alrighty, so nitrorcx finally got the right rc to me, i go out this morning to attempt my first break in and i can't get the damn thing running. finally figure out that the battery in the glow igniter was backwards, then i get the rc on it only runs for a few seconds and nothing for a while. i test the igniter with a spare plug and the damn thing isn't working. take the battery out put it back in, it works....repeat 4 or 5 times and now i'm stuck with blisters from the pull start and a glow igniter that only works when it wants to.

<a href="http://www.nitrorcx.com/eximehaglstg.html">http://www.nitrorcx.com/eximehaglstg.html
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that's the glow igniter i bought. can someone recommend a better one that will actually work?

I highly, highly recommend a glow ignitor that use what is called a sub-C cell and not one that uses a AA battery or even a C or D cell. Those just die too quickly and are too weak. Get one that uses a recgargable NiMH cell

Yes... you need one with a bigger battery. I personally like the Hobbico C size ones, then throw a good rechargeable battery in it. How bright does the plug get? You want it to glow yellow.

I have 2 different glow drivers. One's a Tower hobbies 1600mAh NiCD, and the other is a Dynamite sub-c with gauge and a Batteries plus 2100mAh sub-c cell in it. 1 good charge on either driver and I can go run for 2 or 3 days on a single charge. (I always carry two drivers should one croak mid-day)

The + post of the battery should always go to the center post on the glow plug, and at least on my Dynamite driver that would have the + post facing towards the glow plug.

The higher the mAh rating, the longer the charge will last provided its charged slowly. NiCD's will take a charge memory - if you dont fully discharge and recharge it, it will take a memory to that pattern and you will end up with decreased battery life. NiMH batteries have a lower tendency to do this but are a little more expensive.. I charge mine at 170mAh.

Either of my drivers will make a glow plug glow orange. New plug or Old, doesnt matter. Hotter plugs will be brighter orange than colder plugs because of the coil's wire diameter.

+1 for rechargeable drivers.

sub c is like 1.2 volts a normal c or d cell is 1.5 volts.


i use an ofna glow starter that uses aD cell battery. Have had it for years and it works every time i just keep an extra d cell in my box incase the one im using dies but they usualy last weeks.
most of my vehicles start on 1 to 3 pulls of the cord.

sub c is 1.6 charged, and holds a charge longer that alkaline from what i have experienced.

i only have/use 2 dynamite metered glow igniter.

if that was the case a standard 6 cell nimh pack yould be 9.6v instead of 7.2v

Not necessarily. My glow driver charger charges at 1.25v and 170mAh. I dont know what the voltage of the cell is after a full charge since I dont have a ohm/volt meter. I do have several MaxAmps 1600mAh 6v Rx packs, and I charge these using a standard Rx pack charger (Ofna) that charges at 6v 200mAh. I run my Rx pack down to about 4.3-4.5v before charging. When fully charged, My transmitter reads 6.6-6.8v from the Rx pack.

They are 1.2v cells, but when fully charged they will have a surface charge which burns off shortly after starting the model and using it. Usually, I get about 2hrs of run-time at 6.4v once the surface charge wears off.

The only disposable batteries I've found to work as well as NiMH cells are the Energizer Lithium but they dont come in C or D cell size, and they're freakin' expensive.

I know this isnt totally on the subject, but its important to know what the charge rate is and figure out exactly how long the battery needs to charge to reach peak capacity. Overcharging isnt good for the cells, nor is charging them fast. They last longer when charged slowly.

Off the subject even more; Car batteries are 2.1v per cell. When at normal operation, will read 12.6v. When charged to full capacity, the surface charge will show 13.1-13.5v. The faster the charge rate, the faster the surface charge burns off and consequently the faster the battery will discharge.

This is just stuff I've experienced. Take it with a grain of salt, if you will.

sorry i had to go to work, it somewhat glows orange but not the whole coil only like half way down. and that's only some of the time. most the time it wont glow at all

You want it to be bright, bright enough to throw light onto your hand.

As long as the coil is glowing, you're in business. If only half of the coil is glowing, I'd get out another new glow plug and check it. The whole coil should glow except the last little bit thats welded to the plug body. If your glow driver isnt glowing really bright but still glowing decent, the engine should start and run. Make sure there isnt a pool of oil in the plug body towards the top of the plug. It wont glow if its covered in liquid.

You could also consider getting a power panel and a starter box. Problem instantly solved.[8D]

Hi Karontu, the powr panel that I mean is the PROLUX PLUG DRIVER with the built in glow plug charger. It has the abillaty to adjust the power going to the glow plug so you always have the right temperature and your plug will glow bright. Conected to a starter box (such as the MANTAU starter box) this gives nice eazy starts all day long for you and your friends without blistering your hands. I normally just use the pocket glow plug driver for in the field if my buggy stalls as my engines also have the pull start option (still dont like it though even if it is convenient). Hope this helps you out a bit.

This is the one I use. I see it's a lot more expensive than when I bought it, but if you already have a charger, you can pick it up without one for considerably less.

With charger:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXD699&P=0

Without charger:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXD700&P=0

I've got a Hot Shot 2 extra-long that works wonders. Cheap, too.


Also, keep this in mind: If it doesn't start within ten or fifteen pulls it's not going to start. Don't keep yanking on it, trace the issue and resolve it before trying again.

Glow igniter with meter. $7.50

http://www.hobbypartz.com/72p-b7004j...ter-meter.html