Redcat earthquake 3.5 starting

Welcome to RCTalk

Come join other RC enthusiasts! You'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Pmike0817

RC Newbie
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I got a Redcat earthquake 3.5 about 2 weeks ago. Got it out to the garage put fuel in it primed it started right up. Ran for about 20 seconds and died. So I tried to start it again and it didn't start. I pulled and pulled and tools and then broke the cord. I'm thinking good times. So I fix the pull start put it back together trying the motor pulled and pulled and pulled and pulled and pulled and nothing. Then it was flooded got the fuel out took out the glow plug. So I put it back together and pulled and pulled and pulled and pulled. So I said F this took it to the local hobby shop. Guy calls me 4 days later says it's running great really strong motor. So I go pick it up today bring it home primeknit pulled it and started for about 25 seconds then died so and at least it was trying to start and then it was just pulling it with no not even a pop coming from the engine so I check the glow plug again put it back in check the fuel line and had fuel going to It . hard to pull cord.so I'm thinking okay it's flooded again take out the glow plug pull it pull it put the glow plug back in pull it tried to start wouldn't start then pull and Pull and nothing I'm thinking the problem is it because it is a Redcat. And is it possible that I'm priming it too much or it's flooding itself or when I get it started do I need to get on the throttle with the transmitter to keep it going or what. I'm sure it's obvious by now this is my first Nitro car but I mean damn I don't even know why anybody would want one of these will all the work it takes to get it started I should have stuck with electric. So just to let you know I've checked the glow plug I've check the ignitor, I checked the fuel lines,. I don't know what else to do. I've had this car for two weeks and it's only ran for about 45 seconds total. And both times the first time I said I just started it ran for 20 seconds and then the time I got it back from The Hobby Shop it ran for about 20 seconds and now it won't start the first pulls easy but II. Always hard I can't get a full pool I have to pull it once and then wait a second kind of kind of barely pull the cord and then pull the second time I can't pull it two times in a row good compression pull the truck up off the table even if I'm holding it down it's like you get one nice pool and it'll pop like it wants to start and then every pole after that it's like it's flooded there's no pop I guess that's all
 
Hey Pmike0817, welcome to RCtalk. I had a Redcat Earthquake 3.5 too. Is yours the one with the OS engine? ( black cooling head ) Mine was and the carb settings were way off out of the box. High speed needle was too rich and no idle gap at all. Maybe try leaning your high speed needle 1/4 to 1/2 turn and then on your transmitter turn up your idle trim a little and see if that helps. Nitro can be challenging at first but stick with it. You’ll figure it out.
 
Also, where are you located? What's the ambient temp? Nitro engines don't like starting when they are below 50F. Especially when new. If your at home, use a hair dryer to heat it up to 150F or so, get it primed and ready before heating it up. Heat it, then turn everything on and head outside quick to try and start it. The engine is aluminum, so it will cool off quick. If it doesn't start in 5 minutes or so, you will need to heat it up again.

It's not as bad once they are broken in and tuned properly, but when new, they are tight and usually overly rich, which doesn't make for very easy cold starting. I've had some engines that for some reason just won't start when they are cold, so I always put my nitro on the floor of my 1:1 car with the heat blasted until I get to where I'm going to run it. I fill the tank and turn everything on while it's still in my car so I can try starting it immediately once I take it out.
 
I have the same truck, it was doing the same thing. Factory settings were WAY too rich!! It took me 3 full turns on the high speed and almost 2 full on the low speed just to get it to run half decent. After break in tuning the total was 3-1/2 on the high speed and 2-1/4 on the low speed tonget it tuned right.
 
New engines are a pain because of the tight pinch/high compression ,an accoarse ,filthy rich on fuel!

I always encourage people to lean it about a half a turn & loosen up the glo-plug a little on the
first start up ,then after it starts ,pull the glo igniter off an tighten the glow plug up real fast ,an
as you do so ,rev the engine in intervals as you do this to keep the engine running.

This is best done while the truck is off the ground on a block of wood or something!
 

Similar threads

Back
Top