1. Condition of your Vehicle Prior to Conversion
No matter which conversion company you choose, what type or which manufacturer's equipment you ask them to fit, it is best to begin with a properly serviced vehicle. Any problems that exist when running on petrol will still be there when running on LPG. An engine that is 'missing' or running inefficiently for whatever reason will do just that on LPG. This problem does not go away when conversion is complete. (For instance, some components e.g. Spark plugs must be in better than average condition as LPG can be more demanding).
2. Leave your car with at least some petrol in the tank
During a conversion we will have to move the car before we begin and then road test it to make sure it performs properly. In the later stages of conversion, we must go off and fill the LPG tank(s). During set-up and initialisation of the system we have to run the engine up to temperature. All of the above need petrol and a lot of delay will result if your car comes in on fumes!
3. Make sure the boot and back seat are clear
We often have to remove the back seats to fit a boot tank. The boot itself will need to be empty to fit either a cylinder or toroidal tank - Heaps of items left in the boot and back seat do not aid this. We'd really like to ensure that nothing gets lost or dusty. Please empty your car!
4. Disarm your alarm before you leave
As we progress through a conversion we will often have the bonnet, tailgate and all four doors wide open to allow us to do the work, often for 8 hours or more at a time. Modern cars have a lot of interior lights and the battery may soon be low - On some models the alarm will go off because it has sensed a voltage drop, further draining the battery. The result is often a lot of noise which can take some cancelling, as many alarms require a complicated sequence to shut them off, but that's at best.
At worst, many modern alarms have the ability to lock all the doors if triggered. If we are working with the bonnet open and ignition keys in place for cranking etc. the keys may be locked in - This has happened many times and has cost many hours. Please disarm the alarm!
5. Make sure we have any special wheel security keys
Quite often we have to remove the road wheels to fit pipework etc. and we cannot do this if the wheel locking nuts need a key we haven't got. This regularly costs us and the customer a day's delay as they are at work or cannot drop the key off right away!
Published on: 2006-10-02 (2779 reads)