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[steve6367]

So new car (to me) has a 'Tartarini Etagas Bigas multi point system' - it works and seems to work well on the cruise or gentle driving. First fill up at 12ppm (down from my normal 19ppm on petrol).

However on hard acceleration it hesitates almost as if its misfiring. Booked it into Dorset Autogas on Saturday to plug in and take a look, but being totally new to LPG anything I should be looking for?

Thanks

Steve

[tunnie]

Sounds like it's not getting enough gas, could be the vaporiser struggling or injectors.

I know the V6 owners here have mixed results with various injectors on full chat not giving enough 

[Sir Tigger KC]

Where's Dorset Autogas? 

[steve6367]

Where's Dorset Autogas? 

On the Nuffield in Poole...

[Sir Tigger KC]

Where's Dorset Autogas? 

On the Nuffield in Poole...

Ah OK, down the other end from me! 

[chrisgixer]

Oil in plug wells? Might just be a borderline miss fire on gas.

 Might be that the kit isn't rated powerful enough for the car. No engine codes I take it?

[steve6367]

Cam covers look ok, no evidence of oil easily visible but your right I need to take it apart a bit to check all the plug wells. Service history is patchy so may just change the plugs too.

Are there any special 'lpg' plugs?

Few codes where logged, but looked historic - things like O2 sensors open circuit. Cleared them all and nothing has come back yet.

[tunnie]

Bog standard GM twins are fine with LPG 

[JamesV6CDX]

The car looks very clean

But Looking at the couple of pics of the Lpg install I think it needs looking at more closely, there are a couple of items of concern / possible poor workmanship.

In the below pic you see three of the six pipes carrying vapourised gas to the manifold



A minor point but you can see that they don't have clips on. They should have, to be a certified install, as those pipes carry gas.

Secondly look at the rear vapour pipe. It's either not long enough, or has been poorly routed. You can see it's very stretched. This leaves it liable to come off especially without a clip and increases chances of wear and possibly chafing.

Also



Is this a gas pipe resting on /cable tied that sharp looking bit of metal?

None of this is massive and the car is otherwise v tidy, but it does make me want to look more closely at the rest of the install.

First thing to check re the poor acceleration... Where is the vaporiser getting it's coolant from? Where do the pipes run?

[steve6367]

The car looks very clean

But Looking at the couple of pics of the Lpg install I think it needs looking at more closely, there are a couple of items of concern / possible poor workmanship.

In the below pic you see three of the six pipes carrying vapourised gas to the manifold



A minor point but you can see that they don't have clips on. They should have, to be a certified install, as those pipes carry gas. It does have a certificate and several annual service sets of paperwork - point taken though - I will get some spring clips on there.

Secondly look at the rear vapour pipe. It's either not long enough, or has been poorly routed. You can see it's very stretched. This leaves it liable to come off especially without a clip and increases chances of wear and possibly chafing. - I have to change the thermostat so will investigate routing while in there.

Also



Is this a gas pipe resting on /cable tied that sharp looking bit of metal? I think it is the coolant feed to system? Maybe not though so will check...
None of this is massive and the car is otherwise v tidy, but it does make me want to look more closely at the rest of the install.

First thing to check re the poor acceleration... Where is the vaporiser getting it's coolant from? Where do the pipes run?
Seems to be an arrangement of T Pieces around the HBV and secondary pump under the coolant bottle.

I am going to change the Stat this weekend - could the lack of proper temperature in the system cause my problems?

Thank you for the very full reply 

[JamesV6CDX]

Lack of temp could have a lot to answer for

Do remember that the lpg certificate, like an mot, only proves it's in order at the time of test. There is always the potential, especially if a lot of time has elapsed, that someone has since worked on it

Also can you confirm where the coolant pipes to the vaporiser originate from? Are there t peices?

Do you have access to the lpg system software to check the reported temperature, gas pressure, gas fault codes, injector durations/fuelling etc etc?

Sadly without these you're fighting a bit of a losing battle with your troubleshooting

[JamesV6CDX]

Just seen your reply re t-peices.

If it's t'd into the pipes for the aux coolant pump, especially downstream of the pump, the vaporiser won't be getting nearly enough coolant!!

It needs to be taken directly from the coolant bridge, pre HBV, straight to the vaporiser, then back to the HBV.

This ensures a constant flow under all heat settings

With your current setup, you may only get flow to the vaporiser when your cabin heat is on "Hi" and maybe only when your aux pump is running!

You need to look at this ASAP.

I'm not trying to worry you at all but for effective troubleshooting, and potential major things like this need correcting

[steve6367]

Thanks James, I will do the visual checks tonight. I don't have the software etc which is why its booked into Dorset Auto Gas Sat am so the can plug it in. I was certified in 2002 so plenty of time for 'adjustments' to have occurred!

[deviator]

Thanks James, I will do the visual checks tonight. I don't have the software etc which is why its booked into Dorset Auto Gas Sat am so the can plug it in. I was certified in 2002 so plenty of time for 'adjustments' to have occurred!

Any signs of recertification? As I believe the tanks have a 10 years life and need to be tested/replaced at this point.

[steve6367]

Well this mornings diagnostics wasn't a big success as the diagnostic connector is so corroded some of the pins had vanished! Next challenge is to work out what connector it is and replace!