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Chris,
I went through many of the same issues a few
months back when I was first starting my engine. Lots of back and forth with
Tracy got most of it sorted out. My most significant issues were:
1) An ECU that badly needed to be updated by
Tracy.
2) A manual that badly needed to be updated. The
tuning procedure described in the manual I started with was exactly opposite of
what's currently recommended.
3) My injectors were flowing considerably more than
stock. I was way rich, particularly at low rpms (off the scale on my
mixture monitor) so the mixture knob didnt seem to make a difference. My
injectors were tweaked by RC Engineering before being installed.
4) I needed to move my secondary staging point up a
little (this still needs some tweaking - every once in a while I get a pretty
good backfire if I transition through this region too slowly).
5) My vacuum gauge wasnt good enough. Once I got a
better gauge I found lots of pulsing in the MAP. I added a little capicity ( a
little reservoir) to dampen this out. It helped a lot.
6) Maybe the biggest issue was not really having a
frame of reference once most of the major stuff was addressed. I thought the
engine sounded pretty rough at lower RPMs (under 2000). Dave Leonard came down
and I checked his out from in the cockpit - sounded just like mine. I then had
him get in mine and run it up - sounded great from outside! I think the problem
was a combination of a sheetmetal airplane with no interior upholstery, the
gearbox rattling a little (mine RD-1 is a little looser than typical), and
simply not knowing what the thing should sound and act like. Trying to compare
it to my Lyc powered RV-6 just doesnt work.
I still want to get one of Ed's EFISM gauges (I
dont have Tracy's EM2 - I bought a monitor way back before Tracy had the EM2
available). I think the EFISM (or the EM2) will be a big help in filling in gaps
in the MAP table.
Anyway, if your experience is anything like mine it
will take a while to sort out, but stick with it and it will come
together.
Mike Wills
RV-4 N144MW
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 7:58
PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: First Start -
AGAIN
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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