stevegauth30

Thanks Prop worm. I needed a good laugh.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

I used up my remaining airplane mix from last season in the snow blower, chain saw and this spring, the string trimmer. Ran just fine in everything and would have been fine in an airplane too but I always mix fresh gas for the airplane in the spring. As stated before, our fuel seems better than whats available in some parts of the country.

Indiomike

My Feedback: (5)

Cute but the laugh track was extremely annoying.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

I don't seem to have near the issues some gripe about here as well. While on the topic, I don't use fuel conditioners in 2 stroke fuel. From what I've seen in my own usage, I'm of the belief quality 2s oil already contain them. In any case, I've never seen the need. -Al

wherewaldo

Hey guys ... Am having a prob starting my new eme 60... I choke it ... Flip it a few times and it barks ... Take the choke off then flip it many times ...it almost starts .. Then Nothin...try the procedure again choke .. On and on end result the plug gets flooded ... The only way it seems to run is if I use a starter on it .. It has 2 tanks of gas through it ... It's is mounted on a 50 size sbach and running a 24❎9 falcon prop...
I also tried half choke ...not any better ... If any one has experienced this and has a fix for it .. Would be much appreciated...
thanks

acerc

Maybe 2 up there, down here it's only 1.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Wherewaldo, your symptoms are exactly like a problem I had with my DLE 61. On most starts and following a normal starting routine, it would fire but not quite catch and run though when it did run, it actually ran quite well. The engine could be even more difficult to start when it was hot. A second symptom was a poor transition from idle to full throttle and the low speed needle didn't seem to react normally.

The problem turned out to be 100% ignition related. Seems that Rcexl who also supplies the ignition for your EME has had some issues with pickup sensors and some of the ignition boxes. I replaced the whole ignition and the engine starts and runs completely normal now. There are several threads discussing this problem on some other RC engine forums but I won't post a link here out of respect for RCU. Do some google searches under things like "Rxexl ignition misfires", "Ignition double spark" or even "ignition timing" and you should find some additional info.

Your starting problem could certainly be just a carb adjustment issue or something else but I'd sure investigate the ignition as potential cause for the poor starting as more than a few people have experienced defects in this area.

Bob Pastorello

My Feedback: (198)

An EME that I owned a few years ago, and ran VERY badly, hard starting, etc. was ultimately due to the faulty ignition, however, it was not an RC Excel ignition, but some OEM knockoff brand, plastic box, very, very cheap wiring... I haven't visited with others about this, but I replaced the ignition with an RC Excel, and it ran as good as it could....

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

I had an engine give me fits a while back. With choke, it would start, then quit as normal. But then upon re-starting it without the choke, it would not even try, or it would pop a few times and quit. It did this numerous times, and so I never really gave a thought to it possibly being flooded. Finally, I pulled the plug to see if it was wet, and it was. So I opened the throttle, and with the plug out and the throttle open, I spun it over with a starter. Some spray came out of the plug hole. I then dried and replaced the plug, and it took off running so fast (one flip) that it almost scared me. Note that this was a "cylinder up" installation.

Check the above, and then perhaps suspect the ignition as others have mentioned.

AV8TOR

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

av8tor, thanks for mentioning flooding. With my ignition problems, the engine would consistently flood just like you described. It was like the spark was too weak or way retarded and as I messed with it, it would flood. Of course then it wasn't going to run until the flood was cleared. New ignition and all is well and normal.

With an inverted cylinder, it isn't unusual for a plug to collect oil / fuel residue when sitting around between flying days. But with a good hot spark, I've never had any problems getting the engines to run normally for the first start on a new flying day. They may sputter a bit until the plug clears and the engine warms up but that's the only thing I notice different between any other startup.

This is really the only unusual ignition problem I've ever had. Yes I've had a few broken wires and some bad plug caps but I consider these problems just normal wear and tear repairs as our airplanes are pretty hostile environments. But this last ignition just acted strange from day one and thankfully, I spotted a thread where others were having the same problems. I followed their lead and problem resolved.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

I had one that would barely start when cold. It was a hell of a battle. It would start then quit, acting lean. I went through all the trouble shooting drills to no avail. Sometimes it wouldn't start cold at all. Once it would finally start, it acted normally. I mentioned it here on the forum, and BCCHI jumped in and said "try it on 6 volts and see what happens." BINGO, it worked perfectly. He said every once and a while a weak ignition would slip through quality control at RCEXL, and using 6 volts would create a stronger spark and solve the problem. Needless to say, I replaced that ignition and no more problems.

AV8TOR

captinjohn

+1 Good data !

wherewaldo

Thank you for the reply and advice Truckracer....and fellow rc'ers ..I have installed a new ignition on the engine tonight... Am going to try it out first thing tomorrow morning ...let you know how it goes .. Thanks again

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Did you install a new sensor also? That seems to be a bigger problem than the actual ignition box.

I'm quite anxious to hear your results.

wherewaldo

No I didn't ... But I will in the morn..thanks

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

Yes most likely the sensor. To test just remove it from the engine and pass a magnet over it and watch the removed spark plug. If you dont see a spark try a new sensor. It could save you money.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

Bill Carpenter from CH ignitions once told me that usually sensors either work, or don't. But he said about 5% of the time they would go "whacky" and do strange things....

The two little testers they sell; one for the sensor and one for the ignition itself are very handy for trouble shooting and setting the timing, and are inexpensive. However, they might not show a sensor that has gone intermittent. I have found/located sensor problems with them however. Be sure to wiggle the wires while you are testing the sensor. Actually, in this day of computer managed engines in cars, the "Wiggle Test" is an actual trouble shooting procedure.

http://www.milehighrc.com/Ignition_Items.html

AV8TOR

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

The Rcexl sensor testers will not show the recent "double spark" problem some of the sensors have been experiencing. The testers will tell you if the sensor is at least working, but they're not fast enough to detect the very short pulse that is created just as the magnet starts to pass under the sensor. Its this very short and undesired pulse that triggers a spark both as the magnet approaches the sensor (undesired) as well as the correct timed spark as the magnet passes away from the sensor. This problem triggers a spark at about 55 degrees btdc then later at the correct static timed 28 degree mark. The problem is, this double trigger seems to send the ignition off into la -la land and you never know when you'll actually get a spark. The spark may be way early and make the engine want to bite you or it may be way late and you'll only get what seems like muted ignition in the cylinder as one would expect with a late spark. Of course this later problem causes difficult starting and an engine can be easily flooded. Not many ignitions seem to exhibit this problem but if you have one, it will drive you nuts trying to resolve it.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

Interesting, and disturbing Truck Racer. Thanks for the info.

AV8TOR

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Truckracer - maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought the gist of that conversation, this weird double spark sensor issue was best characterized as a miss, NOT an outright failure or something leading to a difficult/no start.

If the simple tests show the pick up is OK, it most likely is OK. I would not encourage the replacement of that sensor because it might be causing a miss just yet...

-Al

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

I first heard of the problem about a year ago when some of the GP users were experiencing issues. The problem shows up in several ways ... hard starting, a misfire, backfiring or missing at certain speeds or during start up, etc. There was no one simple symptom of the problem. Performing simple on - off tests turning the crank with a sensor tester don't disclose the problem so that pretty much leaves substitution with a known good sensor as the only way to prove or disprove the original sensor's suitability for service.

Add to the above some of the newer HV ignitions also having some strange problems and the plot thickens making resolution harder.

When I first read of the problem, I poo - pooed the whole problem as just some kind of user issue but then a year later, I had the problem on one of my own engines. Substitution of parts resolved the problem so I'm happy now. I was lucky to have plenty of known good Rcexl spare parts laying around along with new, known good sensors and an Rcxp ignition box from Milton at RC Extreme Power. I'm not quite sure what I would have done if I only owned one engine and had no spares. It certainly would have been more difficult to resolve the issues.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

Having only one engine? No spare parts? I can't even begin to imagine THAT!

It would take me a few days to dig all my engines out and count them! It's an addiction!

AV8TOR

wherewaldo

Hey guys , well changing the ignition in this case made no difference as in the performance of the engine...so I went back to square one .. We used a starter ..an 18v drill...to get the engine going...And adjusted the low end setting.. So it could idle around 1500 rpm ...
i then flew the plane ... It was performing well.. But the transition from low speed to high was not smooth .. The engine had a slight hesitation... So I landed it ...adjusted the low end 1/8 turn leaner... And adjusted th high end a bit richer .. Seems to work ok .. I am gettin about 6700rpm.. Turning a 24❎9 falcon prop.. And the transition from low to high is much smoother.. i turned the engine off .. And restarted with one flip...let it cool down for another 5 min and tried it again .. Started right up with couple flips of the prop.. So in this case it was fuel intake related... Thanks for your help fellows...,
Regards