starter system help

[Aguilar35]

Good morning everyone; i have a question what system are you using to start the H.P.I. RS4-3 EVO+ can't seem to find one with good reviews the drill operated last only so long and break (and that's what happened to mine) the electric start seem to get hot and stop working even the pull start have bad reviews... does any one know if the traxxas 4570 EZ START fit and work on the H.P.I. RS4-3 EVO+

 

[Chubaka]

What motor are you running. If i have it ill try to bolt the traxxas starter up. I prefer the pull start on my engines. Most starters are just head aches. Have you thought about a starter box?

I have a hpi 15fe that uses a pull start. I used the roto start on tge t15 and its not bad but I still bought a pull start I put on.

Sullivan tiger drive is another option.

BTW tge 4070 is for the .15, they also have the easy start 2 for larger engines.

 

[ohsnap]

I haven't run an RS4 for eons, but when I did, I ditched the pull start and utilized a starter box.
Note - The Rotostart had not yet been invented and/or marketed back then (in the 90's), but I also upgraded to a bump start engine at that time too.

On the other hand, I run several Savages and personally prefer the Rotostart over a pull start.
I'm also not a fan of the Traxxas EZ Start as it adds a ton of weight (high CG weight to boot) to the vehicle.
I replace the EZ Start with Rotostarts on my Revo's for those very reasons.

Agular - when you say "the drill operated last only so long and break ", specifically, what breaks?
The Rotostart unit that houses the motor and battery and spins the shaft or the piece that replaces the pull start on the engine?
Also, are you actually using a drill to turn the shaft?

Are you properly priming the engine before trying to start it?

Pretty much the only time I ever have difficulty getting an engine to start using a Rotostart usually involves a dead glow plug, and that's solved by replacing it, or I did something stupid like not following procedure and forgot to prime it.

 

[Aguilar35]

What motor are you running. If i have it ill try to bolt the traxxas starter up. I prefer the pull start on my engines. Most starters are just head aches. Have you thought about a starter box?

I have a hpi 15fe that uses a pull start. I used the roto start on tge t15 and its not bad but I still bought a pull start I put on.

Sullivan tiger drive is another option.

BTW tge 4070 is for the .15, they also have the easy start 2 for larger engines.

yes it says hpi15 on the engine i also have a 23 and some other one 31 i think ill have to check my daughter used to change out engines for different races I'm thinking pull start is the way to go or starter box is what i would like...

 

[Aguilar35]

I haven't run an RS4 for eons, but when I did, I ditched the pull start and utilized a starter box.
Note - The Rotostart had not yet been invented and/or marketed back then (in the 90's), but I also upgraded to a bump start engine at that time too.

On the other hand, I run several Savages and personally prefer the Rotostart over a pull start.
I'm also not a fan of the Traxxas EZ Start as it adds a ton of weight (high CG weight to boot) to the vehicle.
I replace the EZ Start with Rotostarts on my Revo's for those very reasons.

Agular - when you say "the drill operated last only so long and break ", specifically, what breaks?
The Rotostart unit that houses the motor and battery and spins the shaft or the piece that replaces the pull start on the engine?
Also, are you actually using a drill to turn the shaft?

Are you properly priming the engine before trying to start it?

Pretty much the only time I ever have difficulty getting an engine to start using a Rotostart usually involves a dead glow plug, and that's solved by replacing it, or I did something stupid like not following procedure and forgot to prime it.

so the car sat for about 10-12 years and it had fuel in it when she retired that car and i never checked it either so it was bad trying to clean the carb piston walls piston tank ect. so after cleaning it it was hard to start and yes drill and rod i made is what i was using to start it, now it fires right up but the plastic end broke on the starter where the shaft turns the gear...it seems that is an issue with all of them. and i didn't think of the weight factor. I'm not racing it like that just out on the street having some fun with it...i just bought new tires, glow plugs, ignitor, drive shafts, i made some shafts that worked good but was able to find some O.E. shafts they were all missing from the rear diff. and some diff parts.

 

[ohsnap]

That's awesome that you brought the RS4 back to life!
I only run offroad these days, so mine is nothing more than a shelf queen.

Agular - "but the plastic end broke on the starter where the shaft turns the gear...it seems that is an issue with all of them...."

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that point.
I regularly run nearly a dozen roto start equipped trucks & truggies and can't remember one ever failing on me.
As I wrote that, I recall that my buddy had a backplate fail on him last year, but if I recall...
A. It was one of those AliExpress "deals"
B. He had it mounted on a .28
C. I'm 99% sure that the metal gear failed - not the plastic.
D. I never had a problem with an HPI branded roto start backplate - only the handheld units.

Agular - "so the car sat for about 10-12 years and it had fuel in it when she retired that car and i never checked it either so it was bad trying to clean the carb piston walls piston tank ect. so after cleaning it it was hard to start and yes drill and rod i made is what i was using to start it,..."

Root cause, potential overkill, as well as a point of potential oversight.
When you used the drill and it wasn't starting, did you ever just crank on it trying to get that engine to fire?
If so, you could have overheated, damaged or otherwise weakened the plastic.

I only use a drill versus a roto start unit when I absolutely have to.
You have to remember to switch the direction, and I feel it makes sense to limit the RPM's.
Roto starts turn a whole lot slower than your drill is capable of, and it spins in the opposite direction a drill turns to actually "drill" something.

Roto start (2) is designed to flip their circuit breaker after about 5 seconds or so - forcing a reset.
Roto start (1) cooks the starter button after about 5 seconds and disables the unit. I've yet to find a replacement for those switches too.
If I have to crank on an engine much longer than that, something is askew.

Agular - "...now it fires right up..."
Personally, I'd just replace the unit with a new HPI one.
What are they, 25 bucks or so?

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

i have the HPI 3.0 engine in my RS4 2. it has the factory pull starter on it. never had an issue.
there is no such thing as a perfect system. but pull starters only have 3 parts that fail. ether the string breaks and its a pretty easy fix, the spring breaks and it's fixable. or the 1 ways bearing gets weird and needs to be cleaned or replaced. and that's an easy fix.
or you can be lazy and just replace the damn thing. which is an easy fix.
and most likely, you'll run gallons of fuel through it before any of that happens.

 

[ohsnap]

SubH - "i have the HPI 3.0 engine in my RS4 2. it has the factory pull starter on it. never had an issue."
I'm not dissing pull-starts, I'm just lazy.

However, I can (did?) diss the EZ Start.
I'd ditch an EZ for a pull start any day.

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

I'm just lazy.

me to.

 

[Chubaka]

me to.

I too often follow water. I take the path of least resistance. but I learned a little tug to statt beats all the electric start problems that commonly occur.

 

[Aguilar35]

That's awesome that you brought the RS4 back to life!
I only run offroad these days, so mine is nothing more than a shelf queen.

Agular - "but the plastic end broke on the starter where the shaft turns the gear...it seems that is an issue with all of them...."

I'm going to have to disagree with you on that point.
I regularly run nearly a dozen roto start equipped trucks & truggies and can't remember one ever failing on me.
As I wrote that, I recall that my buddy had a backplate fail on him last year, but if I recall...
A. It was one of those AliExpress "deals"
B. He had it mounted on a .28
C. I'm 99% sure that the metal gear failed - not the plastic.
D. I never had a problem with an HPI branded roto start backplate - only the handheld units.

Agular - "so the car sat for about 10-12 years and it had fuel in it when she retired that car and i never checked it either so it was bad trying to clean the carb piston walls piston tank ect. so after cleaning it it was hard to start and yes drill and rod i made is what i was using to start it,..."

Root cause, potential overkill, as well as a point of potential oversight.
When you used the drill and it wasn't starting, did you ever just crank on it trying to get that engine to fire?
If so, you could have overheated, damaged or otherwise weakened the plastic.

I only use a drill versus a roto start unit when I absolutely have to.
You have to remember to switch the direction, and I feel it makes sense to limit the RPM's.
Roto starts turn a whole lot slower than your drill is capable of, and it spins in the opposite direction a drill turns to actually "drill" something.

Roto start (2) is designed to flip their circuit breaker after about 5 seconds or so - forcing a reset.
Roto start (1) cooks the starter button after about 5 seconds and disables the unit. I've yet to find a replacement for those switches too.
If I have to crank on an engine much longer than that, something is askew.

Agular - "...now it fires right up..."
Personally, I'd just replace the unit with a new HPI one.
What are they, 25 bucks or so?

And your absolutely correct all these reviews and starters falling apart are from Amazon I was going to say that I don’t recall purchasing starters because they broke but again Amazon wasn’t a thing straight from either traxxas or hpi. Yeah going to get a name brand that will make the difference I’m sure… thanks for help