tysmagic

Howdy everybody! I'm a newbie to the hobby, I am big into real cars and have always loved doing work on them. I have a pretty thorough understanding of the electrics and mechanics of a car engine so hopefully that could come in handy when I'm working on r/c's. I'm a youngin', sophmore in college, live in Tennessee. East TN is home, middle TN for school. If anyone is in the area I would love to come out and see boats or cars running and pick up some tips!

On to the questions, I recently picked up an older nitro boat, a Traxxas Nitro Vee which runs on a TRX Pro .15. It was apart, but I've spent some time looking at diagrams and putting it all back together. It needed a carb, some bolts, and new hoses. I believe it is all back together correctly, so if that is an okay assumption here is my issue; it won't start. It doesn't seem to be getting a spark. I tested this the same way you would a lawn mower, pulled the glow plug cap off held it close to the plug attempted to start it, but Icouldn't see any spark. Could the glow plug be bad, could the lead to the glow plug be bad? How can I check? Any other thoughts on why it wouldn't have a spark or what I should check.

I also feel like it may not be getting fuel. I can't see any fuel running through the hose and the carb still looks as fresh as can be. Can I prime the engine somehow before trying to start it?

I'm also having problems with the servos. The boat is used, it wasn't tested before hand, so there is a chance that it simply is broken. I have new batteries in both the boat and control, everything is on, but no actions from the rudder turning at all. Does the motor have to be running in turn for the servos to work? I didn't think so, however I'm new so I'm not sure. Is there a way to test individual parts of the electrics to get things working?

If I didn't supply enough information then please tell me what I can do to help. I can get some pictures or video to record what it is doing or describe with more detail all that I've done so far. The boat is just for fun, if it is past the point of no return I am willing to hear that as an answer too (while I wouldn't want it to be). Thanks for the help in advance, hope I've found a good r/c community!

fireman350

hey Tysmagic
sounds like you are having a bit of trouble there
first off the glow engine is a bit different from a gasoline engine its closer to a 2 stroke diesel than it is to a gasoline power plant the glow plug shouldn't have any spark I am assuming if it has a wire coming from it it has Traxxas's easy start system on it though which makes the starting a bit easier and eliminates the need for a separate glow stick to heat up the glow plug . As i said the glow plug does not spark but should actually glow when you put power to it from the starting system it will only glow as long as the electric source is connected once the engine comes to operating temperature the heat from the plug is no longer needed. I don"t know how long your boats been on the shelf but its a good idea on a project like that just to put a new plug in it anyway they are cheap and it will eliminate that from being one of the problems on your trouble shooting list

to answer your second question yes you can prime the engine simple put a few drops of fuel from your filling bottle into the carb

It sounds like you may also have a receiver/transmitter (RX/TX) issue as well if neither servo is doing anything first check the batteries make sure they are in correctly I'm not pickin on ya we've all put one in backwards before and not caught it right away after you've checked that check to make sure you have the receiver battery plugged in correctly to the receiver also check to make sure your servos are plugged in properly check for any corrosion in the plugs and pins . Also check the RX and TX crystals and make sure they are there first that they match numbers second and that they are not corroded in the sockets 3rd if you check all those thing and don't find the problem you may need a new radio set

by the way what kind of fuel are you running and how old is it

Dan S

to add to fireman's great comment.

make sure that not only you have a fuel line from the tank to the carb, but you also have a second line from the tank (there should be one) that goes to the exhaust or the manifold (header).
this line creates pressure for the fuel to flow to the carb.

the inside of the Vee should look somewhat similar to this:
also read the instruction at this link:
it will help you to set up the needles for your carb and everything else.

http://www.traxxas.com/products/mari...STRUCTIONS.pdf

and a few more links that should be handy:
http://www.traxxas.com/products/mari...%20exhaust.htm

http://www.traxxas.com/products/mari..._hull_assy.pdf

http://www.traxxas.com/products/mari...ve_exhaust.pdf

http://www.traxxas.com/products/mari...rive_radio.pdf




Dan.

tysmagic

Thanks, I've read that the easy start system (at least in this set-up) isn't always super easy.

That makes sense about the glow plug (vs spark plug). Wasn't sure exactly how they worked. I'm not sure how long it has been sitting, just that it has. The guy took it apart to try to tune the carb then gave up on putting it together. Is the heat of just the regular operating temp enough to make the air/fuel mix combust? I'll be sure to pick up a new plug for it then.


Checked all of the servos and all of the connections, everything seems to be corrosion free and appears to be in good condition. I've been re-examining some diagrams, I'm seeing that a plastic part that covers the electrics is missing, if they had gotten wet would they be trashed? I don't mind putting some money into, but I have a feeling that a new set of servos and motors is going to be a touch expensive?

I'm running what the local hobby shop recommended. It's Traxxas Top Fuel. It is fresh, not something that has been sitting in with the boat for ages.

TCHedOff

IF it turns out that your electronics are gone, I have a some I'd let go cheaply (like less than the cost of a reciever alone) from my Miss Budwesier (2 channel FM radio & receiver & 2 servos - one for throttle - one for rudder). PM me if you want to know more.

tysmagic

Thanks, everything looks to be correct. I used those diagrams to make sure I was putting things back together right. I do have the hoses run from the lower portion of the tank to the carb then the upper part to the exhaust. I'll be picking up a new plug and trying again here soon. Once it's going, I'll be checking more into the servos.

fireman350

Yes the once the engine runs for 30 seconds to a minute the operating temp is enough to keep it burning just like a diesel I had to ask about the fuel I've seen new guys buy nitros from garage sales before and try to run them on gasoline
If the guy before you was having carb trouble it may not be the carb at all it may be a air leak in the motor check to see that all the screws and bolts are tight I have a rig for testing nitros I've build i learned it when i was a chainsaw tech its quite simple find some small corks and plug all the holes in the muffler and the carb on the fuel line spigots put a piece of line on them and clamp them off usually kinking and small piece of tape works well remove the glow plug and find a piece of rubber fuel line and thread it in the glow plug hole once you have that done sink the motor in a bucket or sink full of water and blow in the hose sticking out of the glow plug hole and watch for any bubbles make anytime the motor is under the water that you are blowing in it if there is a leak the positive pressure will prevent water from flowing into your engine if there are no leaks your good to go but if you find leaks you will have to reseal them before the engine will run properly after your done giving the motor its bath dry it off and put a few drops of oil in it to displace any water that may have gotten in

tysmagic

After retrying it with the motor primed I noticed it caught for a second the quit on me. I've found a small leak where the exhaust bolts to the block (right phrasing?) so I'm going to find a new gasket for that. It otherwise seems to be sealed well.

fireman350

well if its trying to run that's a good sign don't forget to prime your fuel line to the carb first fill the tank with fuel then take the line off the muffler side and blow into it till you see fuel flow to the carb on the other fuel line then quickly prime the carb with a couple drops again and crank it that after of course you fix the gasket on the muffler that will keep the back pressure up to pressurize your fuel tank and pump your fuel to the carb for starting set your carb just slightly open
Also make sure you have a full charge in your ezstart thingy if it doesn't have a good enough charge it wont properly heat your glow plug and will make for hard starting

fireman350

any luck with that machine Tysmagic ?