MVVS Ignition problem
 

Hi Guys,

After taking a couple of years away from actively flying.
I,m back to getting a number planes ready this winter for next year.
I recently got one of my MVVS 45GX engines back from a fella that I sold it to a couple of years ago.
He never got around to using it, so its been sitting for in its box for the last 2 yrs.
When I sold the engine, it performed really well.
I just brought it home and thought I,d mount it on my test stand to check things over.
When I attached my LiFe 6.6v battery to the ignition the LED did not light up.
The battery has a 75% charge and checked out ok on my meter.
Does anyone have any advice on possible solutions?

thx
Dave

Dave, The battery may have checked out OK with a meter measurement but be bad with a load since the meter draws very little current from the battery. Charge up the battery and see how it works. If it still does not work, try to discharge the battery with a cycler to see if it is any good. Dan.

Hi Dan,

Thanks for responding.
I just finished charging the battery,
I actually charged 2 of them, one of which just came out of my heli so I'm pretty confident that its okay.
Still nothing, no LED or initialization.
I will have to get a plug wrench tomorrow from my garage and turn the engine over with plug attached to see if there is a spark.
I was reading the manual just now and it states that the ignition should not be initialized without being attached to a plug.
Its not something that I was aware of previously since the engine was only ever started once it was mounted in an airframe.
Do you or does anyone else have info regarding this issue?

thx
Dave

Dave, the ignition should never be fired without the plug installed. If your ignition has one of those metal caps on it, you can push the plug into it and check the firing with the plug out of the engine. If your ignition has a rubber boot for the plug and a ground wire you can do the same thing with the ground wire clamped to a metal part of the spark plug. In either case you do not have to have the plug in the engine. You can turn the engine over by hand. Dan.

Mine won't work with a LIFE battery either. Runs fine on a LIPO. It needs the extra voltage.

I did run into a problem a while back, where I tried a couple of Life batteries on a MVVS engine and it would just cough, sputter, kick back, and in general misbehave terribly. At the time I thought i had some other problem such as a bad ignition module or timing sensor. But later I used a 4.8v NMH pack and the engine ran perfectly. So I tried the original ignition module that was giving me all the troubles and it worked perfectly too. That was when I discovered that not all LiFe battery packs may work with the ignition units. Subsequently I had bought a Mag Dog RC LiFe two cell pack and it worked great with the ignition modules too. So I have been sticking to using Mad Dog Rc liFe packs when I needed receiver or ignition module battery packs. None of them has disappointed me yet. But those LiFe packs I bought cheap to use for ignition modules just don't provide enough current to work for ignitions or servos for that matter.

Another thought is to make sure your ignition module will handle 6.6v from a two cell liFe pack. Many of the older units were not deigned for more than 6.0v maximum, and a 5 cell Nicad or NMH pack or a two cell LiFe pack will exceed that 6.0v maximum when fully charged.

I did get a CH Ignitions conversion for my MVVS 58cc gas engine and it works great too. The old two magnet Valach ignition modules were very sophisticated but prone to oddball failure or weird problems. Going to a CH Ignitions setup worked great.

Hey Dan,
I don't believe that the ignition was attached to a battery when not attached to an engine or plug.
I did inquire with the fella that had the engine last night and he said it never left the box.
Gonna try the plug out of the engine thing tonight with a 4.8v pack. and the LiFe pack again.
Although I have my doubts about it being successful due to the LED not lighting up.
I will borrow a 7.4v Lipo from a buddy this weekend to see how that goes as well.
My last option will be to go with a CH ignition just like your earlwb.
My engine also has 2 magnets on the prop hub, which magnet did you set your 58Gx up with?

thx
Dave

My MVVS ignition manual calls for either a 6-cell (7.2v) nicad/nimh OR a 7.4 volt LIPO pack. As I said earlier, I tried a Life 6.6 volt pack and it didn't work. Put the 2-cell LIPO in it and I bet it will work. You need at least 7.2 volts.

Dave, when you get ready to condem the ignition, get in touch with CH, http://ch-ignitions.com/
Adrian is great to work with and will put together what ever you need at any voltage you want. Dan.

Ok guys, I'm going to try the lipo on it next.
i hope it works out okay, if it doesn't I will contact CH ignitions and get hooked up with the Evolution conversion package.

dave