea 1 ea 1 ea 1 ea 5 sq. ft.

Illustration 1: Parking Heater set, screws & wing nuts

Tools required: Vehicle jacks (2 minimum) or lift Screwdriver set Socket wrench set (metric) Pliers Hammer Mechanical or power saw for metal cutting Knife

Regular scissors Garden scissors Multimeter Solder Drill & bits Grinder or grinding bit or sandpaper All purpose glue

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© 2013, Stanislav Jaracz front. Use the separate bolts (1/4” - 20 x 3/4”), washers and wing nuts. Insert also the rubber shock absorbers included with the heater set. Align the assembly under the vehicle floor to make sure it fits well – some adjustments might be necessary. Do not attach it, yet. 4) Heater body The new heater will be positioned such that water inlet/outlet will be facing to the right and air intake/exhaust facing to the back. The fuel inlet will be facing towards the front. Since the fuel port will have limited access upon installation, it is recommended to install the fuel pipe rubber joint and clip before installing the heater body. Then, insert the heater body into the bracket assembly as shown on the Illustration 8 and affix it tightly with included bolts and washer. Finally, attach the heater-bracket assembly under the vehicle floor using original vehicle's bolts and holes (Illustration 9).

Illustration 9: Heater body installed under the floor. Illustration 10: Water lines in/out, pipe insulation.

5) Water hoses Take the reduction adapters included with the set and grind off the smaller ends to make the OD even smaller. This is necessary to connect them to the vehicle's hoses. The other adapter ends will go to the hoses included with the heater set, pre-cut to length and shape to provide good fit between the new heater and vehicle's hoses (Illustration 10). The hot water from the heater outlet should be directed into the heater core. Clamp all hose connections. Refill the system slowly with the original fluid. In order to get the fluid into the system completely, original vehicle's water pump needs to be operated. Turn on vehicle's heating system as it will automatically operate the water pump. Complete the refill procedure. Turn off the vehicle. 6) Air inlet tube Attach the air pipe into the air inlet and clamp it. Route the pipe towards the front and up into the front 3

© 2013, Stanislav Jaracz trunk. Strap it where possible. Strapping can be done at the end to include wires and fuel pipe. 7) Exhaust pipe Affix muffler holder to the muffler using the included bolt, washer and nut. Enlarge the central fixing hole in the holder with drill using 3/8” drill bit. Attach the assembled muffler to the vehicle underbody on the right side as shown on the Illustration 11 using existing vehicle's bolt. Attach the exhaust pipe into the exhaust outlet with the special pipe clip and bend it to the vehicle's right side as close to the heater as possible to avoid Illustration 11: Air inlet tube and exhaust pipe. contact with the bracket, body and the plastic shield in particular (Illustration 12). The pipe will be close to the rear minibrackets, anyway. Route the pipe as shown on the picture towards the muffler. Mark a spot on the pipe for cutting to fit the muffler. Detach the exhaust pipe from the heater body and take it aside so that it can be cut comfortably. Smooth the cut edges with grinder or sandpaper. Notice the cutins on the heater side of the exhaust pipe – these help to clamp the pipe more securely as the pipe sides can bend inwards when tightening the clip. Making the cut-ins on the other end of the pipe will help to clamp the muffler tightly. Install the pre-shaped Illustration 12: Muffler and exhaust pipe position. exhaust pipe into the heater body on one end and to the muffler on the other end. The second portion of the exhaust pipe will be unused. It could be attached to the other side of the muffler and routed towards the vehicle's back. However, drilling into the vehicle body would be necessary to secure the pipe in place. 8) Insulation of the exhaust pipe The under-body plastic cover will have to have opening for the exhaust pipe. Use garden scissors to cut away portion of the plastic cover on the right side where the exhaust pipe is routed, leaving generous space for insulation. Proceed to the insulation of the exhaust. The insulation material should withstand high temperatures of the exhaust pipe. Wrap the exhaust pipe and muffler with mineral

Illustration 13: Insulation of exhaust pipe.

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© 2013, Stanislav Jaracz or ceramic wool or other suitable insulation material (Illustrations 13 & 14). The insulation on the picture is fiberglass and is not recommended. 9) Fuel pump Route the fuel pipe from the front trunk along the left side of the accessory battery (actually, vehicle's right side) down in front of the heater. Attach the Illustration 14: Cut-out in plastic shield, exhaust insulation, muffler. fuel pump using the included fuel pump clip and separate 1/4” - 20 x 3/4” screws with wing nut in front of the heater onto unused bracket (with triangular hole in it) as depicted in the Illustration 15. The pump has to meet specific upward angle (15 – 90º). Cut approximately 10-12” of the fuel pipe and connect the fuel pump outlet with the heater using fuel pipe rubber joints and clips. Using the same connection procedure, attach the fuel line from the fuel tank into the fuel pump inlet. Illustration 15: Fuel pump (arrow shows direction of fuel flow), also

10) Fuel tank main heater & its connector, air pipe, water lines, A/C wire. For fire safety reasons, use only small metal container for the fuel such as stainless steel camping water bottle (Illustration 16). Drill a small hole (3/16” drill bit) in the lid of the container so that the fuel line can go through snugly. Use the thinnest drill bit to make a groove on the side of the hole for vacuum release purposes. The heater will not work properly without it. Cut the fuel line to have enough length between the heater and the bottle. Insert fuel filter using the same connection procedure as above for the fuel pump and then connect a short piece of fuel pipe that will go through the Illustration 16: Fuel bottle, filter and line under the hood. bottle lid down to the bottle bottom. The heater set comes with a metal fuel pickup pipe that can be used as well, after adjusting the length. The fuel bottle can be laid out in front of the accessory battery and can be considered removable and hence not part of the vehicle. 11) Wiring

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© 2013, Stanislav Jaracz Push wire ends for heater connection, fuel pump, 4-wire mini-timer and 3-wire push button/remote control through driver side front trunk down into the area in front of the heater (Illustration 17). It takes a patience. Bulk of the wires, including those with relay for fan control (unused) will remain in the trunk and must be rolled and taped together to keep the trunk organized. Make sure all unused wire ends are isolated with tape. Assemble the red wires into the fuse box (no fuses, yet), while matching the wire types/thickness. Attach the fuse box to a piece of plastic next to the driver side headlight. Small holes need to be drilled into the plastic to guide the screws. Illustration 17: Heater fuses and wires under the hood. Return under the vehicle and connect the main connector to the heater. Attach connector to the fuel pump wire ends (brown & green). According to the manufacturer, it does not matter which wire is connected to which side of the connector. In the present case, the brown wire was attached to the side with “-” and “AMP” embossed. Attach the assembled connector to the fuel pump. Isolate the 3 wires (red, brown, yellow) of the push button/remote and secure it by strapping to the vehicle. 12) Mini-timer. Cut a small hole into the rubber shield Illustration 18: Mini-timer wire line entering cabin under the floor. used to enter wires into the cab from under the vehicle (Illustration 4 and 18) and route the 4-wire mini-timer line into the cab. Open the small plastic shield on the driver side foot well and bend the carpet to expose the wire opening (Illustration 19). Use pliers to gently pull the wires inside of the cab, one by one. Close the opening with duct seal. Insert female connector to the wire ends. Gently pry off the center panel with climate controls. To facilitate this, it is advised to detach the upper panel with radio, remove glove box and cover under steering wheel. Push the center panel from the back to gain access behind it. Locate desired position on the panel for the Mini-timer and drill hole in Illustration 19: Cabin side of Mini-timer it with 3/8” drill bit. In the present case, the Mini-timer was wires with female connector. installed to the left of the temperature selector (Illustration 20). Insert the wires through the hole inside 6

© 2013, Stanislav Jaracz the dash and down towards the female connector installed earlier above the floor. Attach male connector to the exposed wires of the Mini-timer and connect it to the female counter-part. 13) System check At this point, it might be a good idea to check the system. Connect the main red wire to the 12V battery positive terminal, the brown wire to the battery negative terminal. Insert fuses (make sure to place the three fuses correctly). The Mini-timer should display flashing “12:00”. Fill up the bottle with diesel fuel. Press the heat button on the right (on Mini-timer) to start the heater. The display will show count down minutes starting at “00:29” and the first attempt to fire up should be in less then a minute. Since the fuel line is empty, the heater will make a few attempts to start. The fuel pump might be filled by liquid substance that will produce bad odor when burning. This will Illustration 20: Mini-timer stop when it is purged out. Conclude the test before the heater gets hot installed. by pressing the heat button, again. 14) Final steps If everything worked well, reinstall the center panel by pushing it into the place, then reinstall radio panel, glove box and cover under steering wheel. Reattach the shield in the foot well, making sure no wires are sticking out. Glue the Mini-timer on the dash with all-purpose glue (Permanent Gutter Seal in the present case). Return under the vehicle and make sure all wires, fuel line and air tube are secured with straps or duct tape. Reattach the plastic under body cover while making sure the exhaust pipe is NOT touching it. The plastic shield may touch the heater body, though. 15) Operating the heater Read the original manufacturer's manual to setup time, display brightness and default heating time. The heater can be turned on before the key is inserted into the ignition. However, it is important that the vehicle fan is turned on no later than 3 minutes thereafter. From the same reason, it is not recommended to setup automatic preheating as the fan is not interconnected with the heater and the preheat would only heat-up the heater fluid, which could lead to system overheating, damage and even cause a fire. The heater will initially ramp up to a full power (5 kW) until the fluid is heated to about 85°C (185°F), then it will switch to the lower power stage (2.4 kW). If the temperature reaches about 75°C (167°F), the heater will return to the high power stage. If the lower stage is too powerful, the heater will go into a standby stage, when only water pump is operating. The system will fire up again at high power when the temperature drops to a low temperature limit. Fan speed setting will determine the actual heat output and consequently the heating stage. Please note that low fan speed will make the air more hot, up to the point it becomes unpleasant. This could happen at the footwell area in particular. It is recommended to turn off the heater at least 5 minutes prior to the expected arrival to allow for complete cool down and heat utilization. When the system shuts down, the heater fluid is still warm enough and it can be circulated through the heater core by turning the original vehicle's heating system. Please note that the RR will drop as if the original PTC heater is on. Obviously, the RR gauge misses in this case. Legal Statement: It is the responsibility of the installer to follow safe working practices. The author is not responsible for any local law violations, damages, injuries or deaths resulting from following this procedure or from operating the heater thus installed.

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