jdmdarksol

Dunno if there was another post on this but let me get strait to the point. I cannot start my CEN CT5 anymore, I broke it in properly (4tanks), ran it for about 3 weeks at the track, and recently i was at a parking lot and it didn't start. I changed glow plugs, glow ignitors, everything to try to start it, and primed it and everything but still no luck, does anyone know what might be wrong? Thanks..

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

We need a bit more info first.
When you try to start it does it get hard to pull?
If you try to start it several times and then remove the glow plug and give it a few pulls, does fuel come out the top of the engine?
How old is your fuel, have you used this type of fuel in the car before?
What type of glow plug do you have in the car?
have you checked for air leaks in the exhaust and carburetor and lines?
Are there bubbles in your fuel line?
Is your air filter clean?
Is your exhaust blocked off?
Let us know as much as you can and I'm sure someone will figure it out

Timmahh

good answers to those questions needed...
also turn the car over with glow plug removed and turn the car upside down to expell the built up fuel...it will pool by the crank and could cause damage to crank and/or piston arm..and wont necessarily expell the majority of the extra fuel but only what on top of the pistion..... Gravity and all that.

also have you adjusted ANY of the carb screws yet???

answer these questions honestly and we ll be able to give more direct advice...

things to check, even with new plugs, i check them wiht the glow igniter B4 i install. be sure it glows a fairly bright orange...also insure your plug is fully charged, a mildly weak glow igniter will not heat the plug enought to start the engine. thus the Bright Orange, and not just heating up a bit......!!!!!!

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR NITRO FUEL in direct sunlight. it will start to break down the lubricants in the fuel and will start to cause all sorts of issues. Store in a cool dry DARK area, the more cosistant the temps the better, it can last forever if done this way and is TIGHTLY sealed in the jugs......... i had a gal of fuel (about 1/10th left is more like it) that was left in sun, didnt know it.. truck started to run like POOP. after 3 days of resetting/adjusting/ect. with no luck... i opened a new can of Traxxas fuel and after retuning all is decent again..
what is the % of the fuel too 20% nitro with 18% lubs ect....?
airleaks shouldnt STOP it from running unless they are HUGE then they will be VERY OBVIOUS, but if small then the engine should start/run but will run lean due to the air ingestion.

get us answers to these and we ll get you squared up strait away.

GL
HTH
Tim

jdmdarksol

thank you for all your replies....i don't have time to test everything yet, i will try again this sunday..but thank you for all your support...

jdmdarksol

Success....i found out the flywheel was loose...don't know how that happend but my CT5 is up and running again....Thanks for all replies...

Timmahh

im betting you had it flooded, and the extra fuel evaporated. make sure if you dont get it started right away ( i can get mine stated in 2 or 3 pulls with fresh fuel) to pull the glow plug, hold the car upside down and give it a few pulls. you ll see the extra fuel plop down. replace glow plug. put on igniter and let it set for 20 - 30 seconds, then pull. should fire right up.
Tim

AUTOMAG

Hey,U saw one of these cen ct5s whats a great looking car. I currently have an ofna jammin but i may want to try this CT5. I found one for $319.00 is that a good price ? What you go guys think of the CT5 will it really run near 74 mph ? that is fast . Let me know . thanks :0

Timmahh

that price appears to be in the standard ballpark, ive seen them on ebay for 350 with the starter kit added, fuel bottle, glow igniter, charger ect......
if you got the rest 319 isnt bad...check the price here www.the-rc-unlimited.com. is a LHS around my area with some outstanding prices... but im not sure what the ct5 runs. email and find out... you ll need to glue the tries asap. you ll also probably really want to get upgraded rims/tires.. better off and better control. to make these high speeds regardlss of car, the suspension needs to be spot on, and you ll want to BALANCE your rims and tires for sure. not doing either will result in alot of curb/flipping/rolling/cartwheel action... ok, for an MT. not ok for a Road Racer...
hth
Tim

porsche996

wow i just had the same problem and just figured it out tonight. Im going to loctite the flywheel it and hopefully it doesnt happen again.

jdmdarksol

Kool yeah loctite it.....after fixing this...my rear belt is wearing bad..needs to be replaced...dam....replacing parts left and right.....lol...i love the CT5....but its getting expensive..maybe i shouldn't run it so hard...NAAAAAAAAAAAW....

Timmahh

the only reason i can see your motors wont start if your flywheel is loose would be one of 2 problems.
1. the loose flywheel is allowing an airleak in the front bearing. NOT A GOOD THING. and locktighting the flywheel bolt is only a bandaid, not a solution.. if your flywheel gets loose and you have an airleak, the front bearing is toasted i would think...both front and back should be SEALED bearings so no airleaks,, flywheel or no flywheel...
lets hope CENRACER gets in here and mentions the real deal.... if there is a problem with leaky front bearings, i truely hope CEN rights this issue quick, or there will be alot of unhappy customers with roasted engines do to possibly faulty bearings....
2. the ONLY other reason i can think of, is if the flywheel, while it is loose, is Binding up and creating some major DRAG on the engine, thus stopping it from starting/running properly.

EITHER one of these reasons are BAD, and the bearing issue in my opinion would be a warrenty issue. if its binding when loose, then that COULD be a warrenty issue, if its not isolated events.

i wouldnt just take it as a mishap with 2 stated cases, even though theres alot of ct5s out there... im sure others have had this issue but, we ve not heard much of it....
CENRACER.. any ideas you have?
i m taking my CT5 out for tanks number 5-8 tomorrow and going to start tuning it up...

Timmahh

porsche996

what gave it away for me was it would run if you set the throttle open about halfway, but it would die if you tried to idle. then i gave the flywheel a spin and it spun almost freely when it is supposed to turn with the engine.

imn0tnorml

I have a .16 Fun Factor ST. For some reason, I can't seem to get this thing to tune. I have tuned my other nitros in under and hour each.
To get it to run, settings - pretty lean, above average idle

When I hold full throttle, it sounds like it's drownding (too rich) but the engine is running pretty hot. (Used the spit test - sizzles right away)
When it actually got into 2nd gear, it dogg'd way down and actually slowed down.

Any ideas?

CEN Racing

imn0tnorml - It sounds like you may have your engine TOO LEAN. This is called "lean bogging" especially if you know the engine is running hot!

What we suggest is to reset the needles back to the factory defaults and go from there. Here they are:

Default:
Top: 3 1/2 turns out
Bottom: Flush with side of carburetor.

After break in:
Top: 3 turns out
Bottom 1 -1/2 turn in from FLUSH.

Try this out and let us know how that works.

imn0tnorml

I reset it back to factory...it will not start....when i do get it to start....the moment I remove the glow plug heater, it dies....
I make some adjustments and get it to run w/o the glow plug heater and when I give it throttle, it boggs out and dies...
I will be disassembling the entire engine soo, i think it needs a rebuild even though I have nver had it running correctly.
(the plug in it is a OS A3 I believe)

*From what I'm reading...I probably have a bad glowplug....whats the recommended plug for my engine?

Timmahh

OS number 8 or McCoy 59s are great plugs about 5 each.... if you ve never really got the motor running right, or well enough, then i would doubt your engine needs rebuilt unless it was run so lean the temps got really HOT over 350 hot......chances are its a small airleak in the fuel system or carb/engine area..... i would check for that first... no need rebuilding an engine thats not needing the rebuild.. pull your tank pressure hose from your exhaust pipe.. close your HSN fully. then blow into the pressure hose, look/listen for leaks in your lines adn tank, if all s good, open the HSN while blowing in tank and listen for air coming thru carb.. when you hear that, plug the carb opening with your finger getting it as airtight as you can, now blow again and look for leaks around the needles, crankcase ends, carb mount, head.ect. any air excaping except there the exhaust is bad and needs attention to get airtight... haveing an air leak will drive you nuts... runs great one min then dies the next at 1/2 thrt.. GRRRRRRRRRRR... im betting you ll find some air excapin somewhere it should not be..
hth
Timmahh

imn0tnorml

Thanks for the advice...

What would cause a plug to get "stuff" collecting on the coil?

Timmahh

that could be a few things. bad fuel, dirty airfilter to name a few. im not 100% on the 2 glows i suggested, but im sure they ll be fine in your Savage, as they are the most popular 2 plugs for most nitros...
Tim

bounty

Guys I just got that problem with my flywheel, CEN that looks like a real problem, why is it coming loose ???

Timmahh

ok this has got me confused, as ANY motor should run with a loose flywheel let alone a flywheel on it at all. the Flywheel has NOTHING to do with your engine running, and the ONLY possible reason i can imagine is if the LOOSE FLYWHEEL is a. holding the front bearing inplace, therefore creating a seal by holding the bearing inplace so when loose your getting an air leak in the front of the crankcase, OR b is BINDING up with another part putting stress or pinching and stopping or dragging on the crankshaft.. so which is it, cuz I KNOW a loose flywheel is NOT stopping the flow of nitro or stopping the glow plug from holding heat..

So what do you THINK the reason is... at this point the ONLY LOGICAL thought is it is helping to create a seal by holding the front bearing in place. which is not only a Bad Design but a BAD IDEA to begin with... so.... im a bit amiss. Speak to me Peeps. Dont this kind of make you go ***?????

it does me and i dont even have the problem yet...
Timmahh

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

well, the only thing i can think of is that since it is only a 1 cyllinder engine and the crankshaft is so very light, there is not enough centrifical force to overcome the friction of the piston against the sleeve.
What im trying to say is, when the piston firs and comes down, maybe it cant come back up again on its own. The flywheel may create enough inertia due to its weight and radius to help the piston return back to top dead center so it can fire again.
Make sense?

Timmahh

Dustin. Great thought but i ve run engines, although not This perticular engine, as mines still only just broke in most the way and still in my CT5, on the test stand with no flywheel without issue. ofcourse this is just to check that the engine runs and will idle ok after a carb rebuild/head gasket or teardown and clean ect. and to check for air leaks. its easier to see/hear them when the engine is open and fully visable... see, this is why this flywheel issue puzzles me so much... i ve ran through the most probable reasons and the 2 i listed are the only likely candidates.. things that make ya go hmmmmm.
Tim

bounty

Well guys just as Dustin said, when my flywheel came loose the piston was not moving also when you pull the pull start cord I was not feeling the tumble turn of the piston the flywheel just spinned.

After breaking it down and realising the flywheel was loose, I thighten and with one pull engine started and all was well again

CEN Racing

The flywheel must be on the engine and tight for it to fire correctly.

manuel frias

im also having problems but its whith the pull start usaly when i pull the pull start i here the enging turn over 6 to 8 times but recently im just geting one ore two. dose eny one know why its doing thisis the pull start broken ore is somthig just loose ?