glow plug problem

[KrAzY-JATO #1]

when i go full speed it will burp and almost die and the glow plug coil inside the plug will weld its self to the sides causing me to replace it

running to lean or rich on the HPN?

[Dave851]

By burp do you mean cutting out or like it is almost flooding itself out??

cutting out- to lean, richen SOON!!!

flooding- lean in small ajustments untill you notice no more performace incress and richen a little bit and it will be fine

P.S. it is hsn not hpn

[jatopursell]

HI KrAzY,im new to the tuning thing but im almost sure yur way lean..

[Dave851]

If it if to rich then it may built up exxess fuel that slows rpm's untill it is flushed out and ANY tuneing problem can blow a glow plug

[jatorunner92]

we need more info to help u

[Dave851]

vid. pic off glow plug would be nice

[Rich1101]

when you take off the plug is there alot of gas on it?? does it look like there is no gas on it at all and kinda burnt? or does it look like its really cruddy like nasty

[KrAzY-JATO #1]

i have a little track in my yard but i never go full throttle and its fine i can go all day
it spits a little but not really rich I HAVE GOOD BLUE SMOKE!

then i go down the street at full throttle and it "CUTS OUT" and almost dies
the glow plugs are blackish

20% traxxas fuel brand new gas

I HAVE THE HEAVY DUTY TRAXXAS GLOW PLUGS
SO I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS IS HAPPENING

[cholyoake]

I would think that if the engine just cuts out at high speed, then it is probably too lean. try putting it back to factory settings and re tuning.

[KrAzY-JATO #1]

well today i re tuned and got it perfect so i thought

10 to 12 high speed pases later the glow plug burned out but the coil is still there

i'm not racing this one so its not lean
it was so perfect at high rpm and slow rpm "#3 plug"

would i blow plugs with it more rich
to were it pits unburnt gas?

i dont have my camera its in Lake Tahoe

the glow plugs look used lol
glow plug #'s
1. is clean inside with coil missing
2. is clean with coil missing
3. is a little wet looking and coil is all there but not working

[redck1979]

here is some info on "reading glow plugs"

Plug Reading

Here is a rule of thumb to go by when reading your glow plug.

1)Wire and surrounding bottom of plug wet, with like new shiny wire = rich side of optimum power 85%
2) Wire and surrounding bottom of plug starting to dry and wire starting to gray = Very close to optimum power 95%
3) Wire and surrounding bottom of plug dry, wire totally gray but not distorted optimum power 100%
4) Wire and surrounding bottom of plug dry, wire distorted = slightly lean DANGER!
5) Wire and surrounding bottom of plug dry, wire broken and distorted or burnt up = extremely lean possible engine damage! Note: You can only "Read" your plug in a nearly new state [Wire like new and shiny] A gray plug can still operate well. But after it has totally gone gray performance can start to fall off. To test just put in a new plug and if there is no difference in performance save the gray one or put it back in. If your engine does not feel or run right try a new plug before making major adjustments.

and be sure to check out this link (<-- click!) for more info on reading glow plugs...has some good illustrations you can compare your glow plugs with...

[Dave851]

Do you guys have a link for tuning, that will help him a lot.

[redck1979]

oh i got links for tuning... ...but the question is, how many people actually look over the links and longer posts is a whole other story... ...anyway here is more info on tuning to read over if you like...

first off ALWAYS tune in the smallest increment possible IE: 1/2th or 1/16th of a turn...and as a general "rule of thumb" when tuning and you lean out your HSN, you have to richen your LSN...this is because when you lean out the HSN it restricts the flow of fuel to the LSN, hence you have to richen the LSN to maintain a proper air/fuel mixture & reliable idle...and same applies when when you richen your HSN, but (opposite direction) you lean out the LSN to maintain the proper air/fuel mixture...so w/that said always remember reset carb to factory settings (<-- Click!) when your tune is way off and start re-tuning from there...in the following links there is "tuning guides" for nitro engines...they have really good info in them to aid you in the tuning process...and as for tuning yes the 2.5 & 2.5R & 3.3 are all tuned the same way...incase anyone was wondering...and always begin tuning after you have run through 1/2 of a tank of fuel to ensure the engine is at normal operating temp, and to prevent the dreaded 1/2 tank lean bogging...use a temp gauge for double checking your tune (if one is available, i find the Duratrax FlashPiont (<-- click!) works very well)...and DO NOT tune for a specific temp...ONLY use the temp gauge to make sure you stay UNDER 270 degrees...(Click! -->) Tuning Guide #1, Tuning Guide #2 & Tuning Guide #3 (<-- Click!)...and finally here is another usefull tip, you can "read" your glow plugs to verify if your tune is good or not...and as for "reading glow plugs"...you should do it after you have ran 4-5 tanks on a fresh plug...then take it out and "read" it...here is some more info on reading glow plugs (<-- click!) with illustrations...and one more tip for you, after every few days of running, go through the truck and check all the bolts, screws and make sure they are all tight, cuz once in awhile one may work itself loose from the vibration the engine creates, which can lead to an air leak/other problems...specially the cooling head ones...it would be a good idea to bookmark these links for future reference incase you need them, they have allot of great info in them...the last one even goes through finding air leaks and getting that last percentage of the "perfect" tune on the second page of it...good luck!!!...

[Rich1101]

there should only be a very little gas spitting out on your hand from the pip. put it this way if you can see the gas come out of the pip you are too Rich. if you cant see it come out but you can feel it or see it on your hand thats cool

[KrAzY-JATO #1]

i just started to do this part again. and when you pinch the gas line it will run for 6 sec speed up and die so i leaned it. still 6 sec. now got the needle all the way in and it goes to 5 sec now



1. Once the engine is warm, do several high-speed runs to confirm that the high-speed needle is set correctly.

2. Bring the vehicle in and pinch closed the fuel line going into the carburetor. The engine should run for two-to-three seconds, speed up, and then die.

3. If the engine runs longer than three seconds, lean the low-speed needle 1/16 turn, make several more high speed runs, and retest.

4. If the engine dies immediately without speeding up, richen the low-speed needle 1/8 turn, make several more high speed runs, and retest.

When the low-speed needle is set correctly, the engine’s throttle response should be very quick

[Rich1101]

if it still runs for 5 secs with the LSN all the way in then you are very rich with the HSN...you should not have to put the LSN all the way in..put everything back to factory settings...the low speed back to factory and the high speed back...but yeah your high speed is deffenitly too rich...is there a good amount of gas comeing from the pip. if you can see it gas come out its too rich. you should only feel alittle come out if you put your hand there. and a nice stream of blue smoke.. not so its filling the hole area with smoke

[Dave851]

by the way no gas comes out the pipe it is just unburnd oil

[redck1979]

+1 to Dave851 ^^^...how many turns out from closed are you on your HSN?...the factory settings of 4 turns out on HSN and flush w/the ring on the LSN are rich settings...just as an example, not that they will work for you, cuz all nitro engine tunes will very from engine to engine, but i'm in NY and my needle settings range from @ 3 to 3 1/2 turns out from closed on the HSN and slightly richer on the LSN maybe 1/16th to 1/8th turn out from flush on the LSN...did you by any chance read my earlier post where i quoted myself?...very useful info in it...

[jatorunner92]

it looks like ur pretty much covered in this thread..these good peeps will help u

[KrAzY-JATO #1]

i have my hsn 3 3/4 out

im in sac CA.

i just leaned the hsn and put the lsn back to stock i just have to wait till the sun comes up

[redck1979]

not sure what the temps are like there but you should be able to be leaner than that...the settings i posted that i use work for me in the 50-75 degree temp range w/20-40% humidity...and i know its warmer and dryer there (calif. weather wise)...warmer temps = leaner settings cus the air is less dense, colder temps = richer setting cus the air is denser...in the links i posted in one of my earlier posts goes over all that w/a chart, the first one has a small chart and the 3rd link has a large chart for all the different weather conditions...my advice to you is to thoroughly read all the links i posted earlier to familiarize yourself w/nitro engines a little more...

[Gideon]

I have my hsn out about 3 1/2 and i,m in modesto ca

[Gideon]

yeah summer months it runs really good at about 3 to 3 3/4 out. it even ran good at 3 out but i,m not a real good plug reader right now so i try to keep it right around 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 out and it screams along just fine

[KrAzY-JATO #1]

i just have the problem now it will idle fast for a min or so then slow down a little then i would gas it then it will speed up and then slow and die LOL
why are ofna,duratrax and team associated cars and trucks so easy to tune and my only traxxas is giving me a hard time

i might get the new bandit with brushless and beat my jato
plug in the battery and go lol