Revo 3.3 won't start up. Please help!

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vortech350z

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hello everyone!

before i ask my questions, please keep in mind i'm fairly new to the RC world, and am just trying to get my brother's 3.3 up and running again, hopefully in time for x-mas, seeing as it's been down for the past 5 months. fwiw i attempted a search, but i didn't have so much luck with that. so please be patient with me if i rub off as being noobish. that being said...

i reinstalled a new wiring harness to replace the original, as the positive and negative ends that connect to the starter were frayed and thought to be the cause for failure. when it was all done, i tried to crank the motor using the easy start controller. neither LED would go on, so i figured i'd try to unflood the engine using the methods described in the owner's manual. after removing the spark plug and it's accompanied wire, i flipped her over, and still no dice (now that i think about it, why would unflooding work, if the starter wouldn't crank to begin with?!). i figure after everything is settled, i'll try to unflood...

anyway, my conclusion is that either the starter is broken, seeing as it's already been replaced once before, the wiring harness is a lemon @_@, or the easy start controller is broken (also a second replacement). any ideas on this from anyone with similar problems?

one last quick question, although it may be common sense, i've tested the start-up controller without it being "plugged in" and only the motor LED comes on. i figured that both the motor and spark plug LEDs should come on, seeing as they should both light up upon a successful start-up. am i just questioning everything, or are my assumptions correct that they should both illuminate? i guess if that's the culprit, the only remedy is to go out and purchase a new unit?

i want to thank all of you who took the time to read through all this, any responses will be much appreciated, and i want to wish you all a merry Christmas and happy new year!! :snowman:

mike
 
The glow plug light only shows if you have a complete circuit.
The boards in some of those tend to fail for no reason. It happened to me and several other Traxxas owners I knew.
If you know someone else who has one, try their's to to be sure, but I'm pretty certain that's the problem.
 
Did you check the if the glow plug was good? Easy way is to ignite it with a separate ignitor. Also with the plug out of the engine, but still have the blue wire connected to it, try applying the wand and "pretend" to start it. Does it glow? If not...a plug may be the reason but follow the remaining suggestions I have made.

Did you try igniting the plug with a separate ignitor?

Did you wire it up properly? Is there continuity from one end of each wire of the harnes to the other??

Let us know
 
hey guys thanks for the advice. i went to a hobby store today to ask a few questions, and the guy working there recommended that i clean the fuel lines due to stagnant fuel, which he told me could become very viscous after several months.

so i guess i'll disconnect the fuel lines and clean them up some...he also said i might have to dismantle the motor and clean up the built-up gunk. i want to avoid that as much as possible, so i figured, wouldn't the method of clearing a flooded engine be similar?

oh and yes, i do believe i wired the wiring harness correctly, i replicated the exact setup as the original. thanks for the double check though. :)

lastly, do any of you think that the starter could be what's wrong? i don't get any response from it when i attempt to start it up. i bought a higher quality glow plug to throw in there after the fuel line clean-up, just in case.

i'm open to any other suggestions, and once again, thanks!

oh btw, unfortunately i didn't see your post about the glow plug test until after my visit, but i still have my receipt, so i'll try it and keep you posted!
 
make sure the battery is charged!!!
lol
also make sure that the blue wire to the glowplug is securely and tightly on the tip of the plug also if the motor led does not light up in the car,
try this
make sure that the ground wire (yellow) is secured on the metal of the engine in between the block and the motor mount
also make sure the motor wires (red and black) are connected to the right prongs, there should be a little colored dot on the ez-start motor that shows where to put the red and obviously the empty prong the black!

hope all goes well!
 
The light on my quickstart box hasn't worked since after the first week. It's probably best to go ahead and check the plug. If you test with the QS box, make sure that you touch the outside to the motor so it's grounded.
 
hey again guys, just wanted to give a quick update to those who might be interested...

checked the glow plug to see if it was still in good shape using the method recommended by jon2 (thanks!), and it turns out the plug had gone bad. so i went out and replaced it with a new one, and now it's fine.

i also unmounted the motor, fuel lines, exhaust, and starter; cleaned em up, just to make sure everything was in working order. the motor had a lot of gunk in it, and so did the fuel lines, so i cleaned em up, along with the "header".

when i got to the starter, i thought i'd check out the gear assembly to see if i might have any luck there, and it turns out that one of the cogs on the 3 little gears that hook up directly to the shaft of the starter motor was sheared off! i hooked up the black and red wires and attempted to crank the motor to see if the gears could still be salvaged, and unfortunately, it cranked for about 5 seconds, then i heard it lock up. so much for my assumptions that the starter was bad...so tomorrow i'm going to the hobby shop to see if i can get a new gear assembly, then i think she's RTR!

traxxas should really consider a more sturdy material for the gears, aluminum perhaps? anyway, after i get the truck up and running again, i hope to chat more with you guys! then... let the modding begin! thanks again for all your help, and any feedback/suggestions are appreciated! :bow:
 
Keep us posted. Others learn from mistakes, and next time you can offer advise to someone else with the same problem.
 
I have a Revo 3.3 and t-maxx 3.3 and went through two electric starter motors and 3 new back plate assemblys.The ez starts are junk and the roto starts are not much better.I went with pull starts on both and couldn't be happier.Good luck and if you have a problem with the starter again pull it out and get a pullstart.
 
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