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I have got my work cut out for me. I went out to
the hangar. The good news is the engine not only started, but started a
all my few attempts. If you remember from previous episodes my old engine
(the one that leaked coolant into the chambers) would tend to start once and
only once a day (or several hours time past).
My newly built engine is starting
consistently. I played around with the timing a bit and hopped the CAS a
tooth to get it to align a bit more in the center of its turning area. It didn't
seem to make much of a difference yet, however, I am still having trouble with
the Mixture Knob. It is not making a difference for the A or B controller.
I have checked the d-sub connection on the PCM and the wire from ECU pin 26 to
PCM pin 15 and they all seem to check fine. I will need to climb in the
back of the plane to check the connection at the ECU but I ran out of time
tonight.
I am currently getting some strange actions from
the computer. I can start the engine with B if the cold start switch is
on. I switch to A and it want to die, turn of the cold start switch and it
smoothes out nicely. If I start in A, it needs the CSS off. If I
started in one and switch to other, it seems to want to die so I switch back,
shut down then restart in the other position and it will want to die when
changed. Also, when in B, I killed the primaries and it kept
running....cut the secondary's and it wanted to die. When I tried it in A,
it would want to die when the primaries were shut down. The engine is
running pretty fast too. About 1700 rpm ish. I have checked for
intake leaks in a preliminary manner and will do so more when I get to the
hangar again. I don't know how much of this may be attributed
to the mixture control not working. I also seem to be getting oil flow,
but I am having some problems with my oil pressure sensor...sure don't want
to be running with bad oil pressure. So, this is some bad with the
good.
Gawd, I hate consistent inconsistency.
;0
I am a bit frustrated,buy hey, I got the dang
engine to actually run based on me building it with new parts with a medium
street port. Yeah, I want to get past this stage, but at least I am moving
forward.......kinda. I think my next step will be to verify all my wire
runs. I broke one of our cardinal rules and I changed more than just one
thing at a time. I re-terminated some of the wires due to there extreme
length. I had to do something while I waited for parts from Mazdatrix and
Tracy. <g> On that note, as of now, my PSRU does not seem to be
leaking any oil.
So, what say y'all??????
All the best,
Chris
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 8:29
AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: First Start -
AGAIN
Never seen an EM2 freeze up but then I've never left it running over
night (not that it should hurt anything).
When you say that the mixture knob made no difference, did you mean
that the mixture monitor did not respond or that the engine did not respond
to a change in mixture (egt change, sound of engine, etc).
Assuming for the moment that the engine did not respond, the first thing to
try is the backup controller. Did you try it? Did it act
the same? If it did act the same, it is VERY unlikely that two
controllers have failed in the same way at the same moment in time.
(have you ever heard me say this before? :>) The obvious
place to start is the wiring between front panel and EC2. Specifically
the wire from pin 26 on EC2 to pin 15 on the front panel. (see
instructions) Are they connected? Are they shorted
to ground?
Tracy (Colorado bound)
On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 12:46 PM, Christopher Barber
< CBarber@texasattorney.net>
wrote:
Ahhh, the joys of engine development. After
fiddling with getting the timing set (thanks to y'all for this
info) I was able to start my new engine. I ran it for a few
minutes while checking for leaks etc. I was thrilled it started
again.....however........
I found one leak coming from the top of the
engine where I had a heater hose inlet sealed off. It was tapped out
earlier but only clamped closed so I installed a bolt with some sealant on
it and recovered it with a end hose piece and clamped it shut. This
proved a better choice.
The larger concerns are this. When the
engine started the Engine Monitor was on, and I kept a diligent eye on it.
After a couple of glances at it in the cabin while looking at the engine I
realized that the monitor was not "monitoring". I grabbed
my handheld laser temp monitor and pointed it at the engine and
temp was still ok. At first I just noticed the RPM was not
regersting (my first thought was I was gonna get the NOP signal), then
that the temp was not moving. After shut down, I turned the
monitor off and back on and instantly the monitor started working
again. Hmmmmmm. The monitor was mistakenly left on
overnight and I am guessing it "froze up" during this time, but I would
have not thought leaving it on would have done this. It also worked
on my three subsequent short starts. Of course my hope is
that this was an anomaly, but will stay aware that it did
happen.
However the biggest problems follows. When
the engine started it was running a little fast, but did not seem too bad
and I throttled back and it slowed a bit. When I noticed that the
monitor was not processing data I grabbed the mixture knob and turned
it to slow the engine and to see if it made any difference. Damn,
the mixture knob was not doing ANYTHING. NOTHING. Turning it
from left to right made no difference. Damnit.
I cut the fuel at this point, too many issues. BTW, the prime
function, cold start switch and A/B inputs all seemed to work and
would make a difference when operated. But not the mixture
knob.
After letting the engine cool a
while (the temps did rise pretty fast per my hand held laser
temp gage and I was pushing 220 after several minutes on a hot/humid
Houston summer day) I restarted to see if the engine monitor was
working. It was. However, the mixture know was
not. I re-checked the other inputs and they all worked.
The engine was running pretty rough......gee, the mixture actually
makes a difference <g>.
After shut down I disconnected the
batteries (I have installed master battery cut-offs) and then
the control module and ECU and checked the wires between the
two. This was just a quick continuity check and the wire was
good. I then took a meter and in my non electrician mode attempted
to check the actual knob. I place leads on the two prongs
that seem to be soldered to the control board and turned the knob.
The numbers changed up and down as expected when I turned the know....so
it seems that the knob itself is not the culprit, and the wire seems
ok. What else should I check and/or try? I kinda need the
mixture control to work.
Is there a way to test to to test to
determine if this knob is actually doing anything when the engine is not
running??????
Of course my timing sucks as Tracy is about
to hit Colorado.. So any solutions y'all may be able to provide
should prove especially useful.
I anxiously await y'alls response.
Maybe I should just go ride my loud
motorcycle to think thinks through. <g>
Thanks again.
All the best,
Chris Barber
Houston
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