H. Paul Shuch is a Light Sport Repairman with Maintenance ratings for airplanes, gliders, weight shift control, and powered parachutes, as well as an independent Rotax Maintenance Technician at the Heavy Maintenance level. He holds a PhD in Air Transportation Engineering from the University of California, and serves as Director of Maintenance for AvSport of Lock Haven.
FastEddieB wrote:One test to see if spark is being generated is to hook up an inductive timing light. When mine were questionable, I bought one for about $30 and it confirmed no voltage in the spark plug wires. I was lucky my 2007-vintage modules failed during ROTAX's 2-for-1 special.
As an aside, normally one can check for spark by removing a spark plug and cranking with the plug grounded and looking for a spark (I did it yesterday troubleshooting a riding mower). I've been told that doing that with a ROTAX is a bad idea - if the ground is not firm its detrimental to the coils to try to fire to an open circuit. Maybe someone else can confirm this precaution.
The 2-for-1 special was a great deal and I don't think we'll ever see that again. It saved me a small fortune also.
I have heard the same thing about removing a plug and checking for spark on a Rotax, DON'T DO IT !!!!!
FastEddieB wrote:I've been told that doing that with a ROTAX is a bad idea - if the ground is not firm its detrimental to the coils to try to fire to an open circuit. Maybe someone else can confirm this precaution.
Quite a while back, I heard that same information . . . cranking the engine that way is a bad thing.
I installed a pair of soft-start modules in June, along with the Y cable (and no flywheel change). Cost around $2k, and required only about an hour of labor. Super easy start now. No kickback, vibration, or stumbling. I wish I had done this years ago!
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
Prof H Paul Shuch
PhD CFII DPE LSRM-A/GL/WS/PPC iRMT
AvSport LLC, KLHV [email protected]
AvSport.org
facebook.com/SportFlying
SportPilotExaminer.US
I did mine years ago and was also amazed at the difference in start up and how much smoother it was. It's a simple swap but it's not cheap, as with anything Rotax.
ShawnM wrote:It's a simple swap but it's not cheap, as with anything Rotax.
If you think Rotax is expensive, you should try maintaining a Lycoming!
The opinions posted are those of one CFI, and do not necessarily represent the FAA or its lawyers.
Prof H Paul Shuch
PhD CFII DPE LSRM-A/GL/WS/PPC iRMT
AvSport LLC, KLHV [email protected]
AvSport.org
facebook.com/SportFlying
SportPilotExaminer.US
drseti wrote:I installed a pair of soft-start modules in June, along with the Y cable (and no flywheel change). Cost around $2k, and required only about an hour of labor. Super easy start now. No kickback, vibration, or stumbling. I wish I had done this years ago!
ditto. I did mine recently. No flywheel conversion. Starts/runs great!
