V70 2005 with some trouble

[NVolvo1]

Hi every one and thanks for this useful forum.

I have bought for my parents five years ago, a 2005 V70 Summum BiFuel
some pictures here http://www.vfl-fr.com/forum/viewtopi...=36396&start=0

After 3,5 years of happiness, it was more and more difficult to use it in LPG mode and sometimes dangerous when the engine shut down in a roundabout. With a 35 liter petrol tank, I was sure that my father take some break regularly during a long trip, but he paid for a complete Volvo and not half of it.

So, we try to fix the issue...
No more Volvo dealer in France is authorised to work on LPG car (even to change a wiper or a bulb!), they need to have a very expensive special training
Little dealers don't have the special tools and work only on Lada or Dacia LPG
I bought a DICE in Hong Kong with a nice version of VIDA, and finally (and with the help of your topics) I found this .... stepper motor who was out at 196 000km (120 000 miles)
but regarding the price of this .... motor, I wanted just to be sure before to sell a kidney to pay it.

Finally, my parents take some holidays in Belgium to change this .... motor, and happiness came back

Yes, but... after 40 000 km (25 000miles) and 1,5 year

few weeks ago, the engine was badly running when idle. Diagnostic says "Cyl 5 Misfire". New spark plug, coil swap, i still have this default when in LPG mode.

Do you believe that just a cleaning of the gas distributor could be the solution? (please say yes, I don't want to pay again some holiday in Belgium to my parents! )

[reggit]

You've changed the obvious, other cause of misfires are lack of fuel, so I'd suggest seeing if you have gas reaching the LPG injector, if so check the injector, swap to another position and see if the misfire moves. If no gas, it's likely to be an issue at the distributor.

[CNGBiFuel]

With that mileage almost definitely the Stepper. They burn out. If this is not all of your problem at that mileage I am certain it will be part of it. I would be surprised if cleaning alone will fix this. Fire some injector cleaner down the throat (first removing the stepper) put a large coin over the throat to stop the cleaner evaporating and and leave it to soak 5-6 hours or more. Lubricate with GT85. Not WD40. LPG is dirty stuff and you have done 25,000 without a clean or lube so you may get lucky, but I suspect the dirt means you've trashed (is that Sauté?) the stepper again.

On your car it is in an awkward spot. I move them and if you are handy, advise you to do the same.

I will do you an exchange stepper for £220.00 + delivery. In my reckoning, mine will be better than new because I fix the issue that makes these go in the first instance. Pull it off and send it to me. I'll tweak it. My last one went to France! To [sneyolg] on here. Also skiprat. I will walk you thru' how to fit etc. These can go in less than 25,000 if not cleaned and lubed. I've heard of cars having 2-3 steppers before their owners give up. On the other hand some can do 100,000 miles.

CNG or LPG it matters not. Both for our purposes are the same, if I read you right, you have done this before, have you got your old stepper? I want it for stock or as exchange and will pay you! My stock is low.

Outside of Koltec, I think I can boast to know more about the Necam system than anyone. I have gone through the whole system, I will guide you thru'

Set your plugs to 0.7mm. Not 0.9mm. If at 0.9mm that may well be part of the idling issue, it was on mine. No fancy four-prong snakeoil b*lls**t or LPG plugs with silly 10% extra mileage claims. These are for morons. Use cheap Denso K20PR-U. Gas prefers one proper spark over four tiny ones.

[NVolvo1]

I thought that a stepper will last at least 60 000 miles.


I have another issue at this time, as my parents are in north of Paris and I'm in Toulouse, so quite difficult to work on this car.

We found a specialist who will check the car on 30th June, leakage and cleaning to see if it's enough.

If not, I keep your proposale in mind


Where do you move the distributor? is that easy? do I need some special stuff? (hose, ring, ...?).

I will try to do that mid of July when I will be on holiday.



Sorry for the old one, it has been kept by the belgium dealer.

[CNGBiFuel]

I know these Necam systems well. There are 2 or 3 things that are the common issues, cleaning is one. Rarely does the distributor need a strip-down, merely injector cleaner left in for long enough.

The distributor should go and do at least 60,000 and they often do, only just as often they don't.

Moving the dist is merely rerouting hoses and cables, and remounting. Not on the bulkhead, (as shown) on LHD cars exhaust manifold heat is an issue, but on RHD there is more space.

Mine (not shown) is behind airbox. But I have no brake cylinder there. A big advantage to moving it away from the heat and up where mine is now, is you can get to it quickly to clean and lubricate it frequently, (this becomes a 2-3 minute job) which jsut won't happen stuck down where it is now. That is an hours work! As I said, moving is harder on LHD.
You need a RHD car...Don't blame the Romans, they had it right, blame your Napoleon, it was him and his strutting mega ego that had his army march on the right, because he was left-handed, and then all Europe had to drive to his Left hand. Your steering column is where it is and your car left-handed, because the man from Ajaccio was left-handed.

There can be distributor solenoid issues and regulator problems. Your s might be the regulator, I would need more info to be sure of that, but I still zero in on the stepper.

Shame you don't have the old stepper. Unless they have all parts in stock to try, or it is a simple clean, I am almost sure you are wasting your money on 30th June. Remember: Necam regulators work at super low pressures. Lower thatn they are used to seeing. If they don't know that... keep walking.

[CNGBiFuel]

You see it's all Napoleon's fault
Here's mine in RHD flavour. Harder in LHD but I think you can do something similar to me. Yours is LPG so you don't have the extra regulator, so less to move.

[Bay King]

I have the same old issue with my 2002 V70 Mk2 but as I have no idea what a stepper is and how to remove & clean it I need an LPG mechanic to show me or take on the job..... Is there anyone out there in the Kent area?

[reggit]

The stepper motor and distributer are the bits that regulate the LPG flow to the engine in simple terms. If you look under the inlet manifold at the front of the engine, you'll see it. The stepper motor sits on top of the distributer. It would be an easy (but expensive) job to change it if it wasn't for it's location. It can be done without too much stress if you take the slam panel and radiator fan assembly off, both are easy jobs.

You need to be sure your problem is the stepper though before committing to changing it.

[Bay King]

Thanks for that, I'll give it a try.

[CNGBiFuel]

You can't clean a stepper and if you have cutting-out issues you've already done a good job of mashing it. [Cleaning is what you do if you don't want waht you are seeing now].
These I have in stock, in my mind better that a new one. I sort the internal issues that make these go bang in the first instance.