Hi, I'm new to this forum so forgive me if I make some mistakes. I live on The Wirral and had my 98 MK4 converted by Andy Evans in Wallasey (0151 639 1555) using a very neat Italian Matrix system. All was well until the starter started to play up, sometimes starting and sometimes just clicking. One time it even jammed on and would not release until I revved the engine and broke it free.
The problem is generally the contact plunger and the contacts wearing and either not making a good enough contact to carry the starting current or in my case of jamming, welding themselves together and thus continually running the started.
I tried Lexus (Chester) but like you, they say that they are not insured for work outside the Lexus specification. I also tried a very good local mechanic who had trained and worked at Lexus (Chester) but on finding out it was on LPG refused to do the work.
I was left with no option but to do the work myself; what a pain in the backside. The LPG is simple to take apart, it's just rubber pipes and clips, plus a few electrical connections. The LPG tank has a thumb valve on it to shut it down and by pulling the additional in line fuse that has been installed in the LPG power line, the solonoid valve on the LPG also remains closed, plus there is no power to the LPG control unit nor the injector packs.
Getting to the starter is a pain and just bloody hard work, but it can be done. A few new gaskets are required at about £40. The real rub is that you can buy the replacement plunger and contacts from RepairkitsUK (www.repairkitsuk.com - 07500 197742) for about £13. I managed to replace the contacts and plunger with the starter still bolted to the bell housing as I could not figure out how to unbolt one of the starter bolts without taking the nearside cat off. I hope that this helps, get in touch if you need more help. Do I need to write an article on this for the club to help others? Dave
