CNG made easy

I have been reading a lot about various discussions on CNG installation on internet
but most of them dealt in parts. I thought of giving all the important information in
simple language, in full at one place, so that all the facts about CNG installation and
its settings become clear.
First of all understand that most of the CNG fitment centers are manned by
uneducated businessman who have no background of auto engineering or any
engineering, so do not expect them to educate you with finer details of your
queries. Almost all the labourers who install your kits in fitment center are
uneducated people who do not even know what they are doing. They just follow
what was taught to them by the old or senior staff or learnt by themselves by
experience. So, in short I want to say that you have to get educated yourself about
the CNG fitment and tuning for peace of mind, else you will be making rounds of the
firment center without getting clarifications.
Before you get the CNG kit installed, you should clearly ask about the pricing, type
of kits like-open loop kit, closed loop kit or sequential kit, whether bill would be
given against payment, whether all parts would be imported, if not then what parts
will be Indian and what imported, and whether RTO endorsement is included in the
price. Also be clear about the capacity of cylinder being fitted, commonly 12 Kg or
14 Kg.
The best kits are made in Argentina and Poland. Plenty of duplicates are available in
India. Also note that after installation of the kit the fitment center will send his
person with you to the gas station to fill gas for first time for setting and tuning the
kit. There is a racket here also, the staff of fitment center will tell the gas station
that the car owner does not have the metal plate that is mandatory for filing gas,
and the gas filling staff will fleece you with a higher amount which will be shared by
the gas station staff and the fitment center staff. You have to agree for this as you
need to fill gas in your tank without metal plate. The metal plate is given free by the
Mahanagar gas in Mumbai after the kit is endorsed by RTO on the RC book. But for a
month you will get a small paper receipt, which you can show at the gas station
while filing the gas.
The average that you get after installation will be 60% more than what you got in
petrol in city driving. If car runs 10 Kms in one liter of petrol, it will run 16 Kms in 1
Kg of CNG if the tuning is optimum. If the setting and tuning is properly done then
there will not be much power loss and no warning lights blinking. On highway, when
driving the car at uniform speed of less than 50 Kms per hour you will get very good
mileage, much higher than city driving.
CNG KIT
There are safety taps in the kit to open and close gas supply from cylinder and at
filling unit. The CNG kits contains a storage tank connected to a reducer to reduce
gas pressure, then to mixer that feeds mixture of gas and air to the injectors. The
gas and air mixture is sent to the engine where spark from spark plug burns the gas

to generate pressure that moves the piston and gives power/acceleration to the car.
In this simple Open Loop kit, the tuning for best performance is done by setting the
gas flow, RPM of engine and spark quality. Thats all. If you master these three, you
will be able to tune your open loop CNG kit of your car on your own for best
performance.
One very important aspect is that never leave your car unattended while the kit is
being fitted. You will notice that the CNG fitment centre will try to get rid of you by
saying that he will install after few hours after finishing the existing car, etc, etc.
The moment you leave the fitment centre you will be taken for a ride. I have
observed that the fitment centers do not have trained personal to install the gas
tank in the boot. Instead of drilling they use fat nails and hammer the boot floor to
make holes. This not only weakens the car floor but also causes harm to your wheel
alignment ad other mechanisms. It is as good as impact from an accidentthey
hammer so badly. This is the reason many people complain that their car floors
developed cracks after few months.
When the installation of tank is done, the fitment center never does the centring of
the tank. Means that the tank has to be kept in such a way that the weight is
distributed equally on both the sides of the center-line of the car. The tank has to be
placed in such a way that it does not have more weight on either left or right side,
else your car will have varied tyre erosion, and will also effect the suspension,
steering system, etc. When you will turn the car in speed you will notice that on one
side the car feels different than the other side. This is dangerous.
Those people who had LPG installed before switching to CNG will see plenty of big
holes left after removal of LPG tank. The fitment center will not do anything about it.
Most of you will not even know that such a hole exists as you were not present
when the kit was being installed. If there are such holes then cut an old spoilt tyre
tube, bigger than the hole size and dampen it with fevibond, leave it for at least 10
minutes and place it over the hole after cleaning the area. This can be easily done
by yourself. If you wish you can get the area welded also. But for that you have to
finish the gas and remove the empty tank or get it done before new cylinder is
fitted.
HOW TO TUNE THE CNG KIT?
Manual tuning can be done in open loop system. For closed loop and sequential
system tuning is done through computer.
You will notice that there is one big screw on the pipe that goes from reducer to
mixer. This controls the amount of gas flow. There is another big screw on the
reducer, which controls the RPM. These two are to be adjusted to get the best
tuning.
First of all place both the screws on full open, means full unscrewed. Then ask
someone to turn ignition key while you keep the accelerator on higher side. If the
engine does not start, open the gas screw by 3 full turns. If engine does not start
again open by 3 turns. Keep doing this till you get the engine going with accelerator

pressed. Now release accelerator and keep on opening and closing the gas screw till
you get fairly good engine running. Then set the RPM with the screw on the reducer
for best idle. For good mileage set the gas to lean by closing the gas screw a little,
and for more power set it to rich by opening the gas screw little.
Now switch on the AC. If the engine starts to stall, open the gas screw a little and
then increase the RPM a little till you get good and sensitive, responsive
acceleration. This will be the best setting if you wish to run your car more on AC.
ENGINE WARNING LIGHT?
There are good chances that you may see flickering engine warning light, or the
light may come on and off. This indicates that your sensors are working well but the
setting is defective. The defect can be in wiring, the timing advancer or loose spark
plug connections. Mostly it is the power booster or timing advancer or oxygen
sensor wire. So, check that first.
SEVERE LOSS IN POWER?
Every one wants their CNG car to run similar to petrol. But there is some loss in
power always. To get the best power, use NGK spark plugs, keep the spark plug
gaps to lower than .9 mm. Lowering the gap of spark plug is as good as advancing
the timing. Spark plugs and timing advancer/power booster play a very important
role in generating power. If not set up properly, you will not get best power and
acceleration. You can slightly increase the gas and increase the RPM to get power,
but the milage will suffer, and it is not the best practice. Sometimes using larger gas
mixture unit helps. At times cleaning the injectors and exhaust also helps in gaining
power if they are clogged.
WHAT IS TIMING ADVANCER?
This is a small unit that controls the spark time of the spark plug in relation to the
movement of the piston. As CNG is not as dense as petrol and requires more
burning time, it is required that the spark is generated little before when the full
compression reaches so that by the time the compression is to its maximum the gas
is fully burnt making maximum expansion and pushing the piston with more power.
If the spark is not advanced it will not burn the full gas mixture and not generate
more power and also leave some gas unburnt and you may see engine malfunction
light on your dashboard. The advance timing is denoted as degrees. It really needs
good experienced person to set the correct advance timing. Unluckily, most of the
CNG kit fitment centers are unaware of the technicalities of advance timing.
In some original imported kits the timing advancer / power booster comes as part of
the kit by default, while in some you have to buy as add on by paying extra. It costs
between Rs 1, 000 to Rs 2, 500 depending on brand and quality. Cheap Chinese
ones are also available.
CLOSED LOOP
When open loop fitment has more control over oxygen sensor and injectors, it is
called closed loop. This gives little more milage but costs about Rs 2, 000 to 4, 000

more. This setup controls the flow of gas to the injectors as advised by oxygen
sensor and control unit to gain more control, giving power and saving gas to little
extent.
SEQUENTIAL
This is a fully controlled system having plenty of sensor controllers ( about 40 to 48
sensors) to control each and every move of engine, gas supply, mixing, etc. Nothing
is set manually in this setup. One has to use computers to do the tuning. Once
tuned, you have to never touch the settings. Your car will run as good as it was
running on petrol with very little power loss. But the cost of this system is twice as
that of open loop. The problem with this setup is that in case of any defect you have
to visit the specialized fitment center only. Road side mechanics will be of no help.
You will not be able to do tuning by yourself unless you have the software, its
knowledge, and connectivity of your engine with your laptop to do the settings.
WHICH IS THE BEST FITMENT CENTRE
As I already told you, almost all are no good, even the Lovato authorized center (Eco
Fuel Centre) in Thane is also a crook. There are many instances where he did not
give bill against cash payment after fitment saying that bill will attract 12 % taxes.
They brutally hammer your car for making holes. They never use drills and your car
is bound to develop cracks after you use their services. They even try to first place
few defective parts by taking a chance that if it works, they will get rid of the
defective part and make some money. Their accountant is a corrupt fellow and tries
to make money by asking amounts for extension of gas filing receipts if you did not
get the metal plate. The gas date extension is done free of cost by Mahanagar gas
staff who sits in the Fortune distributors office near Sahanai banquet hall in Thane
(West). You have to just show him the expired receipt and he will make new one for
you in 5 minutes, free of cost.
Same is the case with almost all fitment centers. The only way you can save your
car is to be present and question them if you sense any mischief. The fitment of
CNG kit does not take more than 4 hours. Most of the fitment centers will avoid your
presence and will make various reasons to make you go away, but you stick there
like a leech if you want to save your car from abuse or know what they are actually
doing.
HOW MUCH IS THE COST OF FULLY IMPORTED CNG KIT
The cost of open loop is Rs 24, 000 to 27, 000 without RTO work.
The cost of closed loop will be Rs 2, 000 to 4, 000 more
The cost of sequential kit will be between Rs 35, 000 to 50, 000.
RTO endorsement will be Rs 2000. But if you want to get it done by yourself, the
fitment center will give you all the documents and you can get it done from RTO for
less than Rs 300.

You have to negotiate when deciding about the price. Be clear about tax, invoice,
RTO endorsement charges, warranty, etc.
FILLING CNG:
You will receive a metal plate with embossed car registration number and kit details.
Sometimes, the CNG filling stations may demand you to show this metal plate
before they start filing your tank. So, always be clear that the fitment center will be
giving you the metal plate free of cost.
The life of CNG gas cylinder is very good, but the government has made it
mandatory to get it rechecked after every 3 years and get fitness certificate from
the authorized cylinder checking station. You have to carry this fitness certificate in
your car in case it is required to be shown with RC endorsement. But rarely any RTO
checks this.