Glow Plug Woes! :(

[Birchy]

Hi guys,

I'm having a few issues with my Team Losi Muggy. I seem to be going through Glow Plugs like no tomorrow.

The engine is run in and tuned. (well i think it is anyway) Everytime i run the car and it either runs out of fuel or i stop it. It will not start again. Remove plug to find that the wire is broken in half.

Now i realise that breaking in a new engine will eat a few plugs but this is somewhat silly that it has eaten three on three occasions in a row.

Can anyone shed some light on this please?

Cheers
Ian

 

[hamz9561]

You may be running a bit lean. What are your temps?

 

[winsta]

read through the tuning guides on here !!! you're either a bit out on your tuning or have an air leak both lead to running hot ..... always seal an engine ,,, and when tuning take your time , just because it goes like crazy doesn't mean its right . always make sure you can see plenty of smoke when on the throttle !!

 

[Birchy]

Pass.

I need to get a temp gun, but the old spit test doesn't show it being overhot. And I've richened it up a bit, nice trail of blue smoke. Maybe i need to richen it somemore.

I have recently changed brands of fuel (same %) it must be something to do with that?

Would fuel mixture cause the plug to break its wire in half? Eek!

 

[winsta]

what car/engine is it exactly and what fuel ?? the weather here in england varies soo much you need to tune everytime,, you may have low speed or high speed tuned wrong.. how long are your run times ?

 

[Birchy]

Its a Losi Muggy with the stock Mach 427 engine. The fuel is 20% Tornado (Was given to me)

My run times as in how long does the tank of fuel last? A good 7-10 mins at the moment. It doesn't stall or cut out, will run until the fuel runs out or i stop it

 

[Macguyver]

if you let it run out of fuel , that may be your problem ...they tend to run lean when the tank is almost empty

 

[Birchy]

I thought someone would pick up on that. lol. I dont usually let it run out, I was using it as a hypothetical situation. I usually top it up when its about a 1/4 empty

 

[Racer 1966]

How much total fuel has been through the engine? Vibrations from a worn crank bearing can cause your problem too.

 

[Birchy]

Problem Solved!!

So this morning I got the truck out and began to strip it down to see if anything was obvious inside the combustion chamber. Upon taking the allen bolts out of the cooling head i find that for some reason there is only three bolts instead of four.

Take the head off, burnt lubricant all over the place. cleaned it all up, put the head back on with the proper amount of bolts. Hey presto, no more knackered plugs.

Serves my right for not checking all bolts tightness. Doh!

 

[Tmaxnoob]

Here's a question. Aren't you supposed to run the fuel out so you can do your after run?Even if you take gas out I thought you still had to run out what was in the fuel lines.

 

[theant]

Here's a question. Aren't you supposed to run the fuel out so you can do your after run?Even if you take gas out I thought you still had to run out what was in the fuel lines.

Yeah, to store it after you have gone for a run, you should burn off all of the fuel from the tank and out of the lines because the fuel will get gummy after awhile. But its better for the plug to fill up before the tank runs dry.

 

[Tmaxnoob]

Oh ok. Makes sense now. Thanks

 

[olds97_lss]

Usually, if you aren't running it at speed when the tank runs out, your fine. I try to make sure mine idle out as the tank empties. I run it until I see the tank is almost empty, then I keep the RPM's really low until it stalls.

I run the same plugs for more than a season without issues.

 

[2revo1maxx]

+1 I always idle them out.
As for plug longevity I swap when I think they've been through a gallon, but it's hard to keep track. I have 4 nitros and roughly 4 gallons burned so far this year. I've swapped plugs on all 4 just recently but have had no failures yet this year.