Dear Reader,
Here are some preventive measures for the vehicles runnig in Petrol and LPG. This article is based on my experience.
Run the car initially on Petrol
Run it for atleast 1 km before switching onto gas. No matter the bunk is good still there is lot of mixing in the petrol. When the petrol becomes RICH, the colour becomes similar to a refined / cooking oil, as against reddish colour. Also the evaporation rate decreases i.e. when the petrol is exposed to the outside environment, it will not evaporate faster as it should be. This can be checked by comparing a new petrol and a old petrol which is in the tank.
Clean the air filter every 1k-2k kms.
This will have better performance as dual fuel used. Also recommended to clean it after a long drive
*Clean Petrol tank once in 6-12 months if car is running in LPG
*Accumulating petrol results in less combustion. A foul smell comes, of course when the tank is opened. When my car’s petrol tank was cleaned approx. 25gm of dirt was present in the form of fine mud(dark brown colour). The whole filter was cleaned with petrol. The colour changed from dark brown to yellow after cleaning. Unless there are strict regulations, the petrol is bound to be adulterated somehow.
Pungent smell in the exhaust/petrol
This is due to the RICHNESS in the petrol. Avoid having more petrol in the tank.
*Some other findings.
1.** One may experience jerks while running the car. This is due to the clogging of injectors. The remedy is to start the car in petrol and drive for some distance and then switch over to LPG. Also get the injectors cleaned by service centre.
2. Jerk/knock noise will/may happen while filling the gas. This is because the tank capacity has reached and acts like a warning to stop filling the gas. If it’s a city drive then as soon as the noise comes, the gas fillling can be stopped but if planning to go for long drive then even after the noise still the fuel can be filled. In this case the filling will automatically stop as soon as a message in the filling meter displayes "no flow".
3. Best time to fill gas is either early morning or late evening.
4. The retrofitted gas tank has a safety valve which will automatically release the extra gas which happens due to the expansion of the gas. The expansion happens if the vehicle is kept in the sunlight for long. The safety valve will shut-off automatically as soon as the pressure inside the tank is normal. So it is highly recommended to use the retrofitment rather than the domestic gas.
5. Under the solenoid, there is a valve which is used to drain-off the wax that is accumulated. If it is a retrofitment the accumulation is very less and one can drain it off once in 6 months. But if using a commercial/domestic gas then the wax accumulation is huge and needs a regular drain-off.
6. For Santro cars there is a sensor called MPA, near the head of the engine which senses the air intake. If this sensor fails, thick black smoke and strong pungent smells comes out as petrol is not fully burnt. The same sensor for my car failed and I had to get it replaced. We can still drive the car without replacing but a stitch in time saves nine . Once changed, they have to reset all ther sensor to match the new entrant in the group:). The vehicle has become smooth now. No more black smoke. This sensor costs Rs.2600 incl. labour charges.
7. In some cases while in idle condition in LPG, the RPM drops suddenly, vibration occurs and again the RPM stabalizes. This is because LPG requires more air intake than petrol and as we use the same design of petrol(i.e. the airpipe to the air-filter is bended to control the air flow) this may happen. To counter this, remove the air pipe that goes to the filter i.e in this case the air-intake is directly to the filter rather than the bended pipe. This will solve the problem. If not check the vapouriser. In the new Santro eRLX(BS III), the air intake is directly to the filter.
8. If the engine response in LPG is not as per the acceleration provided, then check the air filter and the diaphragm which may not move as per the throttle provided. Get it cleaned of change it.
9. Try using K&N air filter and you can see the performance difference.
*Lamda System
*Like we have the petrol ECM, there is also LPG ECM, which is called Lambda. Fitting this avoids the manual tuning. I have fitted in my santro and can make out the difference in the drive. This is used in close loop system. The technician will sit along with you and tune the system w.r.t individual driving style. This is done with the help of a specific software. This sytem is a must for all the premium segment cars like Honda City, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Innova etc.to get a smooth driving pleasure.
Zero Maintenance LPG Kit
Yes, the zero maintenance kpg kit is called as Sequential. I have fitted in my verna and its been 1.5 yrs that I have gone back to teh mechanic for any kind of maintenance. It works just like the mpfi and the mileage is very close to petrol. Its bit costlier due to its technology but is work spending. I have done approx 30k kms after fitment
*LPG Technician contact details in Bangalore
Name:** Pandian,
Contact details: 94481 33918 / 080 25733918,
Expertise: Open loop, closed loop, sequential system.
Speaks: English, Hindi, Tamil etc,
Exp: more than 10 yrs
As of sept16, the ARAI has made a new rule that all fitment should have emissions norms equivalent to Bharat III or Euro III. RTO has become very strict for using close loop system for MPFI vehicles(Though they may not understand). They do look at the wiring diagram and if not in line then either bribe them to get it endorsed or get the wiring to close loop fitting
The RTO authorised LPG dealers for karnataka can be found at https://rto.kar.nic.in/lpgcentres.htm. This review will be updated as and when more information are available with me
Also read - **LPG Conversion - Reqd. Documents for endorsement
Note: I do take help of articles/magazines and other means of knowledge to update this article.
-Rajeev