hi

Ok , around the traps of the LPgas industry a few gas installers have been bitten on the a** from a simple LPgas conversion on the BF falcon new 6 speed automatic fitted cars with a very expensive repair bill approximately $10,000 worth of repairs

Ford had three BF 6 speed automatic cars sent to them to figure out what happen to the cars after the LPgas systems have been fitted to them.

After the gas systems were fitted to the vehicles the automatics failed.

Ford actually removed the gas systems of the cars and restored the wiring looms back to original condition and till the automatics wouldn't work.

The 6 speed automatics ECU's had fried , and guess where the ECU's are located , have been told there inside the automatic .

Obviously Ford thought they had fixed the problem but again after changing the auto ECU unit the gearbox still didn't function again . Upon further investigation the GAS fitters changed the factory spark plugs to a colder heat range . The different spark plug resistance is what is causing all the problems and frying the auto ECU's.

So guys if u plan to change the factory BF 6 speed automatic spark plugs on you next home DIY service be very careful that u fit the correct spark plugs otherwise u could be paying Ford a lot of money to fix ur automatic not under warrantee but out of you own pocket. Been told the repair bill is some where around $10,000 . What a expensive service and tune that would cost someone , cause i could see this still happening to some poor sucker.

cheers

cheers for the info, i'll spread the word. A bit poor that there's such a lack of protection around the auto module considering how much they cost..

F**k!!! Gone are the days of rebuilding a tranny for 500 or 1000 bucks eh!!!

hi
Yes , gone are those days , can u imagine when say 4 plus years down the road when the cars are out of warrantee and have quiet a few kilometers on the speedo how much it will cost to repair a six speed automatic , will be cheaper to buy another car

I can see getting the BF in my workshop in several years time so its good to share some information on cars.

Imagine some of the guys that start working these cars up and fit different heta range plugs what will happen


But it is very scary to think a simple spark plug change of different resistance can cause damage to electronics on a car.
cheers

Ita a bot off the thread but my Father in law is in the army. When the VN's come out they bought 15 of em for his base. They all had to have fire extinguishers fitted. The guy fitting them proceeded to fit them to the passenger side kick panel. 11 cars later they found out he'd drilled thru the ECUs. Imagine how much that cost (considering at the time they were brand new!!!)

he was a ford man, wasnt he!

if your gettin a gas falcon, why niot buy the dedicated gas to begin with, that way everything is covered under your new car warranty

Scary Stuff Ivan

Thanks for the heads up!

Its amzing how finely worked they are that spark plugs can fry the ecu!

Hi NIck

Yes very scary , obviously a poor electronics protection design , if a simple incorrect resistance spark plugs can cause such damage.

spark plugs of different resistance will cause different current flow throw the electronics , don't know the full ins and outs of what exactly

happened but YES the spark plugs were the cause of the problem

Several other BF 6 speed automatics have been LPgas converted at the same time but these guys didn't fit spark plugs LUCK BUGGERS

so guys its not the LPgas system but the poor gas guys installed the gas systems in the car and on there own initiative installed colder range spark plugs

So remember guys on this one i would by original equipment Ford spark plugs .

So do your homework correctly fit the same spark plugs.


some people prefer duel fuels , for what ever reasons

cheers

there is another reason i wont be buying a bf falcon... i take it no one has had any problems with a manual one yet lol...
can you still get a manual bf XT? cant get manual wagons for some spastic reason :O i wonder how long it is till people start frying more of these things?

Im not saying it cant happen, but I am struggling to see the connection between spark plugs and auto gearboxes.

well, remember the stupid fault that can happen with ef's something to do with the interior light circuit. either the light blows or the fuse blows and the engine wont start heh. never know with ford... those engineers need slapping

sounds like someone could be having a lend. not knocking you FPV but i reckon it sounds like a load of rubbish. if it's caused by an incorrectly resisted spark plug then either the high tension spark is backfeeding or the low side of the dfi module is spiking. i cant see how a voltage spike in the ignition system can travel and bypass every other component unharmed on it's way to the trans ecu.

a coil/coil pack produces varying levels of spark depending on the requirements anyway. so they're saying that en engine at WOT under full load up a hill is ok to drive 120kV thru the ignition system but u put the wrong spark plug in and u'r in trouble with the trans????

ford ignition systems have had spike protection since the ea whether it be a inline diode, resistor or fuse.

while stranger things have happened i find it highly unlikely. if it happened to me i'd be passing the problem onto the spark plug company for supplying me with a dud product.

Yeah, thats a stupid design but I can see how it happens (I vaguely remember the smartlock was wired of the interior light circuit). As for different spark plugs, well say it a different brand/heat range did significantly change the resistance wouldn’t the extra load be put on the coil. The only connection I can think of would be the 12v rail powering the coils also powers the auto or whatever is blowing and noise kills it, but it would take a hell of a big change to do this.

Assuming it is the case and there is an flaw in the system then the whole system must only just be hanging in there when it rolls out of the factory. What’s going to happen when the plugs get dirty, or when the electrodes wear? That will change the resistance a fair bit.

can you actually get the 6 speed auto with egas?