LPG Conversion Problem. Toyota Carina.

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Wed 8 Sep 2004 23:10
LPG Conversion Problem. Toyota Carina. - Gregory R
I have just had my Toyota Carina 2.0i (1992 model) with 20,000 miles converted to LPG. The car in question is mechanically sound.

The system installed was a carburetor type installation and the car is now dual fuel with the ability to run on petrol and gas.

I am having three problems with the car on gas (which does not occur on petrol)

1. The L.E.D switch keeps flashing red with the green light constantly on although the tank is completely full. The unit near the tank has been replaced but this is still happening. The red only flashed when increasing acceleration, but then happily stays green only when driving constantly at the same speed.

2. The car stalled on gas on three occassions in neutral whilst in traffic. This was with no clutch or gearbox action and the revs go down and the car just died. It restarts fine. This happens if the car is fully warm (after 10 miles plus) and when cold.

This seems to be more of an occurance down hill. However, with normal acceleration this is fine.

3. The gas is doing about 15 mpg, when I usually achieve between 32-39mpg on petrol. It is thus using more than double the amount it should.

I hope that someone can help me with the above.

Many thanks
GREG
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 9 Sep 2004 00:24
LPG Conversion Problem - Aprilia
1. The LED indicator system is quite crude on most of these systems. The tank is probably without baffles and the float near the front. So when you accelerate the LPG sloshes to the back of the tank and the float drops. Only believe the reading when the car is stationary.

2. The idle mixture needs setting. There is usually a small idle bypass screw on the vapouriser. Get your installer to set it up.

3. It is running rich on gas - you should get, say, 25-27 mpg. Get the installer to set it up on a 4-gas analyser.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 14 Sep 2004 12:38
LPG Conversion Problem - Gregory R
Thanks for your excellent advise Aprilia. I took the vehicle back to the installer and told them the problems and they carried out exactly what you said to do as above. I have now covered an extra 1000 miles and it is now running very well and is averaging 29mpg on gas, which makes it the equivelent to almost 60mpg.

Anyway, this conversion was carried out in Poland at a cost of £300 (inc. a 60 litre tank) which means I have had a successful installation at a very cheap price.

It is also worth noting that I have found NO difference in performance from petrol. I drove from Poland on the German Autobahns and even at high speed there was no difference even with four adult passengers and a heavily loaded car with a lot of luggage. Furthermore, the emissions are only 10% that of the emissions on fuel.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide