Fuji 32EI problems solved!
 

Bought a G.P. Giant Supersportster and a Fuji 32EI - first giant and first gasser. Engine ran fine right out of the box but started running rough after a few flights. I found that the screws that attach the diaphram cover plate to the carb, and the carb mounting screws were not very tight. Fixed that problem and the engine ran much better for a few flights and then turned to crap again. A whole lot of needle tweaking, carb screen cleaning, gasket inspection, etc. didn't help, so I removed the engine, tank, fuel lines, ei module, battery, and mounted them on test stand. That's where I discovered.....

PROBLEM #1: The screws that attaced the carb to the spacer block were too long! The screws extended all the way through the spacer block and bottomed out on the cylinder block. (As soon as I saw that, I remembered reading something about that on this forum.) I removed the carb and found that the spacer block was warped, probably because the carb mounting screws were trying to pull it away from the cylinder block while the spacer block mounting screws were holding it down. I honed all the mating surfaces flat and shortened the screws, put the carb back on the engine, and it ran smooth as silk. Hope is restored! I fine tuned the carb per info from this forum, mounted the engine back on the plane, and took it to the flying field. (From this point on I will voluntarily delete the expletives.) At the field, the engine wouldn't fire at all, no spark. Hopes dashed once again. The battery checked OK, so I took the plane home and tore the ignition module and battery (4.8 V, 1100mAh NiCd) out of the plane. After a little troubleshooting, I found ....

PROBLEM #2: The MPI switch harness that I used for the ignition battery was bad. (The switch harness is the one part that I didn't move to the test stand with the engine.) In the 'off' position it was OK, so the charge side of the circuit was fine, but the 'on' side of the switch was bad so I wasn't getting any juice to the ignition module. I've used these MPI harnessed before on receiver batteries and they have always worked fine. The EI module doesn't draw that much current, according the the specs anyway, so I'm thinking that engine vibration might have caused the failure since the switch is mounted up near the firewall. I replaced the MPI with a Cermark DSC harness that I read about on this forum on both the receiver and the ignition batteries. I took the plane to the field, where the engine idled, transitioned, and pulled the plane around just fine for the way I fly (2D). I'm hoping that the Cermark switch will hold up better than the MPI. Anyone have any thoughts on that?

Just an FYI, especially for the other newbie Fuji users out there.

RE: Fuji 32EI problems solved!
 

This would be an outstanding post to place on the Fuji/Imvac forum as well. Carb blocks can be more than a headache. When I was reading your post I thought for sure i was going to hear that you found yours cracked in the end. But i am glad you didn't!!! This is really good information for folks new to gassers and the problems they might encounter. I really incourage you to place this on the Fuji forum as well, for others looking for similar guidance!

I've never used the MPI switches, or the Cermark ones....but rather the JR heavy Duty chargeswitch, and never had a problem.

Chad

RE: Fuji 32EI problems solved!
 

Thanks for the reply, arobatx; that's a good suggestion, but I can't find a 'Fuji/Imvac' forum either here or on the Fuji website. Could you point me in the right direction? Thanks.

RE: Fuji 32EI problems solved!
 

I didn't know there was one either; it's below the engines forums listings, down in the mfg support forums.

I just got one of these engines (BT32EI) today, to put in a 1/4 scale Super Decathlon. Nice looking engine, and have heard good stuff about them, but never owned one. Couple of questions though:

1-the Fuji, and Tower, literature list both the BT24 and BT 32 as having 2.2hp. Why wouldn't the 32 have more than the 24?

2- why is there a shaft out the back; what else can you hook up to this engine?

3-Do you think using DuBro antivibe mounts would work on this engine, as shown in the picture below? There's a mount a little larger than the one I'm holding, made for larger engines. This mount would allow the muffler to clear the firewall without having to make a box (the rear shaft would also clear)

What size prop are you using and what's your performance like? I plan on a 18-6 for the Super D.

RE: Fuji 32EI problems solved!
 

Thanks for the info on how to get to the Fuji forum. I'm no expert, but I would guess that the shaft out the back of the engine had a use in the engine's previous life in a leaf blower or whatever. I suppose one could mount a spring starter on it, but my 32EI starts with one flip after priming so why bother. The plane I put the engine on, a Giant Supersportster, has a hole in the firewall to clear the shaft; the muffler clears the firewall with the mount that comes with the engine, but just barely. I cut the shaft off anyway because i was going to mount the EI module on the firewall behind the engine. I ended up putting the module behind the firewall, so all I really accomplished was reducing the engine weight a little and most likely voiding the warranty.

As for the flex mount, Fuji recommends using a flex mount when then engine is on a test stand or other rigid mount because "The crankcase and other parts of the engine may crack if you do not provide some kind of vibration absorption mechanism". They say it is not necessary if the engine is mounted on an airplane, but I have seen posts on the engine forum about Fuji 32 engine castings breaking so I would say that a flex mount might be a good idea. Whether mounting it to the lugs on the front of the engine as you have shown is a good idea for not is a different question - I have no idea.

I am using an APC 18-8W (wide blade) which I ordered by mistake thinking I was ordering an 18-8 (regular blade). It works fine, turning about 7200 slightly rich with one gallon through the engine. According the review in the Nov '06 RC Report by Dick Pettit, he got max RPM of 7950 with an APC 18-6W, and 7740 with and 18-8. These are max readings, so I presume that you would run a little on the rich side of these speeds.