xyshannen

Hi guys, looking for a little help here.I have a new turnigy thunderbolt and I'll be danged if I can get this thing to start. The engine is getting fuel, the coil/spark plug are sparking. I've tried resetting the high and low set screws tightened all the way down then backed out 1 1/2 t 2 turns backing it out a quarter turn each failed attempt. I've tried every combination of choke on off throttle full to off to quarter throttle. I've also tried just about every combination of setting for the throttle adjust screw. From all the way locked down to backed out a turn or two, to all the way backed out, to just tight enough to start compressing the set spring.This thing is just being a major PITA and I'm bout ready to toss it in the trash. So any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

edit: I forgot to mention, it did start for a very brief second right out of the box. It sounded as if it was full throttle then died, to never start again.

bbuzzard

My Feedback: (5)

Make sure all the engine bolts are tight, especially the carb bolts. Make sure you haven't flooded the motor. If you have been trying to start it for a while with the choke engaged, it is probably flooded. Look at the spark plug to see if it is wet. To dry the motor out, take the spark plug out and yank on the pull start a while with the car is flipped upside down, the extra fuel should spray out. Also keep the choke open.

xyshannen

Check and double check. All bolts are tight. It's obviously flooding out. The spark plug it sopping wet when I pull it. I used a pocket torch to dry the plug. I've also tried the hair dryer on the crank case cause it's a bit cold out. Still no go. I'm now down to suspecting my gas. It was the last bit I had in the can..I didn't think much about it cause the can is new and the gas had only been in there for a couple of weeks and I'm kinda a freak about keeping the cap on my gas cans. Still I can't see it being any other option. I'm going to head out in a bit and get "new" gas and a can of starting fluid to give that a shot. I'm hoping I can at least get it to turn over long enough to quickly tune it.

ratpower396

what oil mixture are you using??

xyshannen

I'm running 25/1 as the instruction in changlish (lol)said to use.

ratpower396

i had a similar problem that turned out to be a crappy plug.. Changed to a new NGK plug and my car started up..

GT100

My Feedback: (1)

As you said, check fuel and check how tight the carb is against the manifold. I've had a few instances where the carb was lose and sucking in air. Another thing I've had happen, specially from KM trucks is the gasket between the carb and the manifold. I've had 3 come across my workbench that the gasket didnt have the holes in them to transfer air from carb to motor. This is very important to idle. If all else fails, try changing the actual carb.

xyshannen

New NGK plug installed..no help what so ever. Now HK wants me to shoot them a video of how this POS won't start. But in all honestly, unless they are going to just send me a new motor I'm waisting my time. If I have to ship the whole car back to them and then pay for the return shipping I could buy a 30.5cc NEW motor that will actually be freaking tested before it rolls out of the warehouse. So basically when you deal with HK it's a roll of the dice on if you are going to get what you pay for. 4-5 times your good..it just BLOWS that my first flippin order was the one fail that they are known for out of those 5 orders.... Now I'm off to go smash something into itty bitty peices.

edit: Oh ya, I also pulled the pull start off and tossed that POS in the trash. After bloody knuckles and busted blood vessels in my fingers i decided it better to use my drill as a starter. But even turning this thing at high speed it will not start. I've even tried tightening the high/low screws and slowly untightened them wilst the motor was turning over via the drill.

And thanks for that about the gasket. I know I've pulled it off but can't recal if it had any holes in it other than what is needed for the main air/gas port and 2 screw holes. At least that's one more thing to look at. But something tells me I'm still just waisting time. The only way this motor is going to ever burn fuel is if I poor it on the bonfire that this motor is going to end up in. I'm contemplating making a vid of me smashing this thing to peices to go with the email showing hk how it won't start.

bbuzzard

My Feedback: (5)

Are you feeling compression when cranking? There is not too much else to check on a new motor. If you got spark, fuel flow, and compression, it should start up.

RAMTech-HBF-LSF

Trying to start it with 1/4 turn adjustments is probably your problem. Is there anyone in your area who knows what they are doing? Have you checked on HBF, there is alot of Baja guys in jacksonville.

The_Shark

I'm actually getting one soon... humph, hope this doesn't happen to me...

maybe your not getting air... like gt100 said...

and relax man, expecting the worst from HK and complaining about what MIGHT happen will probably lead you to get those results, be civil, send them a vid and cross your fingers, its all you can do.

its a expensive product, and it's not electronic so they should be more helpful

phmaximus

Does it Pop with the choke on?

The_Shark

....maybe its still flooded, those little 2cycles can stay flooded for a long time, and they will act like its not even getting spark, pull the filter, pull the plug cycle it a few times and let it sit for some time.

2cycle gas engines are much more reliable than a nitro, but two cycles are somewhat unrelaible gasoline engines compaired to 4cycle

xyshannen

Ya, there is a noticable differance between turning it over with and without the spark plug in.

About the 1/4 turn...huh? I'm sorry but I'm not following you here. How is that a problem? I've tried 1/4 1/2 turns and even very slowly turning the screw wile the motor is being turned over by a drill.


If by "pop" you mean it's firing even a little...no, nothing at all. It only fired once it lasted less than a second. But if you are meaning does it have compresion...yeah it does.

No, it's not still flooded. I've pulled the plug and cleared the combustion chamber many many times. I'm at the point now that I'm going to have to just pack it up and leave it until I get paid (next month!) so I can afford to buy a new, better motor. Seriously my frustration with this thing is so high that if I touch it one more time and it doesn't fire, I might do something stupid. I'm no 2 cycle "mechanic" but I'm more than familiar with internal combustion engines, and the 2 cycle is a pretty simple design.By all logic this thing should run. I'm now just of the opinion I got an untested POS and call it a factory fluke or what ever, this motor just will not work and should have been tossed in the trash before being sent out to the customer.

I also really, really, REALLY hate the idea of spending one more red cent on the POS factory 28 cc engine that is barley powerful enough for the car and can't really be upgraded much due to the 3 bolt head. Especially when a NEW/ TESTED 30.5 cc is in the 200 buck range. And a new motor will most likely come with some kind of real customer support.

xyshannen

Will the Rovan 30.5 cc bolt up? If not can someone suggest a motor. I've been looking and since "smartech' is pretty much gone and nutech now has the thunderbolt II, there doesn't seem to be much info or specific parts for the first gen thunderbolts. Looking over the nutech usa site, the only replacement engine available for the thunder bolt is a 27cc.

The_Shark

ever think that you might just have bad fuel... it happens, oh and the needles should only be turned by 1/16 at a time, going even a 1/4 will throw it way out of whack

xyshannen

Yeah, new fuel added. I already thought that my fuel might be suspect cause it was the last bit I had in the can. But I have since rinsed out the fuel tank with fresh new gas and am running fresh new gas in it now.

Thats why I went the rout of slowly turning the screw a little at a time wile the engine was being turned over by my drill.

mopartybob

This is VERY true, but remain patient, remember this is supposed to be FUN! [:-] after all you have done,did it even pop again??

xyshannen

I wish, but no it hasn't started...even a lil bit, since the first time i tried to start it. Now I'm down to suspecting i might have a bad coil. It does spark but it's so faint that even in a dark room you have to look really hard to see the spark. I just went to a small engine/ lawn mower shop to try and get a new coil but without a part number or engine brand (it's just some generic no name Chinese motor) they couldn't help me. I have a couple of tricks to see if i can get a better spark.I even triedstarting fluidput right into the cumbustion chamber and still no luck.


Other than the coil, it could be a faulty carb.From what I've read theses generic walbro clone carbs can be hit or mis. Like I said earlier, it fo sho is getting gas to the combustion chamber. BUT there is no noticeable difference in how much fuel is being sprayed out of the exhaust with the high/low screws wide open or clamped all the way down. If it turns out to be the carb, that's going to be a 60 dollar fix for a new "real" walbro. and again at that price point, I would rather just buy a new motor that will have biggercojones.

mopartybob

[:@] fooey, yea brand new bad coil I suspect also,sounds like you've exhausted the possible causes and remedy's,time to double check and/or reset the coil's air gap, i've not done this yet,hopefully someone will chime in on this one, [8D]

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

is this from hobby king or in the usa

phmaximus

I dare say u might of cranked the motor over to many times with out the sparkplug fitted causing the coil to fail.
and before that the problem was just it was flooded(maby because u forgot to turn the chock off when it firstfired up), then after the flooding it was because the mixture screws were out of adjustment.......

Dont know if u should start going nuts, its very possible u might of caused the problems.... sorry bud no disrespect

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

i got a gas engine from hobby king froze up in the first 2 minutes took me 6 months to get a new one from them now i get them from the usa no trouble>> no more from hk

xyshannen

No disrespect taken Max. I am curious how turning the motor over with the plug not fitted can kill your coil? Not that I'm doubting you I'm just always open to learning new things.

*sigh* hangs head in shame. After re adjusting the coil clearance it still did not fire. So the engine got used as batting practice. Dumb? yeah but at least I feel better.

The_Shark

lets just put it this way, if it doesn't fire in the first few pulls, its probably already flooded, needle adjustments while cranking is a bad way to go about it, PUNY adjustment and try, though stock settings should fire.

the coil can become damaged by hitting itself with a 15,000 even 30,000 volt spark over and over again because it short circuits, that plug drops the voltage because of the air gap and then grounds through the engine block.

if you act that way about an engine that doesn't fire you need to find another hobby. its a lot of tinkering and trial and error.

good luck getting any help from HK now.