i tried starting my savage for its first tank of break-in. when i put the roto-start in, the roto stopped. when i pushed the button the rod only moved a couple milimeters then stopped. i tired again and the same thing happened. when the roto is out of the engine, it runs easily. i thought it needed to be charge more. so when i took the battery out, it was really hot. is there something wrong with my rotostart or is there something wrong with my engine? does it just need to be charged more?

I am 99% sure you have flooded your engine.

take off the glo plug, but a rag over the hole and try the roto again - it should splash a load of fuel out the engine (hense the rag).

test the plug, screw the plug back in, try again.

ok i did what you said. but i didnt see any fuel fly out. i held the roto for like 4 seconds.

did you put the plug back and try again? what happened?

your engine is also probably real tight since its new

i tried it again (after i "un-flooded" it) and the same thing happened. i charged my rotostart for about an hour more and there was no difference. how can i start my savage if the rotostart wont work?!?

I'd read somewhere that you should try loosening the glow plug a 1/2 turn and then after it starts quickly snug it down

if the roto can turn the engine with the plug off, and has a charged battery, then I think you have flooded it again - it is very easy to do with a new engine.


when you take the plug off, put it in the heater - if the whole coil glows orange it is still good - if some of the coil stays gray, then you either need to charge the heater or use a new plug. If your plug is bad the carb will let fuel into the cylinder, but it cant explode so it doesnt go anywhere, flooding the engine.

i know how an engine works. i know about flooding. i tested my glow plug before i tried again. there was some fuel on it so it sizzled a little then it glowed. im not gonna loosen the plug and then tighten it again once it starts. i dont think it is meant for that, lol. i will try un-flooding it tommorrow. if something goes wrong. i will ask in this thread.

I didnt mean to patronise, sorry.

Pinole did have a point actually, it is not uncommon to break in an engine with a slightly looser plug as this lowers the compression on the engine making it easier to turn over and therefore easier to keep running while the parts are still tight.

I had a nightmare breaking in my savage, many do. I would either flood it, or not prime it enough, then when I learned to get it started it kept revving up too high (I fixed this by richening my LSN, but dont worry about that yet). Try not to let it get you down.

Actually, something to try, if you havent already, is to make sure your needles are at the correct settings for breakin. If you are set too rich that will flood the engine too. Check the manual for the engine for how to do this, but I think the savage 25 uses 4.5 turns out from closed for the HSN and 3.5 turns out from closed on the LSN.

If in fact your roto start is bad you can use a cordless drill that has the adjustable clutch just set the clutch real low to start with so if you flood the motor you wont break any thing with the drill

I just got finished breaking in my TNX and just finished fine tuning it today. Listen to me......Loosen the glow plug just a little to relief the compresion pressure on the engine. The engine is really tight. I blew a 20amp fuse in my electric starter moduale becasue there was so much compresion. If I was somking a 20 amp fuse then just imagine what kind of pressure was on the engine for the engine start motor to draw 20 amps at 7.2 volts. That equals to .36 ohms of resistance..... 0 ohms is considered a dead short. I let the truck idle through its first 1/2 tank of fuel with the glow plug lose and other than blowing out some fuel on the head everything is just perfect. Like I said I just finished fine tuning and this thing runs great. Just keep an eye on the glow plug and once the engine is warmed up a little just tighten back down and you will find out real quick if you are way to rich becasue the engine will die immediatly. I hope this help and trust some of us, we have been there before....
Take care

Remember that break-in settings are very rich which increases the likelyhood of flooding. I just broke mine in and I had to pull the glow plug at least 10 times to clear the fuel. As you start tuning for performance that will not happen anymore.

In my opinion the roto starter is a piece of junk period. Your better off using a cordless drill. My roto starter broke during the breakin process of my truck. First the switch went out, and I put another in, then the gears stripped and cought on fire. But one thing that I learned the hard way is that if you dont use short bursts and keep drilling at it on a hard to start motor the back plate of the case will get extremely hot and melt.

but if the problem is a flooded engine and you force it over with a drill you are likely to knacker the glowplug or bend the conrod...

thats what i was thinking. this is what i did:

i drained the fuel tank. there is fuel in the fuel line and in the carburater still, though. how do i get it out without burning it in the engine? how do i put after-run oil in my carb?

The latest versions of the rotostart is not near as strong as previous versions. HPI is trying to preserve the onslaught of wasted one way bearings.

The easiest way to clear the fuel will be to simply unplug the fuel lines and blow the fuel out - but I have never had to do it this way, I just burn it off.

to get ARO in the carb you pull off the airfilter, or remove the foam from it - then you can drip oil straight into the carb. You know to drip it in the glow plug hole too, right....?

Have you got it to start at all yet?

if you use a drill with a adjustable clutch set at a low setting there is no danger of bending a con rod