Hard start unless heater used
in General Tech Discussion
7 years ago
Help, please. I'm in the process of buying a ELSA with a Rotax 100HP 912ULS. The current owner ALWAYS plugs in his Tanin engine heater for 3-4 hours prior to starting the engine regardless of the outside temperature. The sales rep and I thought he was "babying" the engine and didn't think much of it. The owner moved back east and when we went to take a test ride in the plane we did NOT pre-heat the engine prior to trying to start it.
We could not get the engine to start regardless of what we tried. The outside temperature was about 90F. Choke on throttle closed, choke off throttle closed, choke on throttle cracked, etc. Aux pump on, aux pump off, both mags on, one mag on, the other mag on. We could smell fuel so we thought we had flooded it. We finally started to wear the battery down and stopped.
We pushed it back into the hangar, plugged in the heater and charged the battery. One hour later it started after cranking for about 5 seconds. The resulting test flight was uneventful and engine ran fine. The following day I returned with a CFI who owns a 914 and has flown numerous 912's. Once again we tried starting with the temperature about 90F. The CFI used his standard warm weather starting procedure, choke off, little or no throttle. No start, not even a pop. He then tried various combinations and just like the previous day we were unsuccessful. We finally gave up.
The current owner swears we ALWAYS need to use the pre-heat. I say there's something wrong if the engine refuses to start without pre-heat. I could see pre-heat being needed below 40F, but not at 90F. Engine started fine after our short test ride.
My next step is to find a Rotax specialist in my area to give it a pre-buy inspection. The problem is everyone I called is too busy for at least the next 2 weeks. In the mean time, can anyone give me an idea as to what's going on? The current owner stands by the pre-heat procedure because according to him it's needed to help vaporize the fuel. My thinking was no, in warm weather it should not be needed and his overall start procedure was wrong.
Any input will be appreciated. I'll start searching for a tech first thing tomorrow but I'd like some feedback on what others think is going on.
Regards, John
We could not get the engine to start regardless of what we tried. The outside temperature was about 90F. Choke on throttle closed, choke off throttle closed, choke on throttle cracked, etc. Aux pump on, aux pump off, both mags on, one mag on, the other mag on. We could smell fuel so we thought we had flooded it. We finally started to wear the battery down and stopped.
We pushed it back into the hangar, plugged in the heater and charged the battery. One hour later it started after cranking for about 5 seconds. The resulting test flight was uneventful and engine ran fine. The following day I returned with a CFI who owns a 914 and has flown numerous 912's. Once again we tried starting with the temperature about 90F. The CFI used his standard warm weather starting procedure, choke off, little or no throttle. No start, not even a pop. He then tried various combinations and just like the previous day we were unsuccessful. We finally gave up.
The current owner swears we ALWAYS need to use the pre-heat. I say there's something wrong if the engine refuses to start without pre-heat. I could see pre-heat being needed below 40F, but not at 90F. Engine started fine after our short test ride.
My next step is to find a Rotax specialist in my area to give it a pre-buy inspection. The problem is everyone I called is too busy for at least the next 2 weeks. In the mean time, can anyone give me an idea as to what's going on? The current owner stands by the pre-heat procedure because according to him it's needed to help vaporize the fuel. My thinking was no, in warm weather it should not be needed and his overall start procedure was wrong.
Any input will be appreciated. I'll start searching for a tech first thing tomorrow but I'd like some feedback on what others think is going on.
Regards, John
