jaketrouble

hey guys,

got my new revo3.3 a couple days ago.. since then it has been raining everyday so i can not run it. i did have a guy come over and locktight the wheels for me and made a couple adjustments. he has been in this hobby for 3 years and has a jato, a tmaxx and a revo and just ordered a platium revo. so since it was raining we didnt even fire it up. he really seems to know what he is doing and talk about

but i need to hear this bugger run. so a few hours after he left i put in about 1/4 a tank of fuel and tried to start it. at first it did crank for a couple seconds then nothing. now it makes no sound at all . the wand battery may not have been fully charged.. would that do it? but wouldnt i at least get some crank??

now the 2 green lights on the wand will work if i push the red button when not hooked up to the truck the motor green light will come on.. but when i insert the wand into the ezstart the motor light will not come on but the glow light does come on.. am i missing something simple here,,,i hope???? the wand battery i believe is fully charged!! please tell me something to do that is easy to fix this.. it is brand new!!! thx,,jake.

ccity

Sounds like you may have flooded it, or possibly since its new the piston got stuck at TDC. I would say charge the battery good, make sure its not flooded, and make sure the piston is not stuck then go from there.

jaketrouble

it can get flooded that fast?? all i did was put in the wand to the easy start.. pushed in the red button and it cranked for a spit second. then i tried it again and nothing,, no cranking or sounds of starting of any kind. i am 100% sure the battery is fully charged.

so how can i tell if the engine is flooded? which i really dont think it is becuase of the short time it cranked.. but i wll check the piston.. i think the book even says that.. any other things that may do this? this really bums me out.. had the truck for 4 days now and still havent even heard it powered on:{:{

DaveG55

The piston's probably stuck at TDC. Get your buddy to come back and help you get through the first couple of tanks of fuel.

cmerritt

did you prime the engine before you tried starting it?? if the engine is rich it will flood quickly. it probably did flood because it comes rich from the factory from break in. to clear out your engine:

1. remove glow plug.
2. hold truck upside down
3. insert ex starter wand and press the button

fuel should come out of the engine.

get a screw driver and try to get the flywheels to turn over. that should move the piston if it is stuck TDC

ccity

when i first got my t-maxx 3.3 mine flooded that easy the first couple times until i got used to it plus it was a bit to rich to start with. to check that just take the glow plug out tip it upside down and crank it a couple times to let the fuel come out then put the plug back it and give it a shot. I also have stopped using the blue glow plug wire and gone to an ignitor saves on ez start battery and mine starts easier this way.

jaketrouble

i hope thats all it is.. he is coming back to help but not until tuesday.. should that gear on the bottom of the truck move freely? i tired very very easy to move it but it wont budge.. now to check the piston i need to take off the blue wire to the glowplug first?? right?? then turn the truck upside down and try to move that gear?? is that right? then once it moves re-install the glow plug and wire and try again//

i am so glad to have my new buddy and all you guys to help me. i remember when i started messing with heli's i was lost!! but after a few months and good guys like you all i now know a lot about heli's.. still cant fly them but know how to work on them:}

i like to ask for the help just so i dont screw things up any worse.. but i am not affraid to read up and do it on my own.. but having pros like you guys is so nice.. so is that how top check a piston?? do ya think that is all it is?? please say yes:}:}

cmerritt

the flywheel should be hard to move. that means there is alot of pinch in the engine.

removing the glow plug and turning the truck upside down... should clear out any fuel in the engine if it is flooded. if no fuel comes out then it isn't flooded.

jaketrouble

will the engine crank without the glow plug in it? to clear flooded enigne... i thought the glow plug is what started the truck.. now if i take it out,,turn the truck upside down and install ezstart wand should it crank??? what if it doesnt crank what could that be??

sorry for asking some questions twice.. just trying to get it right.. thx,,jake

ccity

when the glow plug is out we mean crank as in just tunring the engine over so the fuel comes out not actually trying to start

cmerritt

no, removing the glow plug is necessary because it allows the fuel to come out of the glow plug hole into the ground, therefore clearing the engine.

a flooded engine means that there is so much fuel in the engine that the piston cannot move up and down. also called hydrolock. by removing the glow plug, all of the extra fuel will come out, allowing the piston to move again.

jaketrouble

ok,, thx,, i will try that and while i have the glow plug out i will check the piston.. ok,,so you are saying that the engine will crank but wont start with the glow plug out?? what if the enigine doesnt even want to crank like it is doing now? does that have to do with flooding or the piston?

right now if i put in the ezstart wand and push the red button the green glow plug light will come on the wand but not the other green light which is motor i think.. just slap me if i aint making sense:}:}

cmerritt

the engine will not start without the glow plug.

the engine will turn over, but if for some reason it doesn't, then take a screw driver and try to turn the flywheel with it, don't be afraid to put some force into it.

the other green light for glow plug won't turn on because it isn't connected. that light will tell you whether or not the glow plug is good or not.

just try to clear your engine first and let us know how it goes.

jaketrouble

thx,, i will try to clear the engine and check the piston.. i hope it is something that easy.. i will let you guys know what happens either way.. thx again,,jake.

Specialzed

My Feedback: (2)

This isnt good, this is what happened to me and I stayed away from nitros for a while, only now am I giving them another chance. Its not good for beginners to have troble with nitros, the get discouraged to quickly. I too had a traxxas as a first nitro and I just about threw that EZstart controller at a wall, for now your gunna have to use it though. I cant help much as im out of practice with nitros but keep at it and dont quit.

TtotheRAXXAS

WAIT!

If your new engine is sticking at top dead center, it may be flooded, but it also may be cold. A new engine has so little clearance cold, the ez start may not have enough power to crank the engine cold, and cranking it cold when it is new isn't the best idea anyway. I would heat the engine with a heat gun or even a hair dryer until it feels warm to the touch, and it should turn then. This happened to me when I first got my new t-maxx, except since it was sticking at top dead center we... hit it with a chopstick until it went down. This is not a good idea.

Heat the engine, and it should turn more freely.

Wratherax

The EZ start doesn't have enough power to crank the engine when the piston stops at TDC. I have 4 TRX 3.3 engines and I had the same problem during the first start up for every one. The first time you press that button, make sure you hold it down until the engine runs on its own power. Occasionally it'll still get stuck very quickly at TDC, but taking your finger on and off of the easy start button seems to be a sure way of getting it stuck at TDC the first time you start up a new engine.

Try using a screwdriver to turn the flywheel. That'll take it out of TDC. When you try to start it, it might just get itself stuck right back at TDC. Just keep freeing up the flywheel and trying to start it up. Eventually, it'll start to turn over and fire up.

Mspeed

Ron, Ttotheraxxas, is totally on it. You probably didnt even crank it enough to get the fuel up to the carb. When I left your house, the engine was not primed to even start, meaning the fuel was not even up to the carb. That means you would of had to keep cranking it for a while to get the fuel up to the carb for a start. On a new motor, I usually take the pressure line off the tank and use my bottle to force air into the tank and that pushes the fuel right up through the fuel line to the carb, then I stop as soon as it reaches that point. Then I put about 3 drops of afterrun in the carb, put the airfilter back on then heat the head with a hairdryer and usually fires right up. Ron, I am willing to bet the piston got stuck asap when you tried it. It is pretty normal to get a few stuck pistons during breakin, esspecially the first time you fire it up. Whatever you do Ron, make sure that you keep your piston at bottom dead center after you get it running and stop it. If you let it cool down after running it for the first time with the piston stuck, its not good trust me. I would recommend you read over the instructions before you rush it. O ya take that tape off the head that I put on there, since you dont have a temp gauge you dont know when to take it off and might run it too hot. I put it on there so I could get it up to 200f fast after it starts then I would take it off. If you want just wait for me on Tuesday, I am more than willing to help you out and I promise I will do a good heat cycle break in for ya with preheating the heat everytime so you get the most life I can give you.

jaketrouble

thx again guys,,, yea the engine is probably cold too.. it is cold here today and my house temp is probably around 67-70 degrees.. the engine does feel cool to the touch.

tomorrow i am going to try and check for flooding,,check the piston and heat up the engine first.. lots of good tips here guys.. i am sure it is something easy!!! well i hope it is something easy.. i really do love this truck and cant wait to get it going.. rain again tomorrow so i cant break it in until tuesday.. oh,, is it ok to leave fuel in the truck when not in use for a day.. or do i have to empty the tank at the end of each day even though i would plan on going out the next day? jake

Mspeed

Ron, when freeing the stuck piston, make sure you turn the flywheel the proper direction. With the ez start you should be turning it in only one direction. If you turn it backwords, it puts excess strain on your ezstart gears on the truck and can prematurely break them. I do not recommend holding down the ez start button after it fires up. If you heat the head and give it a tiny bit of throttle it should fire up and stay running. The heat from the hairdryer will help prevent stuck pistons, and the little bit of throttle will keep it running without sticking. Member only a bit of throttle. I would not blip it just vary it a bit as it idles to get a good break in. Let it cool with piston at botton dead center.

Mspeed

Ron, Sounds like on Tuesday there will be nothing left for me to do heh, Might have to bring my Jato over and run with you heh. I would take the fuel out of the tank.

jaketrouble

mike,

i will probably just wait until you come down so i dont mess anything up.. but lets concentrate on starting it up this time.. i really got to hear this baby run. i understand and appriciate all the other things you are showing and doing for me too but i need some action:}

i may or not mess with it tomorrow.. but lets try and do this tuesday.. thx again for coming down mike,,, ron,,

Mspeed

Since your fuel bottle doesnt have that hose on it I have with mine, you can prime it by holding your finger on the exhaust outlet till and cranking with the ez starter till the fuel gets up to the carb. Just watch the fuel move through the fuel line. As soon as it gets right up to the carb take your finger off the exhaust and it should fire up. You might get a stuck piston during this process. Dont panic just heat the head again with a hairdryer if it cools off during unjamming the pistion.

jaketrouble

still dont have a hairdryer.. no hair = no hair dryer:} i will just wait and see ya tuesday.. thx everyone.. i will let you guys know what i/we find just incase any other news guys have the same problem.

i am betting it is the piston from what everyone is saying.. i ruled out the battery and the flooding.. i know the battery is ok and i didnt have it running/spinning/cranking long enough to do that.. a second or 2 total.. and the fuel lines look dry?? talk to ya guys tomorrow..

Mspeed

No problem, when I got my first nitro I just read the instructions and tryed starting it lol, dont ask how it went hah. I know I didnt have the best experience with my first nitro lol Savage. So when I come on Tueday, lets plan on doing the first run on the side walk infront of your house. I would like to just do the heatcycle, like I do all my nitro break ins now, but its up to you Ron