Propane powered 2.3 won't start.

[Mikejsmith1985]

Just want to extend a tremendous thank you to everyone here for all of the help! Through the zenith flow charts I was able to identify that the trigger wires weren't supplying power to the relay to intern provide power to the zenith box and all the other necessary components to start. I temporarily jumped the relay and the engine is now running again! I'm going to figure out root cause some time this week and put in a permanent fix but In the mean time it's no longer just taking up space! Thanks again to everyone that took the time to read and reply!

 

[RonD]

Good Work

Thanks for posting update

 

[Mikejsmith1985]

Good Work

Thanks for posting update

Thanks! those flow charts were a huge help!

So I may not quite be out of the woods; I had the radiator off so I didn't let the motor run for more than a few seconds. I'm now finding that with the intake system off of the carb if I choke using my hand the carb bowl will get wet with fuel and try to crank but it will run really rough and die almost immediately. If I reinstall the intake system and spray starter fluid in it I can keep it running by spraying some starter fluid every so often. I'm going to start checking the propane lockout, as well as look into reactivating the gas fuel system, I'm more familiar with gasoline and feel like the propane setup complicates things, it may just be my ignorance of the system. Either way I believe that either there is something causing blockage in the fuel line, like a faulty lockout or that the carb could be gummed up from sitting for the last year. The latter seems less likely since I can keep it running with starter fluid... but I'm a bit perplexed that it started twice on its own without any issue once I jumped that relay to provide power and now its struggling...

 

[cobra93]

I didn't watch the video so I don't know if this was stated.

I'm a local 85 boilermaker.
Over the years I've run across some( I don't know if all) propane forklifts seem to need a restriction/vacume before the carb or they will not allow fuel to flow.
I don't know if this helps or not, but try block to most of the carb off with your hand.

The toyota we have now seems to open the propane flow for a second or two when the key is turned to the "accessory" position.

Thanks for pointing me to this thread Mark_88.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Wait, by wet I'm hoping that you just mean that it's getting propane, propane shouldn't be wet... the engine digests it as a vapor. I'm not familiar with the Zenith fuel system, we have customers at work with issues with them too, and I'm having a hard time following the fuel system on that thing. I'm used to running Woodward/NGVI/Impco mixers and vaporizers, or Teleflex/GFI fuel injectors for propane engines. Engines with a lot of hours on them usually need a cleaning/rebuilding of the vaporizer as when propane is overheated in the vaporizer oils and goo get separated from the fuel and start plugging things up causing running issues.

 

[tomw]

I don't work with mult-fuel engines, but it is my understanding that a gas/propane system starts better on gasoline, and once warmed up a bit, can be shifted to the propane. I would suggest that getting the carb cleaned up, etc, to re-activate the liquid fuel side of the system is a good idea. It should make starting easier and more familiar to trouble shoot.
I believe a hand was used to choke the carburetor, and liquid gasoline appeared some'eres.
The trouble shooting tree in the back of the Zenith PDF file should be helpful. Too bad it doesn't have a wiring schematic. From initial reports, I thought the CKP replacement had done the trick.
Go back to basics and check for fuel & spark all over again. Start from a known condition and change one thing at a time. Look carefully at the results, and if there is no improvement, put things back the way they were. I injected a miss into an engine by replacing the e-coil as it looked as if it had arced previously. Took days to find that one, and re-replace the defective-in-the-box coil. Large sized PITA, and difficult to figure out. KISS is not just a band...
tom

 

[scotts90ranger]

Propane engines 'should' start just as good as gasoline, believe me I've ran or seen ran a few thousand in the last 8 years... we sell around 500 industrial engines a year I'd guess at work, most are propane or dual fuel so most end up started on propane at some point.

 

[Snoranger]

Propane only has a problem starting if its: not tuned right, something is wrong with the system, or is brutally cold out. I found if we left a forklift outside and it got down below 20 degrees they didn't like to start. Usually what caused it was the sludge buildup in the regulator would turn almost solid and not allow the fuel valve to open.