cold mornings

[jboy012000]

Hi All,

I have a 98 Discovery 1 with LPG conversion, when I have got the engine warm I change the car to run on gas, but on cold mornings it stalls and runs really rough, also when I am in park the rev counter goes really low down then revs up quite high.

Has anyone else had this or has anyone got any thoughts on what might be wrong.

Thanks very much.

John

[v8jobster]

how long has the lpg system been on the disco?? from what you say it could be the diaphram in the vaporisor has gone weak, causing the the stalling and rough idling issues. The vaporisors do need to be checked/serviced annually. You can check this yourself, not that hard to do otherwise would get a qualified lpg blokey to have a look for you. Does it run ok on petrol?

[v8jobster]

or the lpg system isn't correctly set up?? Also if its running okish on expensive stuff then also might be worth looking at the timing!

[jboy012000]

or the lpg system isn't correctly set up?? Also if its running okish on expensive stuff then also might be worth looking at the timing!

I am not sure exactly how long the lpg system has been installed although I do know it has been on a few years, it seams strange that I ran it on Sunday afternoon which was a warmer day and it run perfectly smooth.

I did think about the quality of gas that I put in before so I used a different station Sunday evening and again it run smooth.

I dont think the LPG system has ever been serviced, is there a manual or procedure on the net on how to do this? I dont think it could hurt to give it a sevice anyway.

I could also look at the timing as you suggested, would I be able to do this my-self as well?

Thanks very much.

John

[JulesV8]

I think you need to seperate the 2 fuels to identify any problems.
How does the car run, on fuel when cold / when hot?
How does the car run, when the engine is warm, on LPG?

If it runs rough on petrol when you start it then I would be inclined to think that you might need to look at the timing. Also the stepper motor might need a clean out.

Re the quality of the LPG, apparently the UK has some of the cleanest with mainland europe having some of the durty. Not sure if this is founded but...if the LPG system has never been touched, it might just be worth your while to get one (or 2 - depending on your LPG system) LPG filters. These are cylindrical shiny metal filters somewhere in your engine bay - usually near the bulkhead. Follow the LPG line from the tank to the engine and you will either find 1 or 2. Replace these (find them on ebay for about £10 each) and you might see a dramatic difference running on LPG.

Best of luck

J

[jboy012000]

I think you need to seperate the 2 fuels to identify any problems.
How does the car run, on fuel when cold / when hot?
How does the car run, when the engine is warm, on LPG?

If it runs rough on petrol when you start it then I would be inclined to think that you might need to look at the timing. Also the stepper motor might need a clean out.

Re the quality of the LPG, apparently the UK has some of the cleanest with mainland europe having some of the durty. Not sure if this is founded but...if the LPG system has never been touched, it might just be worth your while to get one (or 2 - depending on your LPG system) LPG filters. These are cylindrical shiny metal filters somewhere in your engine bay - usually near the bulkhead. Follow the LPG line from the tank to the engine and you will either find 1 or 2. Replace these (find them on ebay for about £10 each) and you might see a dramatic difference running on LPG.

Best of luck

J

When the engine is cold it does not run too bad on petrol by that I mean it runs fairly smooth, I can't transfer onto gas until the engine is warm anyway otherwise the engine stalls

When the engine is warm the car runs quite rough on petrol but sounds a lot smoother on gas.

But what I have noticed happening is that when the engine is warm and running on gas on some days (mainly cold mornings) the revs drop well down and the car really struggls but then the revs will shoot up and then the revs drop well down again and this repeats until the car eventually stalls, then I have to wait a few minutes before the car will fire up again on petrol and when it does there is a smell of gas but only for a few seconds, after I re-start the car it runs fine again.

It might pay just to get the LPG system serviced and have a garage look at the timing.

Is that all it takes to service the lpg system change the filters?

Cheers

[JulesV8]

hi Jboy,

Right ok then...is the water level good, does it lose water? If you run on LPG and it get rough then it could be one of the following things:
- Coolant level low - or coolant with not enough coolant liquid - sohuld be 50/50
- Air lock in the coolant system, more than likely around the vaporiser. If your car uses water then it could transpire to be a leak from one of the unions somewhere
- vapouriser with dodgy, preished seals - which it could be.

All of these would be picked up if you get the LPG serviced and for peace of mind, and the fact that you are getting these niggles on LPG - if worth servicing it.

The fact that it runs rough on petrol when the engine is warm leads me to believe that there may be a timing issue as with LPG, the "advance" is either more or less (not sure which) - which could mean that you are either running lean or rich on LPG which would then lead me to believe that you have a mixer (single point) LPG system which is piggy backing your petrol ECU and is not like the sequential system which has its own LPG ECU to constantly monitor everything like the petrol on does.

Make sense? I think I have confused myself...:biggrin:

I think this is right as it would explain the symptoms.

Best get the LPG serviced.

Keep us updated on how you get on

J

[jboy012000]

I know the last owner fitted or had fitted for him a new water pump, I do have to top the water level up at least once a weak but I just put that down to it being a big Land Rover :)

I think you are right, if the system has never been serviced then there could be some seals that need replacing, filters and whatver else and if its done at a garage they will know what to look for.

I sent out some e-mails to garages last night to see how much they would charge me for looking at the timing as well as servicing the LPG system.

I will let you know how I get on.

Thanks again.

John

[JulesV8]

Jboy,

When it comes to LPG servicing, make sure the guy(s) is LPGA certified. Given these hard time I'm sure any garage will just tell you they can service it and wont actually know what they are doing. At least with the LPGA certified garages - they should know what they are looking at.

Good luck

J

[jboy012000]

Jboy,

When it comes to LPG servicing, make sure the guy(s) is LPGA certified. Given these hard time I'm sure any garage will just tell you they can service it and wont actually know what they are doing. At least with the LPGA certified garages - they should know what they are looking at.

Good luck

J


Well I promise you will not believe what im telling you, I just love Landrovers, its somehow fixed itself (I wish that always happened), I went to my dads last Friday it stalled twice on the way and I was screaming at it, so I had a coffee with my mum and dad and I took my dad for a spin round so he could see for himself what I was talking about, he got in to drive it and he drove it quite hard used up a fair bit of petrol and a fair bit of gas and the bl**dy thing ran fine and has done since.

Go figure that one. It doesn't just run now it purse like a kitten until you put your foot down then it roars like a lion.

I am very confused as to how this just managed to sort itself.

Now just to spit ball it may have been a blockage in one of the pipes that has cleared but to be honest I don't have a clue.

Would like to say thanks for the advise though its great knowing there is somewhere you can go for help.

John
:)

[JulesV8]

I'm glad to read your post. Most V8 are gently driven around and never pushed and as you have found out, its good to get the engine breathing properly. As good trashing will clear cr*p away and it could just have been a build up of cr*p inside.

Now you know, before you worry about it, thrash it around and see if it makes a difference.

Happy motoring,
J