Let Our Guide Help You With Starting Problems
Having trouble with starting your Nitro engine? Frustrated that everything you try doesn't seem to work? Try my trouble-shooting guide to see if it works. I've picked up plenty of hints & tips running in Nitro cars, HPI & others over the years, so maybe it will help. Always remember to consult any instructions or directions that came with your car first, then try this FAQ.
Ok, first thing to check is that you've put the right fuel in your car. This is the most common problem for beginners, who try to use a more powerful fuel than is recommended by the manufacturer, in order to gain more speed & power. The problem with this is that engines and carburettors are designed to use a certain grade of fuel, and any deviation from that leads to starting and tuning faults. It is possible to use higher grade Nitro fuel, as long as you are ready to re-tune the engine and be prepared for extra wear. If you do change fuels, keep using that one, or your car will become unreliable. In summary, if it says use 16 Nitro fuel on the box, use it!
Still won't start? Next up is your glow plug - is it getting hot enough to ignite the Nitro Fuel in your Radio Controlled Car? A faulty glow plug, or a flat Glow starter will mean no starting! Take the Glow plug out of the engine, plug it into your GlowStarter and check that the Glowplug shines nice and bright orange. If it doesn't glow then you could have a faulty glowplug or a flat Glow Starter. So always keep a spare glow-plug in your track-side tool box, and your Glowstarter charged. (Or a spare, charged Glow starter!)
If your Radio Control Car still won't start, next up we've got to see if the engine is getting any fuel. Is their fuel in the tank? Next we've got to look inside the engine. We do this by pulling the air filter out (put it down somewhere clean) and looking into the carburettor. Push the Fuel Tank Primer and you should see Nitro Fuel going in. If you don't, there's an air leak somewhere in the system. Check the fuel tank and pipes and order any spare parts required.
Still not working? Maybe the air filter is blocked. Give it a good clean and re-oil with cleaner and air filter oil.
Next if your motor still won't start you'll have to put the carb back to factory settings and follow your Nitro engines set up guidelines.
Still no luck? Maybe the one-way bearing is broke. This is the part that makes the engine turn in the right direction, so take out the glowplug, look into the cylinder head and slowly pull the pull-start or operate your rotostart. If it doesn't move the piston, its broke.
if you Nitro engine still won't start my advice would be to take it to our local model shop & get the to give you a second opinion and advice on what to do next, probably a new engine, but they might be able to help.
Thanks for reading!
Comments / Questions:
can you bump start a hpi MT2 roto start. and if you can how . because iv been having trouble with it iv changed the glow plug and checked the fuel lines and the engine still wont turn over ??? I've never tried it - is fuel getting to the carb when you prime the tank with the plunger? If not, you may need a new tank. |
hi there, ive got a rush evo and it starts fine but when idling it revs to full throttle and then stalls WITHOUT TOUCHING ANYTHING. I have set the low and high speed needles back to base settings, but I aven't put idle needle back to base (don't know what base setting is for idle needle). I think its the idle needle setting, it could be set to lean but I've already had a go at changing the setting. Any way cheers, perhaps you might know a solution. Alex. Check your manual, and you'll see where the idle screw is. Pop out the air-filter and look down into the carb. As you adjust the idle screw you'll see the throttle opening and closing, see your manual for the gap, its normally pretty small, too large and the engine will race (and the car shoot off!). |
my nitro truck won't start when i pull the pull start the fuel is not moving through the tube so there it no fuel getting into the engine so it won't start. plus it is only a day old what should i do. ian. You need to prime the tank first - push on the plunger if its got one, then you should see the fuel moving. If it doesn't, there's an air leak somewhere. |
hi there right got a pro 12 engine and i built bye mags and the car running fine but every time i put break on it stops the engine any ideas do you think it is clutch not working please help me. Andrew. Its idle speed is too low, or the clutch is incorrect. Start off by increasing the idle speed and see if that works. |
the car turns over, but goes straight to high rev's and wont slow down?? any advise? Phil. It could be because your throttle is set too high. Consult your manual and find the reference to the throttle limiters. It could be that you idle screw is incorrectly set, meaning that the engine can't physically slow down. Also check that your r/c transmitter hasn't got the throttle reverse switch at the wrong position. |
hi there i have my truggy for some time know but haqve never really tuned it just tried and become confused could you give me the basic understanding to how to tune it thnx. Alex. OK, if you want to do any tuning you've got to have the engine manual, otherwise you'll risk running it too lean (and hot) and damaging it. Once you've got the instructions its a simple case of slowing turning the carb needles to lean out the engine, a little at a time. Tuning can make a huge difference - your truck will seem like a different beast! |
I bought a rc nitro car off ebay, have'nt got a clue what make it is(seller did'nt know either), but it has a force 15 engine in it .I am having trouble tuning it and cannot get it to run tidy. I,ve read many different tecniques on how to tune the little critters but they all say that a good start is to put the carb back to factory settings and go from there.Which i am finding difficult to to get any imformation on. Could you please advise me some way out, as i have owned this rc car for 3 weeks and still yet to get it running tidy/long enough to drive it more than 10 feet. Check out this document, it includes tunning instructions. |
| I am having trouble with my nitro car.
I would replace the fuel line, it's cheap from your local R/C shop, and make sure your fuel tank has no cracks or splits. Set up the engine to factory settings for run-in, then slowly start to tune it. When a car is cutting out straight away, it can be that your idle is too low (the engine should be turning over faster) and that the fuel mix is too lean. Often you'll find that with new engines they need to be run quite rich to start off with, then as you get further into the run-in process you nudge it leaner for better performance. Always remember that you can't damage an engine by running it too rich - you can if it's too lean. Persevere, and it will come good. (Then you've got to tune it again if the weather changes too much....) |
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