Hi there,
I'm wondering if anyone can offer me some advice before I start spending like a maniac.
I have an Alfa Romeo 147 TS Lusso with an LPG Conversion. I have an unusual problem where sometimes the car will not switch over to LPG. It will attempt to but fails and cuts out, this sometimes happens from a cold start (I will be driving along and all of a sudden it will just cut out) or if the car has just switched over to LPG and then turned off and left for 10 - 15 mins (The car will start but after a few seconds it will just cut out) I have to turn the LPG off immediately and drive on Petrol (on one occasion, I was going around a bend and it decided not to switch to LPG and almost caused me to crash!) After about 15 mins of driving on Petrol, I can switch back to LPG and it will be fine, seems to be very intermittent.
Has anyone had something similar to this? I think it could be a vapourizer or valve problem.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
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Hi,
You might do better if you try www.alfaowner.com There are hundreds of questions listed with thousands of replies. Just do a search you might come up lucky.
Paul
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Hi I have a fiat marea and I seem to have the same problem. car starts fine on petrol, clicks over to lpg and stalls. I then start the engine again and when it clicks over its fine. sometimes it doesnt though.
I now wait untill it clicks over before setting off, this is sometimes a wait when i first start in the morning or have left it for a while.
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Have just been looking around and found that this problem might be a problem with the radiator/ cooling system. aparently the gas supply relies on the warm water from the cooling system in order to work. if there is a leak any where or the water is not going through the system, some how it directly effects the vaporiser . erm it may just be better to look at this.
www.go-lpg.co.uk/Hints.html
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that's right , basically the gas in the tank, held in liquid form ( L as in LPG ) , needs hot water from the engine to turn it into gas ( vapourize it ) - have contributed previously on this topic - You need to start on petrol then move over to LPG once the engine has reached normal operating temperature - rules out LPG on short journeys ... ( however , on really warm days if the car has stood in the heat for a while , you might get away with it )
If your cooling system is low , losing coolant somewhere , head gasket etc, this will prevent the LPG from working as it should .
that's if you can find a station with LPG in stock...
Edited by motorprop on 21/05/2008 at 12:46
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Hi All,
Thanks so much for all the advice. It turns out I have a problem with the car using a lot of engine coolant, I topped it up on Sunday and after driving only 200 miles, its gone way below minimum! Am hoping its not the head gasket and something a lot less expensive : - )
Reading all the advice given, thinking it could be this causing all the problems with it (Well I really hope so!)
Once I have got to the bottom of it and had it fixed, will let you all know how it goes.
Thanks once again! : - )
{snipquote!
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 13/06/2008 at 01:38
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i have had a smilar problem with my wifes newly converted mazda 3 auto. it has been back and forth the garage but they have been unable to fix it. its my wifes car and she refused to drive it on gas as it was too dangerous. i was on the verge of having the system removed as it has been there for months. i was suspecting the tick over, but both e gas and the installer said this was not the problem as it was controlled by the ECU. despite this i eventually decided to dismantle the throttle stop, I noticed that there was a very small amount of play when locked into position. i put a rubber solution onto the thread and reasembled it, at first it cut out as usual, this was because i had not found the "sweet spot". either side of this and it would cut out. i set the tick over a little high and very very gradually over a couple of days i would reduce the throttle and recheck from a cold start. it eventually stopped cutting out but would stutter, with each adjustment it got better and better until it stopped cutting out. basically the slack in the thread was causing the throttle to change slightly taking it away from the sweet spot. it would drive normally with a hot engine as the metal had expanded and was taking up the slack.
maybe this will help.
regards
terry
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