Starting HPI Bullet (Updated w/pics)

[JP-12]

Well I finally got the car, but can’t seem to start the damn thing to break in the motor!
I’ve read all the instructions, and searched and searched and searched, but no luck.
The pull start seems really hard to pull, and almost sounds like metal clanking when I do give it a pull. With the glow plug out, the clunking goes away and it’s much much easier to pull.
I’ve checked the glow plug, glow plug igniter, made sure it wasn’t flooded. I’m stuck.
Any help or advice is much appreciated!

UPDATE 08/22:
I’m feeling super defeated! I can’t get the damn thing to run right.
It only starts with the idle screw as far in as the pic shows, which makes everything all out of wack. I’ve gone through quite a bit of fuel trying to get it dialed in, with no luck at all.
Either it runs, but spits tons of fuel out of the exhaust, it doesn’t start, or only idles with the plug igniter attached. Messing with it so much, I’ve regrettfully lost my starting point and don’t know where to go from here, which is why I’m looking for some help/advice.
I’ve gone through the manual numerous times, but the instructions HPI provided are not informative at all. Went through the stuff on here along with the flowchart as well. Then I tried to return the needles to factory settings, but I’m pretty sure that just made everything worse.

 

[JP-12]

It came with an R5 cold glow plug, should I try a medium heat plug?
The LHS carries the R5 cold plugs, but told me they’ve never seen anyone buy them.

 

[watertrucker]

Sometimes a new engine is hard to start because the pinch is so tight. Try loosening the glow plug just a little to make it easier to pull the pull start and then If it starts re-tighten it with the engine running.

 

[JP-12]

I got it started, but I have to give it throttle to start it and as soon as I let off it cuts off. I want to break in the engine properly before giving it throttle for more than a couple seconds

 

[olds97_lss]

I drive mine around immediatly, but I don't go over 1/2 throttle, so driving it to keep it running won't hurt it. You may need to lean it a tad and bump the idle up a bit. Sometimes, leaving the heater on the plug and blipping the throttle to clear the crank case helps, then you can remove the heater and drive it around slowly as you break it in.

I know manuals say "let it idle through the first tank", but I hate that. A lot of wear and tear on a new engine at the lowest possible temp for an entire tank seems stupid to me.

 

[JP-12]

Gonna give it another shot after work today.
From what I’ve read, it sounds like I should be fine to keep it under 1/2-1/4 throttle for the first tank to keep it started?
I also think part of my problem was not being patient with the charge on the plug igniter. I’ve made sure it’s fully charged up this time around. I honestly should have bought an extra igniter to keep around.

 

[JP-12]

To get it to run lean, how far out should I start with the set screw?
I know with my dirt bike carb, the needle is almost threaded out all the way for the leanest mix. Is this the same with an RC carb?

 

[olds97_lss]

There should be at least 3 screws. One for the idle, one for the low speed needle (LSN) and one for the high speed needle (HSN). I don't know the stock/factory/break-in settings for your engine. The needles on these engines are very small, so you only do things in 1/4 turn increments or you end up way out of the margin very quickly.

Check out this thread:
https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/nitro-tuning-tips-and-tuning-flow-chart.60832/

 

[watertrucker]

I tried to Google the factory carb settings for your engine but couldn’t really find anything. You mentioned that it only idles with the glow igniter attached. Sometimes that’s the sign of a bad glow plug. I’ve gotten a couple of bad ones right out of the box. I’ve had really good success with the Traxxas 3232X plug. If you get a good plug that may help a lot with your running issues

 

[JP-12]

Patience paid off! Finally got it running good, broke it in over 5 tanks, tuned and had some fun before it got dark!
It’s an awesome little truck! Can start to see what needs to be upgraded. Better braking is probably going to be the first, if possible.

If it’s running a tad hot, I adjust the LSN the Richen the fuel a bit, correct?

 

[Daniel J]

Patience paid off! Finally got it running good, broke it in over 5 tanks, tuned and had some fun before it got dark!
It’s an awesome little truck! Can start to see what needs to be upgraded. Better braking is probably going to be the first, if possible.

If it’s running a tad hot, I adjust the LSN the Richen the fuel a bit, correct?

Good going!! Glad you got it started remember to not blast it fully till you have hit that half a gallon mark

 

[JP-12]

Uh oh, I didn’t read anything about waiting for a half gallon, then again, I didn’t check to see if 5 tanks is about the equivalent of a half gallon. I broke it in following the break in procedure mentioned on this site to the T, then I started to play around a bit. Didn’t do much WOT while playing around because of the space I had, but hopefully it had enough break in time.

 

[Daniel J]

Uh oh, I didn’t read anything about waiting for a half gallon, then again, I didn’t check to see if 5 tanks is about the equivalent of a half gallon. I broke it in following the break in procedure mentioned on this site to the T, then I started to play around a bit. Didn’t do much WOT while playing around because of the space I had, but hopefully it had enough break in time.

Yeah don't worry. You will notice it will suddenly go really rich. That's when the engine is at the point when the engine will be at it's top performance. Have fun! ??

 

[JP-12]

Yeah don't worry. You will notice it will suddenly go really rich. That's when the engine is at the point when the engine will be at it's top performance. Have fun! ??

Glad you mentioned this, because I probably would have gotten worried once this happens.
So the engine will seem to Richen itself once it’s broken in and at optimum performance?

 

[Daniel J]

Glad you mentioned this, because I probably would have gotten worried once this happens.
So the engine will seem to Richen itself once it’s broken in and at optimum performance?

Yup exactly. It does it when It all loosens up, it does it around the 10 tank mark

 

[JP-12]

Well... already broke some stuff lol

It was running perfect yesterday and for the first 20 or so minutes today, then it the throttle randomly accelerated for a couple seconds into a car tire. It didn’t stay WOT though, only for a couple seconds then it went back to idle.
Does this sound like an engine problem, or something stuck somewhere?

 

[Daniel J]

Well... already broke some stuff lol

It was running perfect yesterday and for the first 20 or so minutes today, then it the throttle randomly accelerated for a couple seconds into a car tire. It didn’t stay WOT though, only for a couple seconds then it went back to idle.
Does this sound like an engine problem, or something stuck somewhere?

Check if you have failsafe. The air filter could have blocked causing the throttle linkage from moving causing it to jam. It may have gone out of range as Well

 

[JP-12]

Yes, the manual said it had failsafe.
It wasn’t out of range, because it was only a few feet away. I’ll check air filter, but I’m almost positive it’s not blocked

 

[Daniel J]

Yes, the manual said it had failsafe.
It wasn’t out of range, because it was only a few feet away. I’ll check air filter, but I’m almost positive it’s not blocked

Ok hmm. Maybe the servo might have twitched. Are the receiver battery low?

 

[JP-12]

Was thinking that was a possibility because it was super random.
They shouldn’t be, I’ve only had it a couple days and they were sealed when I got them with the car. But I can try a better brand of battery.