8IGHT-T 2.0 Started and engine heated up to 330°F!

[tomyknoker]

Hi all... well the saga continues. I bought a new Glow Igniter, and managed to start the car... the first 10 seconds were good, then the car reved beyond belief almost falling off the starter box, I managed to stop it by covering the exhaust however the temperature of the engine reached 330°F... this is using the EXACT settings that are specified in the manual of 2 1/2 turns out from the bottom on both the lo and hi-speed needles,

I'm now completely stumped here as I want to get this car going but don't want the engine to completely fry, if it hasn't already!

 

[neobart]

How is the idle gap? It should be around 1mm, no more. Does the glow plug seal right, if there's fuel around the glow plug that can cause it to runaway and run lean. Also factory settings are often too rich, but depending on where you are and the time of year, they can also be too lean. There should be excess oil coming out the exhaust at all times when running in an engine.

 

[tomyknoker]

How is the idle gap? It should be around 1mm, no more. Does the glow plug seal right, if there's fuel around the glow plug that can cause it to runaway and run lean. Also factory settings are often too rich, but depending on where you are and the time of year, they can also be too lean. There should be excess oil coming out the exhaust at all times when running in an engine.

I haven't touched the idle gap so I am assuming it's factory set perfectly... however I can tell you that the high-speed and low-speed needle are much closer to the bottom now that I set them to factory settings... is it not worth moving them further than 2 1/2 out? Any suggestions on what would be a good gauge?

 

[neobart]

I would move the hsn one full turn out, and double check the idle gap. I've never had an engine that was set right when I got it.

 

[tomyknoker]

Do you mean unscrew the idle pin so it's just coming out 1mm?

It's actually the LSN that seems to be way to far in should I pull them both out one full turn?

And finally, would I have damaged my engine, the whole thing took about 60 seconds...

 

[neobart]

To set idle gap you remove the airfilter and look down the carb throat, the cap created by the slide should be about a credit cards thickness. As long as you shut down the engine quickly it shouldn't be too bad. But it probably had an effect on the lifespan on the engine.

 

[tomyknoker]

To set idle gap you remove the airfilter and look down the carb throat, the cap created by the slide should be about a credit cards thickness. As long as you shut down the engine quickly it shouldn't be too bad. But it probably had an effect on the lifespan on the engine.

I'm going to try again tomorrow... So I know what to expect, if the car is happy while it's sitting on the box what should I be listening for? A nice idle? Should the car speed up at all of it's own accord, or if it does this should I pull the pin?

 

[neobart]

It should have a steady idle, with some fuel spitting out the exhaust. If it starts to speed up start by richening the HSN and LSN one quarter turn. If that doesn't help turn the idle speed screw counter clockwise to lower the idle a little. It should be able to idle without moving the wheels.

 

[LBSinGTX]

I pretty much agree with Neobart. The only thing I have to add would be to check your throttle linkage when its connected to the engine. I had the same thing happen to me about a week ago with my 8B and it was the linkage itself needed to be adjusted. The idle gap on the engine was set where it needed to be, but when connected, the linkage pulled it further open at idle. I needed to set my t/b trim to -2 or something and that fixed it.
Maybe something to check if its a new 8T. My linkage took some work on my 8B. It is a new kit right?

 

[Metalhead Matt]

I'm thinking the needles are out of whack from being messed with. That engine shouldn't hit 200 idling on a starter. Is it smoking good and blowing out a little raw fuel like neobart said? If not, it needs richened up.

 

[alien13]

Part of the problem, Nitro2010, or tomyknoker, is that you are getting advice from at least three different forums, which is going to lead to alot of confusion. Not only that, but when you are given advice, you do something different.

Choose who you are going to listen to, and stick with that person. Everybody have a different method of doing something, and if you take steps from twenty different people, you'll end up with more problems in the end.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

I think his whole problem stems from not having the ignitor charged properly. Which I addressed. So the whole time the ignitor battery wasn't supplying enough current to start the engine, but a bunch of other adjustments were made and the engine relentlessly cranked on the starter box, all the while loading up with fuel that had no ignition source. Tomyknoker, you need to be sure that the needles are set back to factory. Then you need to follow the heat cycle break in method. It's found in the engine forum. There's no reason to run the engine on the box, or idle a tank of fuel through it.

 

[tomyknoker]

I think his whole problem stems from not having the ignitor charged properly. Which I addressed. So the whole time the ignitor battery wasn't supplying enough current to start the engine, but a bunch of other adjustments were made and the engine relentlessly cranked on the starter box, all the while loading up with fuel that had no ignition source. Tomyknoker, you need to be sure that the needles are set back to factory. Then you need to follow the heat cycle break in method. It's found in the engine forum. There's no reason to run the engine on the box, or idle a tank of fuel through it.

Hi all... ok! FINALLY I am getting somewhere with the car... I managed to get through 1 tank of fuel having the car sit on the starter box (Matt I know you are telling me not to do this, however I rang Losi and they said I need to do this 3 times)... I wanted to make some notes about a couple of things and get feedback from all you guys as you know your stuff!

• The car started, however I had to keep the Igniter on the car for atleast 1-2 mins until it seemed to be ok to pull it away... when I was pulling the igniter away before this the car was dying
• Alot of fuel was coming out of the exhaust, so much so there was a patch of wet area on the table were it came out... it wasn't dripping out just a spray for 10 mins
• The engine seemed to idle steady and the temp was pretty low but as the fuel ran out the car went up to 150 degrees F
• When the car was on it's last drops of petrol it started to speed up like crazy and then died, is it ok to let it do this?
• While the car sat on the box the wheels slowly slowly moved around, I believe someone said they should not be moving at all?

 

[Rolex]

If the LSN was too far in, that would make it too lean and cause it to overheat, no matter what you did to the HSN.
Running it at 150 during the break in is not good, and now it means it's too rich. Break in is all about heat cycling.
Having to leave the ignitor on to keep it running also means it's too rich on the LSN.

 

[tomyknoker]

If the LSN was too far in, that would make it too lean and cause it to overheat, no matter what you did to the HSN.
Running it at 150 during the break in is not good, and now it means it's too rich. Break in is all about heat cycling.
Having to leave the ignitor on to keep it running also means it's too rich on the LSN.

Hi Rolex... Ok, I think I am making some good progress... I did another 15 minute idle and can notice the following:

• I turned the LSN in a 1/4 turn and straight away the car started to speed up like a maniac which is not we want correct?
• I moved the LSN out just under a 1/4 turn and it idled nicely (I thought), the temp was holding steady on 129° F, until the petrol got pretty low and then it went to 140° F. This time I stopped the car before it ran out of petrol totally so there was no way it could speed up

THOUGHTS?

 

[Rolex]

You want the engine to run about 200-220 degrees Fahrenheit in order to make the break in effective. Running cool does not accomplish that.
Leaning the LSN and closely watching the temp is what you need to do. Basically, you have to start all over since running at low temps accomplishes nothing.
Leaning the LSN will also cause the idle to rise, and you will also have to adjust the idle screw to keep it from running too fast.
You do not have to run an entire tank each time. You can run 1/2 the tank at about 220 and shut it off, let it cool with the piston at the bottom, then run the other half. It doesn't have to be all at once. Still, you'll need to run the recommended number of tanks for a good break in, but the temp of the engine is most important.

 

[tomyknoker]

You want the engine to run about 200-220 degrees Fahrenheit in order to make the break in effective. Running cool does not accomplish that.
Leaning the LSN and closely watching the temp is what you need to do. Basically, you have to start all over since running at low temps accomplishes nothing.
Leaning the LSN will also cause the idle to rise, and you will also have to adjust the idle screw to keep it from running too fast.
You do not have to run an entire tank each time. You can run 1/2 the tank at about 220 and shut it off, let it cool with the piston at the bottom, then run the other half. It doesn't have to be all at once. Still, you'll need to run the recommended number of tanks for a good break in, but the temp of the engine is most important.

Ok I'll give that a go. When I've done my three tanks and am ready to run it back and forth, should I keep the LSN exactly where it will be set at the final break in?

 

[Rolex]

I can tell by your accent hehe that you probably use Centigrade for temps. That means you should be right around 100 C or slightly higher.
When you start to drive it around, you don't want to run it fast, but you just want it to work a little. Keep an eye on the engine temp, and maintain the 100 C+ (225 F) during the entire process.
When you get to the later tanks and start to pick up speed, you'll have to keep us posted so we can advise you of what adjustments you'll need in order to do the final performance tune.

 

[RcWrencher]

Hi all... ok! FINALLY I am getting somewhere with the car... I managed to get through 1 tank of fuel having the car sit on the starter box (Matt I know you are telling me not to do this, however I rang Losi and they said I need to do this 3 times)... I wanted to make some notes about a couple of things and get feedback from all you guys as you know your stuff!

• The car started, however I had to keep the Igniter on the car for atleast 1-2 mins until it seemed to be ok to pull it away... when I was pulling the igniter away before this the car was dying
  
  - This is an indication that your running too rich, but for break in purposes its not such a bad thing. you could probably try to lean out the LSN 1/8 turn or so
• Alot of fuel was coming out of the exhaust, so much so there was a patch of wet area on the table were it came out... it wasn't dripping out just a spray for 10 mins
  
  This is another indicator for rich. But since your breaking in dont worry too much about it. As long as the engine is able to idle on its own without dying constantly, let it go for now
  
  
• The engine seemed to idle steady and the temp was pretty low but as the fuel ran out the car went up to 150 degrees F
  Perfectly normal, no worries
  
• When the car was on it's last drops of petrol it started to speed up like crazy and then died, is it ok to let it do this?
  
  Normal, again, no worries
  
• While the car sat on the box the wheels slowly slowly moved around, I believe someone said they should not be moving at all?
  
  dont worry too much with it, if they are bearly moving, let it be, you dont want to let them turn too fast though as it will start to load the engine.

Good luck

 

[tomyknoker]

You want the engine to run about 200-220 degrees Fahrenheit in order to make the break in effective. Running cool does not accomplish that.
Leaning the LSN and closely watching the temp is what you need to do. Basically, you have to start all over since running at low temps accomplishes nothing.
Leaning the LSN will also cause the idle to rise, and you will also have to adjust the idle screw to keep it from running too fast.
You do not have to run an entire tank each time. You can run 1/2 the tank at about 220 and shut it off, let it cool with the piston at the bottom, then run the other half. It doesn't have to be all at once. Still, you'll need to run the recommended number of tanks for a good break in, but the temp of the engine is most important.

Hi Rolex... I just spoke to Losi and they said under no cirumstances should I run in the three tanks with the engine hot, they said the richer the fuel and the cooler the engine the better, so a little confused