Belt13 Posted November 23, 2019 Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 I have a 2005 CTsw and the last two times I had difficulty starting it. It has a odyssey pc310 battery and the previous owner (3 months ago) only flew it rarely the previous 5 years( less than 100 hours). the battery is almost 3 years old and my last start I couldn’t get it over so I’m thinking of changing the battery? Thoughts and thanks. I don’t want to bust the starter!! ill talk to my mechanic too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrassStripFlyBoy Posted November 23, 2019 Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 Have a year newer than you. When I purchased mine I asked about life expectancy on battery, and was told that non-glass panel aircraft have quite good longevity on battery life, so three years old is not an immediate answer to replace here, unless battery had some poor treatment over those years. Are you pre-heating the engine? If that is the case, and it's real warm, you might not need to choke it on start. I've noticed that recently, a preheated engine behaves like a hot start, don't choke it? If you're not preheating it, well then that is an obvious big aid in starting (Considering you're in Canada and it's November!). All this said, I have always errored on the safe side for battery replacement, that is one item I don't push to end of life, cheap cost considering the hassle of not having juice when you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted November 23, 2019 Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 These outfits may not start if your battery is at anything but strong and healthy. It may turn over and seem ok but they need a 100% battery. Im sure Tom or Roger will chime in. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted November 23, 2019 Report Share Posted November 23, 2019 If you have help measure the voltage when you turn the key to start. If the voltage takes a nosedive you need a new battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted November 25, 2019 Report Share Posted November 25, 2019 Measure voltage at the battery. Use only a fully charged battery. Expect to see a decent drop of volts. More than that might be an issue, I don't remember what I would see from my old diagnostics. I expect to see 8 or 9 volts at worst because the starter draws a LOT of power and internal battery resistance will drop some of the voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belt13 Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Well, my mechanic changed the battery and it's still not starting! we took a spark plug out and it seemed flooded and wet. He is not an rotax expert but he said it might be the control box or something in the electrical departments. Frustrating to find out if I replaced the battery when I didn't have to!! He's going to look at it in a couple of days after the weekend but can anyone guess why it's turning over but wont' fire? New battery and still the same? What kind of an electrical issue or control box issue might it be? thanks and frustrated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belt13 Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 could it be the ignition modules? $$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skunkworks85 Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the modules then try to start. If that doesn't work, Ice the Ignition modules, with a bag of ice for about and hour, if then try starting it. If you search for ignition modules on this site you will find many instances of people in your same shoes with failed ignition modules that will work by being heated or iced. Its a failure of the starting circuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belt13 Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, Skunkworks85 said: Use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the modules then try to start. If that doesn't work, Ice the Ignition modules, with a bag of ice for about and hour, if then try starting it. If you search for ignition modules on this site you will find many instances of people in your same shoes with failed ignition modules that will work by being heated or iced. Its a failure of the starting circuits. thanks for the message, so do you do this everytime you go flying?? thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belt13 Posted January 10, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 5 minutes ago, Skunkworks85 said: Use a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the modules then try to start. If that doesn't work, Ice the Ignition modules, with a bag of ice for about and hour, if then try starting it. If you search for ignition modules on this site you will find many instances of people in your same shoes with failed ignition modules that will work by being heated or iced. Its a failure of the starting circuits. are ignition modules expensive? oh my god!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skunkworks85 Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Just now, Belt13 said: are ignition modules expensive? oh my god!! If they are in fact bad they will need to be replaced, Or if Canada regulations allow, (US does not for SLSA) depending on how the plane is registered, You can send them off for repair at https://www.carmo.nl/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=671_2711_4618&language=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted January 10, 2020 Report Share Posted January 10, 2020 Carmo can do it for $500 or so. They do great work with fast turn around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdarza Posted June 24, 2020 Report Share Posted June 24, 2020 Not exactly hard starting but if you listen closely its not a 'smooth' start. Just wanted to get some opinions. Its as if its not in sync and then soon smoothens out. Once engine is warmed up and if i restart, its a smooth quick start. I recently had modules overhauled with Carmo. It seems a bit better now but since its not that smooth i just wanted to check incase im setting myself up for some damage with starts like this. Thanks ! video-1592982822.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrassStripFlyBoy Posted June 24, 2020 Report Share Posted June 24, 2020 Curious on a couple items, what is the ambient temperature (a cold morning or a hot afternoon), engine preheated, etc. Was the choke fully on, and how long did you leave the choke on once it started? I've noticed a slighter amount of roughness for the first few seconds, and turn choke of immediately then nudge the throttle next to move up to 2500 rpm as quick as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdarza Posted June 25, 2020 Report Share Posted June 25, 2020 Sorry - I should have included more info. Temp 90's F Humid. I did not use choke because when I use the choke, the rough engine start is worse. Before this engine rough started happening, I used to; choke on, crank, let out the choke and nudge the throttle up. That had good smooth engine starts.... But not lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted June 25, 2020 Report Share Posted June 25, 2020 16 hours ago, cdarza said: Sorry - I should have included more info. Temp 90's F Humid. I did not use choke because when I use the choke, the rough engine start is worse. Before this engine rough started happening, I used to; choke on, crank, let out the choke and nudge the throttle up. That had good smooth engine starts.... But not lately. Have you tried starting it with a little (more) throttle? It sounds like it's struggling to get enough fuel to run. I *always* use full choke on the first start of the day, even at 100°F+ temperatures. The airplane is hard to start otherwise. If your airplane starts worse with choke than without on the first start of the day, I'd say something is wrong. Have the carbs been overhauled in the last 500hrs or so? If not it's probably time. My engine does run a little rougher with choke, but starts right up when cold, on the first blade or two. Once the choke is out the rougher running disappears instantly. Also, do you have soft-start modules? Since I replaced my old modules with the soft start ones, the engine does run at lower RPM for the first five seconds, and it will sometimes struggle like yours unless I crack the throttle a bit before starting. I basically crack my throttle a quarter inch or so whether hot or cold when starting, it just starts better/smoother that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okent Posted June 25, 2020 Report Share Posted June 25, 2020 I do exactly like FlyingMonkey, adding choke first thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdarza Posted June 26, 2020 Report Share Posted June 26, 2020 Thanks for the reply Gents. Will try again your suggestions. Yeah im thinking it might need a carb overhaul. Will likely do that soon (once i get the parts) to rule that out. Posting again just for comparison. First start is long and rough... the other is after a 2-3 minute warm up and is a nice quick start. Ugh, sounds like the gearbox is taking a beating. I have the overhauled Carmo modules which i understand have soft start feature but i could be mistaken. video-1593139694.mp4 video-1593138661.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.