Conversion to LPG- engine warning light has come on

[malowe]

I have just had my 1997 explorer converted to LPG, a day later the enigine warning light comes on. Any ideas? Is this a comon problem? Can I fix it myself?

 

[Howard]

You will need to get the code read so that we can help you. Otherwise its just a guess as to why.

 

[malowe]

Sorry I am new to this, bought the explorer for my wife who is developing trade links with a tribe in North Africa, how do I get the code- should I just bite the bullet and take it to a Ford garage? MMany thanks for your answer.

 

[Howard]

A Ford dealer should have the tools to scan and diagnose the issue, but what about taking to the people who did the LPG conversion as if the problem is linked they have responsibility to sort it out. To read the codes you need a ODBII code reader tool. Your local garage should also be able to at least read the codes for you.

 

[malowe]

Hi, thanks for that, I talked to the garage who did the LPG conversion, he said that this happens from time to time, I need to go back on Monday and he will hook it up, it will tell him where at what revs the gas mixture is not quite right and they will adjust it all and it will be fine- so there we are. Although the warning light is on the engine hasn't gone into limp home mode- apparently the light comes on for all sorts of reasons.

 

[Howard]

My advise is to run it on petrol until its sorted. You don't want to burn out any valve seats or do any other damage.

 

[malowe]

Back to 16mpg!

Thanks for that, I will- back to 16mpg for a bit!

 

[Gonzo]

Can you let us know what your MPG is running on LPG?

 

[malowe]

yeh sure, it might be a while though- need to go through a couple of gas tank fulls to get a proper picture, I'm told that that lpg is a couple of mpg less than petrol but price per litre is so cheap its like doing 35/40mpg in relative cost. The conversion is expensive- you don't want a cheap one! but I will make it back in a year.

 

[Glacier991]

THere is a special forum on this website devoted to the issues of computers and the like. Many good threads you can read to better understand what a "check engine light" really means, etc. I recommend you take the time, it's a fun read and you'll be better equipped to make intelligent repair choices.

I'd start with this thread and go from there:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148433

 

[RoAdHoG76]

hi,yup same happened to me about 3 days after my plg rig was fitted..was just goinfgup the road and bing! engine warning light comes on..worried the hell out of me at first but just like you no limp ho,e mode.Took it back to my lpg guy..said hed retune the engine and started chatting about fuel mixtures blah blah,said he'd fixed it..sutre enough no light on when it came back.one day later,bing! its back on..this happened twice until when i popped the hood the battery terminals had been tampered with.looks like he just did the battery disconnect trick.that was about 10 months ago.gonna run it into another lpg specialist near me and get him to run numbers offa the computer for me (my origional "specialist" did not have a diagnostic tool).Hope it gets fixed soon.
Good luck
RH76

 

[RoAdHoG76]

with regards to lpg mpg,its about the same,a lil bit less i get between 9-13 mpg urban and 12-24 mpg on the motorway but at half the price its equivalent to 18-26 mpg urban and 24-28 on he motorway.not bad for a 4liter v6 lump.

 

[malowe]

LPG mpg and light problem

Well I went back to my LPG fitter and he fixed the engine light problem in two minutes- stuck it on his computer, it showed that the mix was a bit week and hey presto end of problem.

As far as I can tell the mpg in gas is roughly the same as petrol. I got 14mpg from the last tank, this covered a lot of short town runs and then 100 mile trip at 90 miles per hour. I recon that it could well do over 20 to the gallon if I took it easy on the motorway.