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I was out at the hangar again this afternoon.
The engine is starting "all but" really easy. What I mean is it is
starting within a couple of blades but I still have some issues. I think
one (or perhaps both) of my batteries is not being charged by its respective
alternator (Aeroelectric Z-14 drawing). I am getting the volt reading on
the EM2 flashing most of the time. I do not yet know why it sometimes does
and sometimes does not. One more thing to track down. I should be
able to start the troubleshooting in the next couple of days. I gotta
educate myself on proper diagnostic skills in this area. Again, until
I actually come across the issue it is only philosophical and I have
to get up to speed.
I know I have some other electrical issues.
The other day when I shut the primaries down at a higher RPM the engine stayed
running on the secondary's (or so I suppose), However, when I did so today the
engine started to die. I am also have my master and aux battery c/b still
popping (but I have not had time to really look at this yet). The engine
runs but I gotta find the reason.
Based on Ed's comment the other day I went ahead
and cut into my new coil harness and provided independent power for the leading
coils and a separate line for the trailing coils. I had wanted to do this
before, but had not done so until Ed's words screamed in my head. Now
either set of coils keep the engine alive. I get a very slight rpm drop
when on either set of coils and this is what I think should have been
expected. Thanks Ed.
I am getting some missing but I think this is
getting better as I get the mixtures tuned more properly. I have been able
to get idle as low as about 1200 rpm, even though it is pretty rough. This
engine has a medium street port and it seems I remember reading that at this
port level low end idle may suffer. Maybe it is only a more extreme port
but at 1200 it is moderately rough. I have to be careful as to basing too
much on engine sound since as I move around the plane the sound changes. I
think part of this is a popping I get at certain angles due to exhaust against
the prop. I think this because as I move my head from one position to
another the tone changes. So, if I just hold my head (and tongue) just
right, it sounds much better. I will need to learn to rely on the ME, I
suppose
The engine seems to like to idle better as I bring
the rpm up to 1400, 1500, 1550 and 1600 rpm it. I read in the achieves in the
last few days, IIRC, that Tracy and Ed Idle at 1600. At 1600 rpm the plane
will stay put without braking or chocks. If I bring it up to 2000 rpm it
really starts to move. Oh, did I mention I have taxied around a bit?
<yea>.
I do not seem to be getting Auto tune to function
correctly. I enter the auto tune mode and I get a lot of tall bars jumping
around, but I do not really notice any difference in the way the engine is
running. I am guessin'/hopin' I need to do more manual tuning first. I am
not confidant in my knowledge on how to read the tracking mode or auto tune mode
yet. It does make better sense as I "play" with it more (with the manuals
in one hand and knobs/throttle in the other <g>). I am not sure of
how to actually tell it is in the actual auto tune mode as the graphs seem to
change, but maybe they would have anyway. The difference between genius
and ignorance?????? Genius has its limits <g>. I am becoming more
comfortable with the EM and ECU even though I wish Tracy would include the
coolant and oil temperature in tracking/auto tune mode so I would know when I am
hitting my limits. I had a brief issue when my temps shot up to about 240
for several seconds when I went WOT and then came out of auto tune
mode.
Finally for tonight anyway, when I did go to WOT, I
got to about 5500 rpm and my RPM reading on the EM2 went blank. I
throttled back a bit and the rpm readings went all over the place. I
throttled back a bit more and the readings returned to normal. This happened
with my old engine as well but the engine went belly up before I found the
problem. I guess I will have to check wires again, but I have literally
checked the wires (and replaced a few) at least 20 times. I cannot stay at
these rpm's very long at all as it is very hot and humid in Houston in
July. It is usually somewhere between 90 and 97 in the afternoon when I am
out at the hangar. SO I AM ASSUMING THAT my temps are not all that bad
considering the high heat on a stationary bird.......PLEASE correct me where I
am wrong. What should I be seeing. I wish there was a truly one stop
source for all this basic stuff, temp, expected rpm under certain
conditions. I seem to have seen it all at one time, but still find myself
hunting for it online and/or in Tracy's material.
I still feel like progress is being made and most
of this is pains of success. Yeah, that's it ;-)
Thanks again.
All the best,
Chris
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