Engine starting problems
 

A few days ago I wanted to start with braking-in my LRP truggy engine. But it didn't went smooth.. at all... I couldn't start the engine. The pistion was stuck at the top. The flywheel just stopped at the top and the rubber flywheel of my starterbox just continues with spinning. You can see fine rubber on the chassis that is scraped off. I managed to start the engine 2 times though. The first day it started after many times trying and stopped after 2 sec. and the second day it started but when I removed the glowplug ignitor it stopped...
I tried al the tricks.

- pre-heating the engine (~ 150 fahrenheit, or 65 Celsius, this was the max temp I can get with a hairblower)
- loosening the glowplug a bit
- turned the fleewheel so it has a run-up
- Let the starterbox spin for a couple of seconds before pushing the car down, so it reaches max rpm

The starterbox is not the problem, cuz it's powerful enough as you can read. (it's the Ofna starterbox btw)
2nd Question: Do you think my engine is already damaged after al these (failed) attempts? Cuz it gets jammed with some force to the top ,but most of the time it just won't turn further... Thanks, appreciate all the help

RE: Engine starting problems
 

you have a lot you are saying here. if the engine was warm when stuck at top center then no it shouldnt be damaged. if it was cold at that time it might run a few quarts less possibly. just keep on trying. at times break in isnt fun. but once that thing comes alive it all pays off. id get temp up to about 200 fahrenheit then go.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

yeah i am having the same problem with the grp tuned engine except i have not gotten it to start at all!

RE: Engine starting problems
 

ok i got it to start but the engine dies when I take out the glow plug! ANyone know why this is?

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Im assuming you meant glow starter, cos i can understand it dying while taking the glow plug out :p

Have you applied some throttle trim? You will probably need some to keep it running at the start since you are running so rich.

Alternatively the engine could be too rich on the lsn to idle well, or try another glow plug.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

I think I need a new glow plug the one that came with it is not glowing towrds the end only deep inside! yeah I ment glow starter haha that would be a funny one to see.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Yeah, also happened to me, i've asked it before in an other forum, they say that you must let it reach factory temp. So gently give throttle burst and let it idle longer so it'll reach factory temp.
But yes, when it got stuck at the top it was warm. But someone said the problem is that it isn't warm enough. Cuz I can only let it reach 150 degrees F... How do you guys heat up ur engines? I use a hairblower, but it is rather small, but dunno if size matters..(lol)
Maybe i'll borrow a hairblower, and use double power, lol. But thanks, keep the ideas commin, cuz someone else here has this problem to.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Look into getting a heat gun, and get her up to about 230f, it should fire right up.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Yeah, tought about getting one... So the point is just to heat the engine more? Dunno if my dad will buy a heat gun for me.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Heat guns arent that costly and are a good thing to have. I bet even if your dad bought one for you, he'd find himself using it too. Around me it's been below 30 pretty much every day. My buggy sits in my room and even at room temps can still be a pain to start. I use the wifes hair dryer and it'll get temps close to 200. Probably take a good 3-4minutes but she'll get up there. Then its easy to fire off. Once you get her started leave the glow ignitor on for at least 1 minute. The engine temps will go up and all should be fine after that. Take you HSN out 2 3/4 from closed, temps should maintain around 220-235. If she still stalls your LSN may be too rich also and you want to turn it in 1/8 turn.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Okay, i´ll try. appreciate it.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Keep us posted on how it goes.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Okay, i´ve just borrowed a friends hairblower. Mine was a lill hairblower with 1200 Watts. Mine friend´s hairblower is 1800 Watt..
So I hope this will work.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

hmm... this time it started much quicker. I can get the engine to about the 200F. So that´s good. I had set the trim a lil more, so the carb wil open a bit so it wil start easier. Bet when it started it revved pretty high, I scared my ass off... After a couple of seconds it died... But I saw that there were sections in de fuel line where there was no fuel, but just air...

So the second time I set the trim to normal and richened the HSN.. And it was still revving high and died after 5 sec.
The sound wasn´t consistent, like with intervals. Like a ghost applied a bit throttle frequenttly. I´m really scared to blow this engine...
Maybe it already has losed much lifetime and power... I don´t hope so... I just turned 15 a week ago, so i´m just a kid. Can´t afford a engine everyday of the year[:o] I´m taking a break now... And I screwed the idle screw 1/2 to 3/4 out. please help..

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Maybe an air leak? Might want to look into a bottle of Lucky 7 or Racers Edge carb sealant and seal her up. The backplate and carb neck/barrel are the common spots for leaks.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

But when you turn the glowplug, air can also come in/out the engine.. so.. But dunno. Maybe it's because of the fuelfilter, that causes air in de fuel line, some people stop using fuelfilters because of that. Well, I think i'll stop for now... it's getting dark here. When I tried to start the engine I tried it in my basement btw, cuz of the cold temps and because of the ease.
But I'm still hoping on more tips.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Removing/installing the glowplug does not affect anything...when it's tightend, it is sealed. My guess is air leak. Also try replacing your fuel lines if they aren't new...maybe one of your lines has a pin hole. Just remember that the 3 things to make a motor run are air, fuel & spark.

One of my buds got a new motor last week and it did the same thing you're describing. Motor would start and then rev high right away. The air leak was at the carb neck/barrel...sealed it and the problem was fixed.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Here's some info for you...good luck!

[link=http://mrcr.ca/Documents/Ron%20Paris%20-%20Racing%20and%20General%20Tips.htm]Ron Paris Engine Tuning Tips[/link]

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Ok thanks. But I think the prob is maybe in settings... But I'm not talking about removing/installing the glowplug, but turning it half a turn out so you can start the engine easier.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

A thing I like to do when I get an engine, is to double check the factory settings from the manual, try that.... you might try a new glow plug as well, checking the carb for loosness too, alot of times they are loose from the factory, check the screw at the base of the carb and maybe seal it up with some type of high temp engine sealant, when you put the carb back on , push down firmly when tightening. Let us know how it goes, we'll try and help the best we can till you get her running!!! Good luck!!!! P.S. don't get frustrated, we were all there once, patience, time and experience will pay off!!!

RE: Engine starting problems
 

I think the problem lies in the settings... I have screwed the idle screw out so the gap is smaller. I had screwed it in from the F. settings cuz it stopped when I applied brake one week ago.. I´ve also set the HSN richer for the break in. And the low speed is very hard to turn, is this normal? As you can read I messed a bit with the needles... So I think that's the problem. But I'll try again next week.

RE: Engine starting problems
 

Okay guys, I think i'm going to buy some engine sealant. Don't know yet what they have. So I'm asking for some advise.
What are the spec's the sealants need to have? Cuz I searched on the internet, and saw Loctite selling a line of silicone sealant.
But some are speceificly made for a situation. Like one is oil resistant and the other one is ultra high temp resistant.
So what do I have to look for? Just need spec's, no specific products, cuz chances are big I aint goin to find that one.
Thanks.