LPG Issues - Loads of work done!!

Hello all,

Newbie here but been lurking for a while! Probably your worst nightmare as im not very mechanically minded!!

A while ago I had issues with the LPG on my P38, the car would switch over and then start to misfire.
I took it to have the LPG serviced and was told that the LPG was fine (they serviced it anyway) and that the car was actually only firing on 7 cylinders on petrol. The problem would be more apparent on LPG.

So....I had the car plugged in to a test book and was told that there was an issue with one of the Lambda sensors, I changed both for good measure, this made no difference!

I then took the car to an Indy Land Rover specialist who advised plugs and leads should be changed next, I did this and no difference!

On advice I then changed the coil pack.......you guessed it the problem persisted!

I then took it into a 4x4 specialist in East Sussex who did a compression test and informed me that the head gasket had gone, and the compression was low on cylinders 4 and 6.

So i have now had the head gasket changed and the head rebuilt. The car seems to be firing on 8 cylinders on Petrol.

If i start the car on LPG it will idle fine, i can also rev it at standstill and all seems OK. If i start to drive however after about 100 metres the LPG cuts out, it flashes as if the gas has run out and cuts back to petrol. The same thing happens if I try to switch from petrol to gas when I'm driving.

So questions! Do i need to have it plugged into a Testbook and have something reset now everything should be working properly? or, do I go back to the LPG service guys? Or do I need to do both?

Any Advice much appreciated as I have now spent a fortune on the car and am surely close to having it working!?

hi , if youve had the heads off then assuming everthing ok on all cylinders then take it back for a l.p.g. service and tell them it needs new filter and re- trimming ,they will re-set it all for you avg cost about £45.00 and to run it on test on lpg ..most good lpg garages wont service the lpg till the petrol side is serviced and running on petrol ok ,,after this you should be up and running ok ,, cheers mate dont forget to tell them about the trims its very important ,,,,

Thanks mate, the filter was done when i first started having problems but I will get them to do it again anyway!

Is there nothing on the petrol side that needs a reset? I'm guessing not!

hi ,i noticed you said that you start car on lpg and it idles fine ???????????? thats not possible ...the car assuming its a multipoint system always starts on petrol then after exchange unit reaches correct teperature , " uaually takes about 2 minutes it then changes automatically onto lpg. apart from cleaning the maf sensor then all should run fine ,as i said before get the lpg serviced again with new filter and trims reset and see how it is then ,,,cheers mozz i will send you a pm with my no if it helps cheers

mozz smith said:

hi ,i noticed you said that you start car on lpg and it idles fine ???????????? thats not possible ...the car assuming its a multipoint system always starts on petrol then after exchange unit reaches correct teperature , " uaually takes about 2 minutes it then changes automatically onto lpg. apart from cleaning the maf sensor then all should run fine ,as i said before get the lpg serviced again with new filter and trims reset and see how it is then ,,,cheers mozz i will send you a pm with my no if it helps cheers

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If I hold the LPG button in on the dash the car will fire up on LPG, its an OMVL dream which i thought was multipoint?

From my experience a car should never start on LPG. As Mozz said, it should start on petrol until it reaches the correct temp to switch over. Mine switches after about half a mile.

martynv8 said:

From my experience a car should never start on LPG. As Mozz said, it should start on petrol until it reaches the correct temp to switch over. Mine switches after about half a mile.

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correct , cheers martyn ,,,i dont know whos told him to operate it that way but if he continues AND after hes blown the MAF £120 then blown the AIR FILTER £12 then blown AIR FILTER BOX and PIPE £145 ETC ETC ETC THEN MAYBE YOU WILL REASON WHY YOU dont START IT ON LPG .... COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHERE OR WHY YOU GOT THIS INFO FROM COS ITS SURLEY PUZZLIN ME ????????????:flame::flame::flame::flame::flame: CHEERS MOZZ "WE CAN ONLY BUT TRY AND HELP ""

mines an OMVL dream 21 multipoint, have never started on LPG, but I have had issues with it cutting out, more when I first had the car, and then a couple of times recently when it was cold.

Make sure you check that the coolant level is correct too, it uses the temperature of that to 'decide' when to switch over.

You'll forgive me if I don't go and try your method of starting on LPG, I'm with Mozz and Martyn on that one!!

Last time I took it to the LPG guys who serviced it they told me to fire it straight up on LPG and showed me how.....Ooops.... SO have i killed it? No faults were coming up when last read, maybe now its had the head redone I should take it for a drive and let it switch naturally?
Does anyone know a decent Indy in east sussex / kent who is not scared to look at a car with an LPG conversion!?

AntDB74 said:

Last time I took it to the LPG guys who serviced it they told me to fire it straight up on LPG and showed me how.....Ooops.... SO have i killed it? No faults were coming up when last read, maybe now its had the head redone I should take it for a drive and let it switch naturally?
Does anyone know a decent Indy in east sussex / kent who is not scared to look at a car with an LPG conversion!?

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Terrain Vehicles, Bexhill Road, St Leonards on Sea, indy Land Rover specialist are very good.
Telephone No would help: 01424 200262, worth checking to see if they are ok with LPG.

martynv8 said:

From my experience a car should never start on LPG. As Mozz said, it should start on petrol until it reaches the correct temp to switch over. Mine switches after about half a mile.

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mozz smith said:

correct , cheers martyn ,,,i dont know whos told him to operate it that way but if he continues AND after hes blown the MAF £120 then blown the AIR FILTER £12 then blown AIR FILTER BOX and PIPE £145 ETC ETC ETC THEN MAYBE YOU WILL REASON WHY YOU dont START IT ON LPG .... COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHERE OR WHY YOU GOT THIS INFO FROM COS ITS SURLEY PUZZLIN ME ????????????:flame::flame::flame::flame::flame: CHEERS MOZZ "WE CAN ONLY BUT TRY AND HELP ""

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I had a Lovato Single Point System on my Classic and I could Force Start on Gas by holding the button in and turning the engine over....

Multipoint systems I don't think can be started on Gas.....

oh yes they can.....

sassanach said:

oh yes they can.....

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YES we all know you CAN but as per my last post ????????? their not designed to be used as such ,,,so causing the damage i listed ,,,that is unless you know something we dont ??????? so please explain if you will ,,kind regards mozz

mozz smith said:

YES we all know you CAN but as per my last post ????????? their not designed to be used as such ,,,so causing the damage i listed ,,,that is unless you know something we dont ??????? so please explain if you will ,,kind regards mozz

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Mozz, is there an easy way to test for the damage you listed to see if I have already killed it!?

hi ant see your messages cheers mozz

as i understand it,it is designed as an emergency measure only,ie your petrol pump fails for instance.i have never heard of air boxs being destroyed by force starting lpg systems.however you take a big risk with your injectors and vapouriser as they effectively are feeding liquid lpg to the injectors and also the vapouriser can freeze. as always you pays your money.....

I cant see it doing your engine any good starting from cold on LPG (less lubrication with LPG than petrol).
Maybe in an emergency but that's about it.

as far as the engine is concerned lpg is better, it does not dilute oil where as petrol is a very good degreaser... ie it dilutes oil big time...

I have a system fitted by Capital Autogas who has a sister company, Arun Autogas in Sussex.
They have always offered great service & advice on my system.

Holly Acre Workshops
Toddington Lane
Littlehampton
West Sussex
BN17 7PP

Phone: 01903 715715

Worth a look.

ericbeauchamp said:

I have a system fitted by Capital Autogas who has a sister company, Arun Autogas in Sussex.
They have always offered great service & advice on my system.

Holly Acre Workshops
Toddington Lane
Littlehampton
West Sussex
BN17 7PP

Phone: 01903 715715

Worth a look.

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I took it to them a while back when this all started, they told me the LPG was fine and that a lambda sensor was to blame...2 Grand later.......