Astra 1.6 16v wont switch over to LPG

[pjpj]

Sounds like you have a plan.

Remember, soldering is good but, the area between the wire and the insulation is still open for moisture and salt etc. This needs sealing somehow as well. There again, it might well last the few years this motors got left.

[Tornado1969]

yer i understand that....
shame i couldnt get some heatshrink over it.
but i would of had to cut the yellow wire too.
and didnt want too..
its well taped up with insulation tape so should be ok now.

[pjpj]

I forgot to mention.

On the throttle body which I'm sure you are cleaning up, there is a small vacuum hole just below the butterfly which blocks very easily and is easily missed. It is just big enough for a paperclip.

[Tornado1969]

yes i gave that a bit of a clean today with an old toothbrush and a can of carb cleaner.
along with the part of inlet manifold i took off.

i will check the small vacuum hole, thanks for the info there.
il also check the fittings that are screwed into the manifold that the injectors fit into.
to make sure they are free from anything and not blocked.
before i refit the injectors.

[Tornado1969]

ok the lpg wiring loom is 100% fine

all wires from end to end are ok.

just need to tape the loom up in a few places then put the plastic tubing back over the loom
and retape the joints. and its ready to go back in the car.

question.

the 4 small crimp hose clips i removed from the injector to distributor hoses.
is it best to replace these with new ones. or can you reuse them or just use jubilee clips ?

as i need to put the distributor back on and connect the hoses.

[pjpj]

They may well have been a once only crimp type so you won't be able to re-use them.

If not replace with petrol pipe clamps or jubilee if you can get them small enough.

[Tornado1969]

i will check the small vacuum hole, thanks for the info there.

hole is clear.... throttle body is ready to go back on.

They may well have been a once only crimp type so you won't be able to re-use them.

If not replace with petrol pipe clamps or jubilee if you can get them small enough.

ok pj thanks, il see if i can get some jubilee clips for that pipe size, as they would be easiest to put on.....

[Tornado1969]

right update.

i managed to get 4 jubilee clips for the injector pipes and 2 for the pipe between vap and distrib.

checked the nipple holes before refitting the injectors and all are clear.

fitted the new distrib i got from ebay.

put the loom back in. reconnected everything up, refitted the manifold and throttle body etc.

went to start the car up to find the battery was flat. ( was only reading 10.6v when charged = knackered )
tried another one to find that was flat too. ( takes 5mins to fully charge and lasts 5mins if that = knackered )

so got a new battery today and fitted it on.
car started up first time, let it warm up abit.
flicked the switch to gas and you heared the click of the solenoid in the rear of the car.
then click of solenoid on the vap, car tick over changed as it was switching fuels.
then car stalled and you could hear a noise like a motor winding down.

did the diagnostic, and it was showing only code 32.

code 24 has gone. so the broken orange/blue wire was the cam sensor. fixed

so tried again and this time as the note changed as it was switching fuels the car didnt stall. but stayed running..... the switch light flashed red light a couple of times then goes out.... no light showing....
fuel guage goes up to 1/2 tank....
car has 1/4 tank of petrol and 1/2 of lpg.

guess it switched over to lpg then... seemed to tick over ok....
cant take car for a run due to front end damaged. and no mot,tax and insurance etc.
but atleast its switching over.
il test it more tomorrow.
will see if i leave switch on gas. if it will switch over on auto..

and il also test my coolant temp sensor and see if it is knackered etc.

cheers for all the help.... il report back.

[rossko]

Stalling first time after working on it is normal enough ... the pipes are full of air.

[Tornado1969]

of course rossko how right you are.

from the vap to the injectors would be full of air.

i think from all the excitment of it switching over to gas,
i didnt think of the obvious..

[pjpj]

Good stuff.

I know you won't want to hear this but ideally, because the power has been off to the ECU's, you will need to let them auto-calibrate again.

The best way would be probably 50 miles on petrol and then 50 on gas. The gas system could take some time to settle in because it hasn't been running for who knows how long. Keep on sniffing around the vaporiser for a strong smell of gas or even test with soap and water occasionally . The seals might not be too good, hopefully all will be fine though.

Really pleased for you that you have got this running.

What do you think you will do with it now? Repair the damage and sell it? Or take advantage of the cheap fuel and the fact you know the LPG system inside out and run it till it falls to pieces?

Another happy LPGForum user.

[Tornado1969]

Good stuff.
I know you won't want to hear this but ideally,
because the power has been off to the ECU's, you will need to let them auto-calibrate again.
The best way would be probably 50 miles on petrol and then 50 on gas.

well that will have to wait until i got it repaired and mot'd,taxed and insured

The gas system could take some time to settle in because it hasn't been running for who knows how long.

i have no idea how long its not been running, ive had the car atleast 18 months now. the guy i got it from was a car dealer and took it in trade as the guy wrecked the front on a pole. who knows how long the gas wasnt working in his hands. the broken wire was fairly hidden by a maze of wires where all the plugs where, so wasnt easy to spot.... i only spotted it as i was unplugging all the loom plugs.

Keep on sniffing around the vaporiser for a strong smell of gas or even test with soap and water occasionally . The seals might not be too good, hopefully all will be fine though.

i was going to ask whats the best way to check the system for leaks.
so i think il find a squirty bottle and put some soap and water in it and test all the joints.
dont want gas vapour leaking out all over the place.

Really pleased for you that you have got this running.

thanks pj for all your help on this , without your help and rossko and gilbert and a few others and VolvoV70T5 lending me his spare coolant sensor, i doult i would of sussed out the problems....

What do you think you will do with it now? Repair the damage and sell it? Or take advantage of the cheap fuel and the fact you know the LPG system inside out and run it till it falls to pieces?

going to repair it and get it mot'd, taxed and insured and use it....

i bought this one to repair and use because it was factory fitted lpg.
though once its on the road and ive dealt with the other 2.2 astra. and i got some space.
i will look for a lpg vectra and start another project. as the vectra has bigger boot then the astra.

Another happy LPGForum user.

indeed i am.... though no idea how it will perform out on the road...
but its switching over and idling on lpg.... a major step forward
i must admit i enjoyed the challenge of this finding the fault/s
checking the loom, injectors etc etc.

ohh and when i was checking the loom. i noted down where every wire goes from and too.
if you think this would be helpful info for others etc ??
i can make a webpage and put it all up for others to view ?
what you think...

once again thanks everyone...

[Tornado1969]

well started it up on petrol then flicked the gas switch.
expecting for it to flash red for a while until it got upto normal temp.
before it would switch over.
but it switch straight over to gas....

you heard the clicks from the solenoids and relay
and heard the engine noise as it switches between fuels.
then the fuel gauge going up to read whats in the lpg tank...

isnt the light on the switch supposed to be on ? or green ?
or am i thinking of a different switch and system.

anyway i turned the car off and changed the coolant temp sensor.
and put my one back on and tried again.
and i was supprised to see the car switch over to gas straight away again.

so i guess my sensor is working then ....

[pjpj]

Yes it is correct, the system does switch over quickly in summer. It'll take a couple or three minutes in winter.

When running on LPG you will either have no light or a faint red light. Some used a green switch.

If you have information that we haven't already got, photo's, descriptors for where connections/ tors are etc. that would all come in handy for others, I could add the address to my signature I'm sure it would be appreciated . Only if you have the time and the inclination of course.

[Speedy999]

Well done on getting the Astra running on LPG again guys.

It's been a long read can someone sum up what the root cause was. Was it that broken orange wire ?

[pjpj]

The initial fault was the crankshaft sensor amplifier (58X module).
Sometimes when these go faulty no fault codes at all are stored on the LPG ECU.

Because of this you are then left assuming it is a fault on the temperature sensor or circuit or damage somewhere due in this case to the 'bump' the vehicle had been involved in.

After testing, it was found this sensor was not working absolutely correctly but should have worked anyway, Tornado1969 obtained a loan replacement to eliminate this as the fault.

The 58X module was known to have had an intermittent fault because Millbrook had tested this and found it was intermittent.

When the 58X module was replaced with a new one, then new fault codes were stored of which one was for the camshaft sensor.

Tornado1969 then tested the wiring to the camshaft sensor and found there was no continuity, he stripped out the LPG harness and found a wire had broken away from the connector for the camshaft sensor at a multiplug within the harness.

After re-assembly, all switched over fine.

I've missed out alot of the time consuming bits and pieces and whilst it was all stripped down, Tornado1969 cleaned and tested many different parts.

[Tornado1969]

Yes it is correct, the system does switch over quickly in summer. It'll take a couple or three minutes in winter.

aww i see. that would explain why it switched over straight away.
i thought maybe something wrong with a sensor and it was letting it switch over to early.

When running on LPG you will either have no light or a faint red light. Some used a green switch.

ok, i must have the no light one then lol

If you have information that we haven't already got, photo's, descriptors for where connections/ tors are etc. that would all come in handy for others, I could add the address to my signature I'm sure it would be appreciated . Only if you have the time and the inclination of course.

all the help ive been given on getting my LPG working,
it would be nice to give something back and do something that could be helpful to many.
il get on it and post back in here once its up and running

[Gilbertd]

it would be nice to give something back and do something that could be helpful to many.
il get on it and post back in here once its up and running

It strikes me that there are more and more people coming on here with problems with Vauxhall factory fit systems and, unlike most of the aftermarket systems, hardly any information anywhere. You would think that Vauxhall would be able to supply the information but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, the lack of maintenance given to these systems during routine servicing seems to have been part of the cause of the failures in the first place, like anything else, if you don't service it for long enough sooner or later it will fail.

Consequently, anything that can be put in the public domain is going to be of use for many people so a full electrical diagram has got to be of use for anyone faulting one of these systems. From my own experience working on my wifes non-LPG Tigra, there are a lot of vacuum pipes in there too. Any diagram of how these should all connect up will also be useful.

Thanks for the thanks (although personally I don't think I added much to the thread) but giving something back will definitely help others in the future.

[lw290986]

Yes it is correct, the system does switch over quickly in summer. It'll take a couple or three minutes in winter.

aww i see. that would explain why it switched over straight away.
i thought maybe something wrong with a sensor and it was letting it switch over to early.

When running on LPG you will either have no light or a faint red light. Some used a green switch.

ok, i must have the no light one then lol

If you have information that we haven't already got, photo's, descriptors for where connections/ tors are etc. that would all come in handy for others, I could add the address to my signature I'm sure it would be appreciated . Only if you have the time and the inclination of course.

all the help ive been given on getting my LPG working,
it would be nice to give something back and do something that could be helpful to many.
il get on it and post back in here once its up and running

Hi Tornado1969,

I noticed you are wanting to give something back.

I am hoping you can give it back to me lol.

i have a 2004 vauxhall astra van 1.6 dualfuel from the factory and it will not switch over to lpg, the light just keeps flashing. Im getting no clicks from the rear of the van.

The code p0460 has appeared on the diagnostics
I believe this is meant to be the fuel level sensor too hi or low or
crankshaft signal amplifier or
purge flow sensor circuit malfunction

Im not a mechanic but can do abit under the bonnet. I wouldnt trust vauxhalls as i hear there not the best lpg specialists.

Any help would be very grateful.

Regards

Lee

[DAKNIGHT_UK]

If you have no engine warning \ service lights on then take it to someone who has software called winmono most LPG people will know what this is if they've worked on a Vauxhall LPG system.

I used Birmingham Autogas at Starcity, Birmingham but I'm sure a lot of places have this setup.

They can diagnose your system fault. Anyone who doesn't have this setup isn't worth visiting. I had several garages willing to look at the LPG system most suggested the system would need updating at a cost of £700-£900 for a new type.

I had the same problem with my astra 1.6 16v turned out to be a faulty lambda sensor (in the front manifold in front of the engine) a replacement cost me £60 from euro car parts

Car runs great on gas now