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Chris;
A couple of thoughts. You may want
to do the copy A to B procedure on the EC2 so you have the same settings in both controllers.
Generally you should never need the CSS on if the engine is even a little
bit warm. You may have done this already; but a possibility is a pin
connector issue between the PCM and EC2; so with both connectors off verify
continuity, particularly the pins related to the mixture control. Was the
mixture control working properly with the first engine? If so I’d
guess the wiring is fine.
Hang in there,
Al
-----Original Message-----
From: Rotary motors in aircraft
[mailto:flyrotary@lancaironline.net] On
Behalf Of Christopher Barber
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 6:59
PM
To: Rotary motors in aircraft
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.
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?
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>
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