Any LPG car owners about ?

[addsvrs]

So i recently acquired a BMW thats got an LPG Conversion. The car has been off the road for a year so am in the process of getting it back on the road. Looking at the receipts the LPG system was serviced prior to the car being off the road for a brake issue so im hoping thats ok. I know sod all about LPG and how it works and have this switch in the car



What does this do ? Im assuming it switches between fuel and fuel / lpg ?

Is that the LPG level next to it ?

Of course i did the bloke thing and just toggled between the 2 choices to see what happened and nothing did. Any help greatly appreciated.

[86DA]

Hi

It should start on petrol and if its set to lpg it will switch over to petrol automatically when it reaches a certain temperature.

You can toggle between petrol & lpg using the switch.

The four little lights should illuminate so show how full the tank is.

The an lpg forum which can be helpful for info.

[eltax91]

Yeh that switches between gas and petrol. It should auto cut over to petrol when the gas runs out or the pressure falls low.

It should also run on petrol to start until the car has warmed up. Then switch to gas.

That light is a gas level, yes. Although I've had two gas cars and the reading is actually a joke! Never accurate. For me I just got used to the range the car has on gas and after lots of testing, now know when it's going to run out based on the obc's mpg reading.

[addsvrs]

ok thats great thanks. So on that switch what are the 2 positions ? and which position should it be in ? or does it not really matter ?

[kambites]

My FIL had a car with a system much like that and the bottom setting was petrol, the top was gas. When I drove the car, I never switched it off the gas setting; I always assumed the petrol setting was for if you ran out of gas.

[Jim AK]

As the others say. Thats the switch, in current position it wont run the LPG at all. Flick it up & you should get a red light on & up to 4 of the green 1`s depending on the amount of gas in the tank. As others have stated, the gauge is useless go by miles travelled.

If starting from cold it will take 5 or so minutes to click over, the red light at top will go green, the 4 greens illuminate & youre cooking with gas!

Be careful when filling the gas tank too, when you remove the nozzle after filling a bit of escaping gas is normal but dont get your hands anywhere near it.

1st time i filled mine it was dark, when I took the nozzle off the gas escaped & got my hand..... Took 20 mins before I could feel it again!!

[Byff]

I'd guess that switch is in petrol mode.

If you click it over, the green LED's should light up (if there's gas in the tank) then it'll switch over to LPG in it's own good time.

Leave the switch in the LPG (i.e other position) all the time and it'll do it all automatically.

[addsvrs]

Thats brilliant guys thanks.

Do you get any indication if the LPG system isnt working correctly ? Are these systems quite robust and idiot friendly ? One of my mates has LPg on his car and has had nothing but problems with it

[Byff]

addsvrs said:

Thats brilliant guys thanks.

Do you get any indication if the LPG system isnt working correctly ? Are these systems quite robust and idiot friendly ? One of my mates has LPg on his car and has had nothing but problems with it

You'll only get trouble from a poorly installed setup.

I've had a few cars running on LPG now and only had bother with a car where the previous owner literally slapped the kit in. Once I'd ripped it out and installed it properly, it ran faultlessly for over 10yrs.

[kambites]

I think they tend to be pretty reliable when fitted to older, simpler cars. Modern cars with direct injection and a million sensors are complex to get right so cheap and/or badly installed systems can be trouble prone.

They aren't inherently complicated. Basically it's a tank; some pipes; a valve to switch fuels and stop the gas pressurising your petrol tank; a pressure regulator... and that's about it.

[addsvrs]

OK thanks, i have receipts in the paperwork for installation etc for just shy of 2k, and googling the company they are still alive and kicking

[kambites]

I'd expect it to out-last the car, then.

[V8RX7]

Assuming I'm reading the switch correctly it says BRC - which are one of the better systems.

However it's all down to the installer I have a great guy in Stoke on Trent - CarGas he sorted a non working system on my Forester and when others wanted a fortune to change injectors etc he just set it up correctly for circa £100 and it's been fantastic ever since.

[Ben s14a]

If your new to lpg www.filllpg.co.uk is a great database of filling stations and prices, they also have a Android app.

I'm on my seccond lpg car,previously a Peugeot 306 gti that was still running strong at 185,000 miles and currently a bmw 530i. Both cars lpg systems from brc and have never caused me any issues or required more than regular filter changes.

[addsvrs]

ah great, all sounds pretty positive then. re the filter changes, is that a mileage based thing ?
Luckily i have a Autogas station literally on my door step . Thanks for all the help so far

[INWB]

My father had LPG converted cars for many many years as he worked for a LPG provider. The systems were normally the most reliable things on the cars (yes I'm looking at you Vauxhall)

Downside is the number of stations is dwindling. Upside is cheap fuel.

All the best

[sim16v]

I've ran LPG Jeep Grand Cherokees for the last 6 or so years.

I've always found them to be reliable, and I haven't changed a filter on the LPG system in all that time

I have a database saved in my sat nav, but I actually think the LPG network is increasing, so I can usually find a station to fill up.

One of my tips to save even more money, a lot of Morrisons petrol stations have LPG and some are less than 1/4 mile from motorway junctions.

They are often among the cheapest out there and can be 15-20p per litre cheaper than the LPG at motorway services.

[Byff]

sim16v said:

I've always found them to be reliable, and I haven't changed a filter on the LPG system in all that time

I never changed a filter or did a service on the LPG system. Only time I took a filter out, it was just as clean as the new one replacing it.

[mrtwisty]

There seems to be quite a deal of knowledge in here, so I think I'll piggyback if you don't mind OP!

I'm looking at getting a system fitted in the next couple of weeks. I've been recommended that a valve lube system is fitted (to avoid valve seat recession) - how much of the lube fluid do these systems get through?

[eltax91]

mrtwisty said:

There seems to be quite a deal of knowledge in here, so I think I'll piggyback if you don't mind OP!

I'm looking at getting a system fitted in the next couple of weeks. I've been recommended that a valve lube system is fitted (to avoid valve seat recession) - how much of the lube fluid do these systems get through?

You can adjust it until it's using the right amount. My 5l tub of flash lube lasted about a year, and 33k miles.