New Help Thread

[JCosper]

Sorry for being such a noob, but I'm having some pretty serious damn issues with this damn engine. Ironic thing is, I've tuned Ls1 v8's and can't get this little F-ER dialed in! I'm very unfamiliar with carbed engines..

Here goes: My current problem is, the car will start but must be primed. It seems like that once it runs out the fuel I primed into it, the engine dies. Also.. there is another issue, the tires are moving and its idiling high. I have tried different throttle trims etc..

The brand of car is a smart tech, I'm not really sure of anything else.

Here are some pics I've taken:

Here the throttle is all the way open... you can see that it is about 95% opened up here.

Here the throttle is centered.. it stays the same when you apply brakes as well.

Here is a general pic...

Not sure if you can tell from the pics... but the opening there is pretty small but there. (When throttle is neutral.)

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

Good Job on listening to Monkey Wrench, he'll get you far. Can you take a clear(er) picture of the carborator. I want you to take a picture of it at Full throttle, Idle(Nuetral), and brake. I also want not so much flash...if you have a zoom on the camera, you can hold the camera far away but zoom in so there's not so much flash.

Then we can help you a bit more.

 

[JCosper]

Good Job on listening to Monkey Wrench, he'll get you far. Can you take a clear(er) picture of the carborator. I want you to take a picture of it at Full throttle, Idle(Nuetral), and brake. I also want not so much flash...if you have a zoom on the camera, you can hold the camera far away but zoom in so there's not so much flash.

Then we can help you a bit more.

Okay.. here comes some better pics:

Throttle here is wide open.

Throttle here is neutral.

Didnt take a pic of when brake is applied.. bc the carb does not change at all.

These are all taken with normal trim on the radio.

 

[AC48]

If the engine dies after it burns the fuel you primed there is a problem with fuel pressure. You may be able to push fuel in, but if the line is a kinked slightly the engine may not be able to suck fuel on its own.

You need to turn down your idle screw if it is idleing too high, its the one that kinda hangs off the carb body.

 

[Candyman]

OK, might have to make a few BUt's here, but the first thing is that at neutral, it looks like the carb opening is way too big. That can account for the fast idle and the tires spinning. When the throttle is at neutral and when the brakes are applied, there should be a 1-2mm opening. To my eye, that looks bigger.
However, you are also experiencing the problem where the engine won't stay running. I'm picking this up second hand so I don't know what has been recommended at this point. I'm wondering if your glow plug has started to foul and is not heating well. Or if you have a fuel delivery issue. It does look like there's a good amount of fuel in the line in the second picture so I'm not 100% sure why it won't stay running.

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

I'm not used to rotary carbs...i have a slide. It looks like at nutral thats too much. I can't see where your idle screw is, but find you manual, locate the idle screw and close it all the way(in.). Then turn it [out] about 1/8 of a turn, slowly until you see about a 1/16 inch gap(1.58 mm). That should do it for idle.

I see your brakes are set-up, and when you apply the brakes, your car shouldn't close more than it would at idle. So are your brakes engaging?

 

[JCosper]

Thanks I'm going to look at a few things and report back

Well I adjusted the carb so that the opening is a little smaller ( as small as I can get it), and I still get the same results.

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

What are you messing with? The idle screw, right? If you're messing with the HSN or LSN you need to put them back!

 

[JCosper]

What are you messing with? The idle screw, right? If you're messing with the HSN or LSN you need to put them back!

I have no idea what you just said there.. I have adjusted the needle valve, to where the manual says to put it. Other than that, just the flat head screw located on the carb.

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

To eliminate duds, try replaceing your fuel line and pressure line and the glow plug. See if it tries to stay running.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

JCosper, do me a favor and just hold on a bit. I know you're chomping at the bit to get your rig rolling, but I'm trying to find some details on your particular rig. You mention having the manual, right? Can you find out if it references a particular model and mentions anything specific to the mill that's in there? Before you go replacing fuel line, servo's or anything else, just take a minute.

Worst case scenario, you're about an hour away from me. If we can't get you going this way, I can meet you half-way (I'm thinking Washington Courthouse) and take a look.

Just do what you can to avoid the temptation of fiddling with needles right now. I know it's tough, my man, but do your best to not.

 

[Candyman]

OK, may be time to start from scratch. Reset your High speed needle (HSN) to where the manual says it should be for break-in. I'm not sure if there's a Low Speed Needle (LSN) on that engine. If there were, it would be inside the throttle arm on the carb. IF there is, reset that by the manual, too. Check your glowplug and ignitor. Take the plug out of the engine and put it lightly into your glow ignitor. It should glow nice and bright red. If its not, may want to pop in a new one. If that's good, check your fuel flow. Make sure there are no blocks in the fuel or pressure line. The basic principle is simple. To get one of these to run you need fuel, air, compression and spark. Check each one individually and if they're all good, this thing should fire and run.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Which one is yours? http://www.smartechracing.com/web_2005/product_2.asp

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

He went to the hobby store(I'm not sure, thats what he told me on AIM). It appers he has the "15CX/P" Engine, although on the accessory list, it looks much diffrent than his actuall engine. It looks like he has the "15CS/X" engine. I got this info here. Here is the car's page. I don't see a link for the manual, so I'm going to look a little more.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Does the side of your mill look like this? http://www.smartechracing.com/web_2005/img/40138.gif

I think what you have is a Smartech Winner Sport with a SMT .15 CVP. What I'm trying to do is find a manual to look over.

 

[SpitFireV12RR]

No, if you look at the pictures it looks like he has this engine: http://www.smartechracing.com/web_2005/img/40139.gif

 

[Monkey Wrench]

SpitFire, unless you have his car right in front of you, please, wait for him to respond! I've looked at the pictures, I realize that the image I posted does not exactly match his, but the spec's on the rig on Smartech's site state that it comes with a .15 CVP. This is precisely why I am asking him the question.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, both in trying to help and for the hobby in general, but I need to ask you to give the guy a chance to respond to the questions posted and to not answer on his behalf. I think you're right, but I want to make sure before moving forward.

JCosper: After looking this over, post what you've discovered and we can go from there.

 

[JCosper]

Thanks to the guy that was helping me on AIM this morning...

I had the lady there look at it.. turns out I had the idle screw all messed up. It has ran great for a while now.. I'm already thinking of a better one (not fast eneough for me). For some reason.. after about the 10-15th tank LOL.. I tried to restart it, and it didnt start. I checked too see if the glow plug was getting hot, and it was... but it may not be hot eneough... oh well, I'm done for the day. I am leaving to go out of town for work. Thanks agian for all the help!

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Well, good luck I guess. Sounds like you got it figured out. Post again if you need anything.

 

[JCosper]

Thanks agian for all of the help.. it was fun to drive today. I need some more power! Thinking of going with a Jato.. or even a TRAXXAS road race car (the corvette). I generaly drive up and down a paved road...but some gravel and light off road would be okay.