Zavoli DIY install

Message

SimonHobson · #21 Post by **SimonHobson** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 8:23 pm

billynoband wrote:Cock ups;
Drilled the body mounted 90 degree filler 2" too high and had to have the gun filler retaining pins at north/south instead of horizontal because the rear light cluster and petrol flap mech is in the way inside. Will it matter?

Yes and no

With a DeVisser filler (that's the one with the 'loose' sleeve that turns all the way around) it will make no difference at all, but with a GasGuard (the "Gun" style) you'll find it a bit awkward as you'll have to turn it so the hose is horizontal before you can get the nozzle on/off.

I cannot pretend I wish I had not started some days. Anyone who has time to do this home must be neglecting other things, I am getting up at 6am so I can get 4 or 5 hours in at the weekend before the kids get up as we adopted 2 older ones Too late to give up now.

I know what you mean

Even if I am young (cough, well so-so), free, and with b***er all commitments.

billynoband · #22 Post by **billynoband** » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:57 am

I like your LPG web site by the way.

billynoband · #23 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:18 pm

I have finally finished the install tonight. I cut my petrol injector wires and joined the LPG loom to it and connected to the negative of the coil in about 2 hours. At the same time I was preparing dinner for 5 and sort of supervising the kids. It still runs on petrol OK.
I shall leave it overnight now then do a final check of joints next day. I won't be putting any gas in till weekend though to do a auto calibration. Well my wife is as I am desperate with a laptop. Wish me luck. If we mess up the auto calibrate I can disconnect the battery for 10 mins and that will reset to factory settings, right ??

Never again on a car with a compact front end.

billynoband · #24 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:48 am

Filled up for the first time this morning, 15 litres. LEAK, the filler joint is leaking and inside of my car smells now as the filler is in the bodywork and passes through to the outside tank behind the light cluster . Have isolated the filler from the multivalve manual switch at the filling station which does not leak luckily. Just off to fix it.

Seems to have stopped leaking now now, it was only a initial quick leak then it settled. I have nipped the joint a touch.
This afternoon I shall mainly be doing the auto set-up. Bit worried about that as I am computer blind but will have a bash anyway.

billynoband · #25 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:40 pm

With the leak now fixed and the set up page on screen there is still no good news.
With the Autoconfiguration page up it tells me 'ECU not connected' when I switch to gas on the dash button all the switch lights flash and beep at me indicating no fuel pressure.
15litres should be enough gas to enable the pick-up pipe to suck? Anyway shall check at ECU pins for 12v and put a bit more gas in before trying again. Good news later I hope.

billynoband · #26 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 4:39 pm

Thanks, will try that.

When I hardwired the solenoids I heard gas coming into the liquid filter.

Ah, what is ctrl-c ? The laptop is saying try this now too, it's a modern Dell.

billynoband · #27 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:51 pm

Tried it but code fault CO1 coming up.

Gilbertd · #28 Post by **Gilbertd** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:47 pm

billynoband wrote: Ah, what is ctrl-c ? The laptop is saying try this now too, it's a modern Dell.

Hold down the Control button (marked Ctrl) on your keyboard and, while still holding it down, press the letter C key. Dell, modern, oh dear, almost certainly using a USB thing which are well known for being very picky. As it's modern it will almost certainly be running Windows XP or even Vista. I never could get my programming lead to work on my everyday laptop running Windows XP, I use an older low spec one running Windows 2000 to run the programming software and lead.

billynoband · #29 Post by **billynoband** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:39 am

Thanks gents. I'm off to blag an old laptop from friends.
If I dragged my home computer into my garage would that work better? It has one of the old connectors.

billynoband · #30 Post by **billynoband** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:23 pm

IT'S ALIVE.

I answered my own question. With the desktop computer running windows 2000 perched in the driveway and the moniter under the drivers front door ,the system started and autocalibrated quickly through the serial port at 3000 rpm after Tinley Tech talked me through the set up page, thanks guys. I took it for a short drive and all is very well fingers crossed. It runs the same apart from the injector clatter at tickover of course.
Problems; Tried to do the auto cal with my multivalve manually isolated first time

. Second time when it switched to gas a nasty haze of lpg vapour shot from the engine bay so I had to hastily tighten a joint. Those olives are not like water systems where you only have to nip it, all needed a good tug on the spanner to seal completely especiallt the filler stepped olive. Still have to get a filler vapour boot and a LPGA certificate.
When I tried to get some more LPG the pump kept shutting on and off. Is this what they mean when they say multivalves take longer to fill? I gave up at half full.
Total spend so far, just over £600.
Would I do it again? No, life's too short.

billynoband · #31 Post by **billynoband** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 9:18 pm

Yea, they are open this time. I put another 12 litres in tonight and the dash lights have three lit up and also the gauge on the multivalve reads three quaters, it then cut out again. The 2 pumps I use suffer problems all the time.
I did not bend the float arm at all just left it standard. I have put in about 35 litres in the last 2 days but don't know how much of that went in the cabin first time I had a leak. The tank is 50 litre water capacity.
Perhaps I should have adjusted the arm a bit?

billynoband · #32 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:59 am

My finished conversion. I may cut off the Zavoli plugs and solder wires and put in conduit yet. Still need to fit filler boot.

http://s664.photobucket.com/albums/vv7/billynoband/

I have not posted the pictures on here to save on space/useage.

billynoband · #33 Post by **billynoband** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:33 pm

I took my car for it's full LPGA inspection today and I just have to make the tiny standard exhaust shield a little bigger with some ally for it to pass. That's quiet a relief as my insurance company only gave me 2 weeks to get it fully certified.

billynoband · #34 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:20 pm

Pride comes before a fall I am afraid. Have done a thousand fault free miles and today my car felt like it was running on 3 cylinders with very little performance. It also would not switch back to petrol.
I changed the spark plugs ( the old ones were wasted) and things were fine for a few miles but it is slowing down again and stuttering with very little performance on petrol but ok on gas if a bit lumpy.
Will run another autocalibrate tonight.

rossko · #35 Post by **rossko** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 7:55 pm

billynoband wrote: it is slowing down again and stuttering with very little performance on petrol but ok on gas if a bit lumpy.

I'd focus on that ... what is amiss when it is running petrol? It could have gone to a stupid trim value or something because of a gas issue, or you may have some completely non-gas problem like a broken MAF or O2 sensor. Don't mess up your gas settings without finding out first.

cheers, Ross K

billynoband · #36 Post by **billynoband** » Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:51 pm

I tried to do another autocalibrate before I read your reply and after much fumbling managed to run one. The result was very sluggish running on gas and petrol but worse on petrol.
In the end I got fed up, pulled the fuse on the lpg side and dissconected the battery. When I connected the battery back up the car has started running perfectly on petrol now but I have not put the fuse back in the lpg side.
Bit of a bummer but at least the Vauxhall ecu resets properly when taken off the battery for 10 mins.
I will try another autocalibrate when I am tired of buying petrol now the petrol side is running ok.
I was startled at the state of my plugs after a few weeks running LPG, they were not new but were in good nick and about a year old when I first ran LPG. The twin electrode gap had been eaten away to about 2mm. They are standard VX ones.
I have just replaced with NGK twin electrode standard ones , same as VX.

billynoband · #37 Post by **billynoband** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:38 pm

I ran a autocalibrate again which went ok but now I have hesitation on acceleration in lpg mode. Petrol is fine though. Which part of the 'Modify Carb' page will help with this problem?

andyvee · #38 Post by **andyvee** » Thu Jun 04, 2009 9:01 pm

You need a willing accomplice to sit in the passenger seat (or drive) with the laptop connected to the gas ecu and some way of seeing what the fuel trims are doing.

Try the enrichment in acceleration setting - mine is all the way to the right. If I move it to anywhere else it cocks up the running on gas so have left well alone!

The autocal isn't that good - at the end of the day it adjusts the fuelling at 3000rpm no load and applies a default map around that.

Sometimes doing 2 autocals on the trot is more accurate, but you will still have to adjust the map under real life conditions. Make sure you are running on petrol fine before you autocal - it takes about a week of driving for my petrol ecu to settle down across the whole range.

Andy

billynoband · #39 Post by **billynoband** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:36 pm

Cheers. The VX ecu seems to reset really quickly. Today I leaned off tickover but also had to move the acceleration setting half way to the left to stop juddering while speeding up. It now stinks of gas which I presume means its also wrong somewhere as there are no leaks. I must buy a laptop which works with the set up disc as putting the home computer outside to do a autocalibrate will break it in the end.
I have found a good web site which I missed before , autogashelp.co.uk ,but you have to google it to find it.

billynoband · #40 Post by **billynoband** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:23 pm

I can't get the thing to run properly no matter what I try and what I check.
Think I will start at the beginning again by re-drilling the LPG spuds even closer to the petrol injectors then try again.