She died.....quietly

[CJim7]

How full are your LPG tanks now? If over 60%, I would say you may well have an electrical issue and not a fuel delivery issue.
LG

When this first happened, I suspected I might be out of fuel...so I swapped tanks (to a full one) but it wouldn't start back up.
When I got it fired up the other night, it was on the tank I was suspecting was low..... it died after running for a while, but I got probably 10 minutes out of it. At that point, I knew it was empty....but I didn't switch to the full tank.
Tonight I'm going to fire it up with the full tank and see what happens.

I've ran these tanks out before and it was as simple as swapping tanks and it fired right back up.

If anything is wrong on the fuel side, I would suspect it was in the regulator. I may just pull this thing off and crack it open to see what makes it tick.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

How do you 'bled' the air out of the supply line, when you switch tanks?
LG

 

[CJim7]

How do you 'bled' the air out of the supply line, when you switch tanks?
LG

I don't. When I swap tanks the pressure works whatever air is in the line through the carb I suppose. It starts right back up after a tank is switched.

Last night I ran the thing for about 45 minutes and it ran perfectly. So I'm at a loss. I haven't however checked anything with an ohm meter or voltage gauge. I still could have a bad coil, ig box, or pickup coil I suppose. It's a little unsettling not knowing at this point exactly what it is.

I did discover two things that may have led to this.
1. I discovered the loom from the ICM had gotten too close to the exhaust manifold at one point and had melted the loom to the insulated wires...the wires are fine, but I'm wondering if that extra heat may have affected the ignition at the time.
2. some oil had gotten onto the ICM connector. Possibly seeped in and disrupted the thing somehow.

Im tempted to just replace the pickup, coil, and ICM. As near as I can tell, the ICM is the original. The coil is about 10 years old and the pickup is unknown. I purchased the dizzy used from someone else.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

If the insulation is melted-That loom should be replaced. Think this melted loom could well be an issue either now, or at sometime down the road.
Clean all plug-in contacts and pack with dielectric grease before plug'n back together.
LG

 

[CJim7]

If the insulation is melted-That loom should be replaced. Think this melted loom could well be an issue either now, or at sometime down the road.
Clean all plug-in contacts and pack with dielectric grease before plug'n back together.
LG

The insulation on the wires was ok. But the proximity to the manifold melted the loom. This is the set of wires from the dizzy back to the ICM.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Can you separate each wire in this loom? Or are they now bonded to each other?
LG

 

[CJim7]

Can you separate each wire in this loom? Or are they now bonded to each other?
LG

Yes, they seem ok. Not bonded... The insulation wasn't even discolored. I'm wondering if that's not what caused my whole issue though

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Electrons can be the devil's child at times.
I would be look'n for other heat damaged wiring now.
LG

 

[mtnwhlr]

Does the coil use the 'horseshoe' connector? Those are a well known problem area for lost contact.
LG

This is something LG brought up that I had a problem with, I would be going along and it would just die. After I found this to be the problem I got rid it. Mine had Ford stamped in it

 

[CJim7]

This is something LG brought up that I had a problem with, I would be going along and it would just die. After I found this to be the problem I got rid it. Mine had Ford stamped in it

This is the Ford style connector which eliminates the pigtail design. I was going to take a picture....then forgot

 

[JR74CJ5]

Had a 79 Ford Truck that ran on Propane, and a forklift at work that does still. Both had a similar issue (to what your having now) - sometimes run great other times not... There is a diaphram in the regulator that is usually maintenanceable. Otherwise they were damn near bullet proof systems that never gave me trouble (except when they did... lol)

Also, tanks do need to be cleansed occationally. Sometimes you'll get one that is not allowing the propane out correctly anymore. Around me there are a few propane places that are actually into vehicles that run on propane and will shoo the with you for a bit about them - helped me learn quite a bit about it when I was driving that old hunk around back then. Of course, most of it has escaped me now.

I wouldn't rule out the propane, it "can" be finicky. The electrical very well may be your issue though, but if you are continuously getting spark, evgen we she decides to not run, it's going to be the fuel.

Next time the girl dies, smack the regulator with wooden hammer handle (like a sticky starter) if the diaphram got stuck, it should un-stick it. That may help you narrow it down a bit.