| |
When
you are having difficulties getting your nitro RC
car engine to start here are eight things to check
and get you up and driving in no time.
1. Check the obvious.
Is there fuel in the tank? Is the fuel makin its
way into the carburetor? When you prime the tank
is fuel making it into the carb? Is your glow plug
ignitor maing a firm connection with the glow plug?
2. Check the plug.
Lack of ignition could be from either a bad plug
or a low battery in your ignitor. To test the plug
unscrew the glow plug and place it n the glow ignitor.
The coils near the tip of the plug should be red
like the ones inside the plug. If the coils at the
tip are not as bright as the ones farther inside
the plug you may have a bad plug. Toss the bad one
and buy a new one. If all the coils appear to be
glowing, but are very dim, then your ignitor batteries
might just need a charge. When you reinstall a new
or old plug make sure the copper washer is in place
on the plug. If the old washer is one that you have
socked down tight, replace it to make sure the seal
is good. You can use a small amount of grease o
hold the copper washer in place. Tilt the car on
its side so the washer stays on the plug when you
are installing it.
3. Check the pressure situation.
If you are running an old engine, remove the glow
plug and try turning the engine over by moving the
flywheel with your finger . You should feel resistance
to your movement as the engine's piston reaches
the top of the stroke. If the flywheel spins freely
with no resistance, you should replace piston and
sleeve. (Break in the new piston and sleeve slowly
at a rich setting to ensure proper lubrication and
seating of the new parts.) On new engines, compression
should not be a factor unless you have torn the
engine apart. Just the lack of compression can keep
your engine from starting; to much compression can
keep the engine from starting and also do some damage.
To much fuel being introduced into the engine usually
causes to much compression, also known as flooding
the engine. To relieve the pressure, remove the
glow plug and turn the vehicle over to spill the
fuel out of the engine. Reinstall the plug and try
again. The cause of flooding is from overpriming
the engine. If you have a pump on your tank, don't
over prime it. Once you see fuel traveling through
the fuel line and into the carb, stop. Don't keep
pressing the primer. The same goes for placing your
finger over the pipe and turning the engine over.
Once fuel makes it into the carb your priming duty
is finished.
4. Check your needle settings.
Finding the perfect needle setting can mean the
difference between and engine that won't start and
one that screams along in perfect tune. Most engines
have a high speed and low speed needle. Some RTR
kits come with engine's that have a single high
speed needle. These needles determine the ratio
of fuel to air entering the engine. A high amount
of fuel than air will cause the engine to run rich.
A high amount of air to fuel will cause the engine
to run lean. When the engine is running to rich
it will not keep running and stall, or just not
start at all. If an engine is to lean, it will start,
but will begin to accelerate while idling and eventually
overheat. If you are having trouble getting your
engines to start grab your instruction manual and
see what the recommneded needle settings are. You
should see a setting like "two and half turns
out on the high end". This means screw the
high speed needle in until it stops (not super tight,
just until it stops). Then back it out two and a
half turns. Meaning the line on the needle has come
around two and a half times from when the needle
was all the way in. If the needle settings are as
prescribed in the manual and the engine still doesn't
wnat to start, try leaning the high speed needle
a quarter turn at a time until the engine fires
up, the back the needle back out to the recommended
placement.
5. Check your carb opening.
For your engine to start and run it needs a sufficient
flow of air. That means that your engine's carb
should be partially open when set at idle, and open
futher when you go to start it. If this is not the
case your engine might flood itself and not start.
The carb opening should be at least at one quarter
open if you want the engine to start quickly. Double
check that there are no kinks in the tubing used
to hold the air filter in place or being used as
an exhaust diverter.
6. Check your clutch.
If the wheels are spinning when you are pulling
the starter or trying to turn it over, you have
got problems. In order for your engine to start
it needs to be free of any load on initial start
up. If the clutch shoes are hung up, they wil place
drag on the engine, keeping the engine from coming
to life. Your vehicle's clutch bell should be able
to spin independent of the engine's flywheel. If
this is not the case or you notice the wheels beginning
to spin when you have the the car on the starter
box, pulling the pull start, or hitting the starter
trigger, you might have a broken clutch spring or
problem with your clutch. Break out your manual
and get to wrenching.
7. Check your engine rebuild. If an engines
head is not installed correctly and fastened properly,
your engine will not start. When putting the head
back on make sure to cross tighten any bolt patterns.
Check your engine rebuild against the manual. Make
sure that you have the correct length and size screws
back in the right holes. Double check that the carburetor
is secured tightly to the engine. If things where
left loose, there will usually be some evidence
such as fuel or oil around the leak.
8. Check your fuel freshness.
If you have a tendency to leave you fuel bottle
with the cap off, or pour old fuel back into you
fuel jug, you most likely have ruined your fuel.
Fuel is alcohol based and hydrophilic. This means
that the ingredients in fuel absorb water; in fact
they absorb water out of thin air. If you leave
a large gallon container open in normal or humid
conditions, that gallon of fuel can be ruined in
about an hour. Water absorbed into the fuel rendering
it useless. Your engine might be able to run with
contaminated fuel, but you engine will fail to tune
correctly and you could possibly damage your engine.
|
|
