I've got one of these on my first gasser (WH Edge 540), so I have NO idea what I'm doing. Where do you ground the ignition? Can the Hall Effect sensor be replaced? I'm afraid I may have fried it. I powered up the system to see if my opto kill swich was working. The first time I did, I noticed a spark between the sensor and the prop hub. I did it w/o the ground strap connected to anything and now I don't see a spark when I power it up. Was it just a fluke? The manual says something about grounding it to the base of the spark plug with a hose clamp. That seems pretty ghetto, does BME really intend their engines to be set up this way?

Why second guess a manual that was written by the person who made the engine? The manual is correct. You take the grounding strap and wrap the wire around the base of the plug (after it is tightened) and use a hose clamp to tighten the ground strap.

This was pretty common on some of the older motor and BME wasn't the only one who used this method.

Chances are you have blown your HAL sensor now. You can verify this by grounding the wire properly to the plug, touch the plug to the motor and turn the motor over with the ignition on.. you should see or hear the clicking of a spark. Make sure you keep the plug grounded because if you don't and your HAL sensor is not blown it will be then

If you have no spark then you will need to replace your HAL sensor and retime your engine. If you don't know how to do this, then I suggest you contact Scott at Brillelli or Ralph at R/C Ignitions.

I think you have one with CH ignition, If so you can buy a new sensor from http://www.ch-ignitions.com/

Look at the ignition box and see if it say's CH Ignition on it.

Milton

If you turned the ignition on and or moved the magnet past the sensor then you did in fact pop the sensor. You have a CH Ignition on your engine. That ground wire can be attached to your engine or mount if it is metal with a ring connector also. However wrapping it around a small hose clamp attached to the hex portion of the spark plug is more secure in my opinion. I have tried both ways and I have converted many 44 and 50cc Echo engines. Same as your BME 50. I also use CH Ignitions in all of my conversions. If you feel the clamp idea is "ghetto" then send the box in to CH and they will convert it to a Bosch cap boot and you will have a different look. As for the sensor, BME had a small aluminum tang they JB Weld the sensor to as do many of us for conversion engines. Call CH and get another sensor with the Dean's connector already installed, with the old sensor still in place scribe a line along the tang and the engine case for an index mark. Now remove the screw holding the sensor to the case, remove the sensor and residual glue from the tang. Mix up some JB Weld and glue the new one on while making sure the sensor faces the correct way. On mine the letters on the sensor face the timing ring. Reinstall it on the engine using your index mark and you are good to go. No you will not be out of time as you have some tight tolerances there. I have done this many times this way for my own engines and for other people. I have double checked the timing after doing this and it is correct too. Just remember to never, that's never power on the ignition if the ground is not connected and properly grounded.

I wish they would have put THAT in the manual.

Thanks to all for the great info and advice. Since I live in the US version of Siberia, there's not exactly a plethora of gas engine experts around here. I can count on one hand how many have come and gone int the last few years. Even if I lost 3 fingers in a tragic bass fishing accident, I could still count them on one hand.

I never rotated the crank when the ignition was powered, and I still hear a click when the ignition is turned on, so I'm hoping the sensor survived. I'll admit, it looks cheezy to have a $.30 hose clamp hanging out the bottom of the cowl, but if that's the best way to ground the ignition to the engine, then function over form is the way I'll go.

It still may be 6 weeks before I can even think about the WX being good enough for flying, so I may want to ship the engine off for a check up. Does anyone know if BME still services their engines? From what I've read on here, they have gone out of business (there's a real confidence builder on their product). Does RCIGN or BRILLELI do work on other manufacturers stuff?

Thanks again for the advice

As suggested you can send it in to Terry at CH and have them put a bosh plug cap on it and that doesnt have the grounding wire.

Both Brillelli and RCIGN will service other engines. Tim explained it pretty well how you can change the sensor yourself if it is fried.

look at http://www.ch-ignitions.com/ for more info on your ignition and contact info if you want to send it in to get a new cap or order a new sensor.

T.Toad.

If, when you turn on the ignition, you get a spark but none after the first one then the Hall senor has been done in. They can be replaced but some are rather difficult to do depending on how they are mounted above the crank hub. If you have one that's a bit more than you care to try just send it to CH Ignitions or Ralph Cunningham at RC Ignitions. Don't feel too bad since many have done the same before you.

If you have a CH Ignition that has a separate ground strap the the plug wire has to be connected to the plug and the plug grounded to the engine to safely trigger the Hall sensor and ignition. Otherwise you have what happened to you. The ignition instructions note what needs to be done with the ground strap but there are better methods of attaching the ground. I prefer to attach the ground directly to the top of the engine cylinder with an 8-32 screw and nut similar to the manner Brison used to do it. The reason is that all too often the ground can be broken by vibration when the engine is running, causing rfi. It's worse when you attach the ground to an engine mount bolt.

Check with Terry or Bill at CH and I'm reasonably certain that they will concur with the attachment method. The reason it's not often suggested is that many are afraid to drill a small hole in the top cylinder fin, and manufacturers know that sooner or later someone would manage to drill a hole all the way into the combustion chamber by not paying attentin to where they were drilling, and of course blame the ignition manufacturer for providing inadequate drilling info.

I checked to see if I was getting a spark at the plug when moving the prop through a rotation and it looks good. I may have dodged a bullet there. I grounded to one of the cooling fins as SS suggested. Fortunately, the BME 50 already has holes drilled to be able to reach the hex bolts that hold the engine to its mount. The first pic is this set up. The second is the tab that the Hall sensor is mounted to. From the looks of it, it either mounts down (inverted engine) or can swing 90 degrees the other direction. Due to the lack of space, it makes it look like the timing is non-adjustable. The manual says the timing is set at the factory, but I can't be sure the previous owner didn't adjust it. How do I know?

If you received the original engine documents from the first owner you will have a CH ops manual. It would normally have all the instructions on how to set timing and a copy of a timing protractor. If not you can download all of it from the CH website. It's easy to check the timing. BME was known for some excellent machine work. So good that you often could not see where a ring or other part was movable. Look to see if there's some set screws that when loosened would permit the part that the hall sensor is mounted on to move or rotate. I can't tell from the picture how your hall sensor is mounted. If you feel up to it a couple more pics could help.

pr

Here's a couple more pics. It looks like there is only one screw that holds the metal tab that the sensor is mounted on. It appears that any movement of the tab would take the sensor out of the path of magnet. There is also a small black allen screw in the prop hub. Is that for changing the hub's rotational position on the crank shaft, and changing timing?

TT
The timing change is done by loosening the timing ring, which is just next to the crankcase but in back of the prop hub, which contains the magnet which triggers the sensor. I can see it in your picture. There is s set screw that can be loosened and then the ring can be rotated. If you haven't moved it yet, don't. Wait till you scribe a mark on the hub and case so you can put it back where it was originally. Also, I bought a hall sensor from Keith at BME this last summer, mounted, with a deans connector, for $13. He said he had lots of them, so I am assuming that whoever buys BME will get that large stock of sensors.
Hope this helps.
Sam

Also determine the type of ignition. BME used three types, CH, Falkon, and RC Excel. The CH and RC Excel work the same. The Falkon is timed to a different setting.

Mine's a CH. I also downloaded their timing instructions. It look like I'll need to run the engine before I can determine if I need to adjust it. Since I bought it used, and haven't changed the timing myself, I'm hoping I don't have to. Thanks to all for the great advice. I'm sure I'll be calling on everyone once I get fuel in this thing and try to start it. From all the threads I've read on here, it seems like a miracle anyone can get a 2 stroke gasser to run properly, yet, I abuse the heck out of my weedwacker and it runs flawlessly. Now if I could just decide on a fuel can.

Fuel cans are tough to pick.. lots of choices from making your own to ?

I ran my own for a summer.. then grabbed a Jersey Modeler electric. Can't say enough good things about it. Hurts the first purchase but after that everything is nicely filtered... pump is high quality and after pumping about 50 gallons through it, it hasn't let me down.

Tanker

Relax .... with minimal effort your gasser will run just fine. Unless a guy really tries to screw something up, most gassers run very will. You're on the right track reading all you can about them and will have most of your questions answered in advance ... or will at least know where to get an answer when a new question comes up.

tankertoad--You won't have any problems running that engine, it is basically a big week wacker conversion that will run for ever. Once you start flying gas you will never want to touch glow again. CH is number one when it comes to ignitions and it is a slam dunk changing your sensor if it does fail in the future.

Hey guys - Need another tidbit. I have Lawnboy ashless to run for the rest of my break-in. What ratio do I use?

32:1 or 40:1

None.

Give it away and pick up some Echo or Stihl 2 stroke oil. The Lawnboy is a carbon growth hormone that creates more trouble than it's worth. Use either of the other two anywhere from 32 to 50-1. You could do the same with a good synthetic if desired, especially if you intend to use a synthetic later. Unless you know for certain that the connecting rod has bearings at both ends stay at 50-1 or richer for the oil mix. Bushed engines need more oil.

Tune the engine for good running and flight, no hovering or torque rolls for the first 4-6 tanks, and go fly. Don't try to run it on the ground for tank after tank for a break in. It's not necessary and it can be pretty hard on the engine, especially if cowled. Hot air exhaust area on the cowl should be at least 3 to 4 times the cooling air inlet area. You Edge has a curved lip on the bottom of the cowl if it's version II. If you open some of the cowl up aft of that lip, retaining the lip, you've done a very good thing and created a nice low pressure area just about where it's needed for hot air extraction.

Now go have some fun

SS- Thanks for the tip on the oil. I got the engine from a seller who I think had a "couple" of gallons through it, so I figure 3 or 4 more on Echo or Stihl break-in oil shouldn't hurt.

I assume the more oil, the more protection, but less power?

I'll switch over to AMSOIL at 50:1 after break in is assured.

I've got the 1.1 Edge, but I opened up the hole between the metal gear plates in the bottom of the fuse and half BME 50 head sticks out in the wind, so hopefully cooling is covered.

Just the opposite. More oil equals more power down to about 18-1 plus/minus a little. If the engine has had a couple of gallons through it already then the break in was comlete quite some time ago. It generally takes about 3 hours of running time to do most of what needs to be done. BTW, both of those oils are good to run forever if you like. So is Pennzoil Air Cooled, Motul 800, Redline Two Stroke Racing Oil, and Bel Ray products, and a few others. Just follow their directions. I deliberately did not talk about Amsoil.

Sounds like you're good to go on the plane. Enjoy, it's a very nice flying plane and will do all you ask of it.

All righty then! You shot down both oils that BME mentions by name in their manual. I chuckle as I type. I'll see what I can find in town and mix up some gas tomorrow. Hopefully we get no more snow and what we have continues to melt so I can maiden it. I'm still trying to figure how I came out so heavy (17.5 lbs with no gas), even though I used CF tubes and gear, glass spinner and wood prop.
Oh and I almost forgot. The prop is mounted so I have a tip at about the 1-2 o'clock position for hand propping. I can get a good swipe and hear a pop from the muffler. Is that right?

Keith, before quiting the engine business, went to Pennzoil air cooled as one of his favorite recommended oils. Mixed at 32-1 or 40-1
The 1 or 2 o'clock is fine, flip it like you mean it. I don't slap them, but flip with a good force.

Is Penz Air Cooled more likley to be found at big retailer or a specialty small engine shop?

Prop is good.

17 to 18 was about average for the version 1 Edge, so you did well. No worries, they flew great at 20 lbs!! The first one I did I threw everything into it and added wood everywhere, wrongly thinking it needed more strength. It just ended up heavier, not stronger The next two got much better

The new ones (v-II) can come in between 15.5 and 17.5, depending on what's used.

You're one of the few that remembers my earlier screen name. Thank you

Remind RTK that he needs to get out to the fields more often if he's going to flip anything. The poor boy's prop arm must be starting to atrophy and may have reached the point where he can't even flip me the bird anymore, lol.