was wondering if a hall sensor can go intermitent or do they work or not. having problems with an rcs 140. cut the wire put a deans on and put it on another module i have here same thing stops starts etc before it quits

The magnet came out of the disk inside of the engine on mine. I replaced it with a universal external unit from C&H for about $15

I have never heard of one being intermittent but I will say that they will become less sensitive and you have to move the sensor closer to the magnet.

I know this will sound weird but I know a person who was having problems with a larger gasser. It would start and run up to about half throttle. When the throttle was opened farther the engine would backfire and run irraticlly. It was driving everyone nuts. Come to find out that the magnet had fallen out and had been reinstalled backward with the wrong side of the magnet facing outward toward the sensor. They turned the magnet around and it ran great.... I was not there but was told about this while we were having a "Do you believe this" session. Bill

I have had several ignition unit failures and all were intermittent. One time the plug boots got soft when they got hot. this caused mis-firing, especially late in the flight after things heated up. A similar failure occured when the module itself got hot. One cylinder would drop out. after a few minutes of cooling, it would work again. Another unit had intermittent failures where the engine would just quit in the air. I fought this one for a few months before swapping out the module and it has not quit in about 30 flights since then.

Hi Volksman,
My spark plug ground wire come loose from my Brison 2.4 during flight which caused a dead stick.
After I reattached the ground wire the engine would not start again.
Found that the sensor shorted out or something when the ground wire came loose.
Got a new sensor from C&H and engine runs fine now.

Rich

Rich,
The three wire sensors do this all the time.
The 4 wire sensors will not become damaged from a disconnected ignition ground.
C&H sells those and I highly recommend them.

tried again after a bit last night leaned the low end had a good consistent run. this thing is frustrating. this is the second summer ive spent trying to get it working. im getting closer hopefully. runs like a champ when it runs. the rcs ignition is a bit on the mickey mouse side as far as the way its assembled. i wouldnt ever buy another

I have had three of the 1.40 engines and so far only one has had any problem, the four bolts that hold the cylinder on came loose. That was bad timing because I had driven to A IMAA show and both the planes I took ended up with A problem and killed my weekend.

A couple of years ago I was flying my Corsair, powered by a Brison 5.8 with a CH ignition, when the engine started intermittently missing. Changed the spark plug, same thing. Someone suggested that it might be the Hall effect sensor. I thought it would either be good or bad and not intermittent. A friend had a spare and I tried it. Problem solved. They definately can be intermittent.

BINGO!

Flying a Hangar 9 260 Extra with a GRRC GF45i engine--engine stopped in mid-flight as if I had hit the kill switch. After landing, inspection showed the ground wire for the plug had come loose. And also have not been able to get the engine to fire since then.

I have suspected the electronic ignition system might have been damaged in the incident but haven't been able to confirm it--limited savvy on how to troubleshoot such a system--and purchasing a new one is an expensive way to troubleshoot. Any help on troubleshooting an electronic ignition system would be appreciated.

Your example at least supports my theory on what happened with me.

Thanks,

Joe

Joe, you didn't mention what brand your ignition is. They are not all the same. Is it a CH Ignition?

CH sells an inexpensive and effective ignition tester for around $20.00 or so. However, it will not work with DA or 3W ignitions.

Ken,

I don't know what kind of ignition system it is. It came with the engine--the CRRC GF45i. It is an "inexpensive" Chinese gas engine. This engine has been put out in some 3 versions now--mine is a Version 2 (I think). Upgraded EI system compared to the initial system. CRRC Pro (mfgr) says to run a 6V power supply for the ignition system, so that's what I've been running.

The sensor pick-up wire is a 3-wire, black in the middle, red and white on the outside. I don't think it is an "auto advance/retard" system tho.