If you have problems starting your Nitro Rustler, this is the article for you. I will reveal the most important things to check to get her running again.
“What is a Nitro Rustler Car?” It’s a popular Ready to Run (RTR) Radio Controlled car. Simply unpack your Nitro Rustler car, check if the batteries are charged, and start driving immediately. These rustler cars are durable and excellent for beginners who are not accustomed to assembly and maintenance.
If you are reading this its because you have issues starting your car. There are several potential basic reasons for this. Radio system of your Nitro rustler is not working properly, nitro engine’s sluggish, short radio range, your engine is spinning but won’t start, EZ start not turning the engine, the engine is flooded and sensitive throttle. You will need to figure out which one of these reasons caused your nitro rustler’s failure.
Are you eager to learn more about Nitro Rustler cars? Well, we are here to enlighten you about these cars so that you can become a pro and have fun not only when you drive rustler cars but also while assembling and maintaining them. Read on to find out what you can check.
Check the Exhaust
Let it be a Nitro Rustler car or a regular RC car, being on the safe side will always be beneficial for you. Since fuel is a necessary element to run your Nitro rustler, beginners usually ask whether they need to check the fuel frequently or is it ok if the fuel comes out of the exhaust?
Well there are certain things that you need to know. The fuel coming out of the exhaust is pretty normal if it is rich but it might be possible that you are running too richly. To maintain your Nitro Rustler, try leaning the high-speed needle a click or two.
The fuel coming out of the exhaust is completely normal and it is mostly oil that comes out. However, it is recommended that you do check if there is the fuel coming out of the exhaust. Checking the exhaust every now and then will ensure that your nitro engine is lubricated.
Prime the Carb
You may need to prime the carb if your fuel isn’t reaching the engine. This can prevent your car from starting up. In such case, prime the engine for one or two seconds briefly.
Until the fuel is visible in the carburettor fuel line, cover the exhaust outlet with your finger. Be careful while doing this and don’t prime the carb for too long because the engine will flood with fuel and stop turning.
Sometimes the carb gets blocked. Usually, this situation is encountered by beginners. In this case you need to take out the high and low speed needle and shoot a bit of WD-40 through it.
Here are some additional tips regarding the fine tuning of the carburettor. While you are finishing the fine tuning the carb, note the temperature, humidity, and the barometric pressure because you may need to adjust your carb needles to meet the changes in these 3 conditions as per the weather.
Check Head Bolts
Is your engine constantly heating and cooling? Constant heating and cooling of the engine can cause expansion and contraction to occur. This is a tell-tale sign that your head bolts are loose. To avoid this, always check your head bolts while cleaning your rustler car. If they are loose, tighten them up in a star pattern. Also, make sure to clean the head, shim, and the casing with denatured alcohol.
Check the Glow Plug
It is important to check the glow plug because it helps in activating the Nitro rustler’s engine, providing the heating element needed for the initial startup.
Many beginners have faced problems with their nitro engine’s glow plug. Since, we are dealing with the Nitro Rustler car here which is mostly made for the novices in the RC field, it does not mean that you should keep using your car carelessly. This is a mechanical item which cannot be handled without occasional maintenance.
As discussed previously, it is normal for the engine to spit out fuel as it keeps the engine parts lubricated.
Just make sure that you check the glow plug regularly before starting the rustler car because it can easily get oxidized, so you must clean it up every once in a while. In this way, your car will have better performance and endurance.
Check Compression
Did you know that compression ignites fuel? This is exactly why you should keep the compression in check and balance. Let’s look at the working cycle of a nitro engine to understand the importance of compression.
A blend of fuel and air is compressed when the piston travels upwards. The piston is then forced down because of the fuel/air mixture explosion, which produces hot gas under pressure. The consumed exhaust gases escape out of the combustion chamber through the exhaust port as the piston travels downwards, and the cycle starts over again by the fuel mixture being pushed into the induction port.
The power output is increased when the compression is increased. The nitro engine of a rustler still has a limit for the amount of compression it can tolerate. Excessive compression leads to rapid combustion of the fuel mixture.
Check Idle Speed
This primarily means that your Nitro Rustler’s throttle is sitting idle and its leaned at the lowest end. Your car won’t be able to run effectively as per your requirements.
Here is what you need to do to for a better performance. Leave the low speed needle and adjust the idle speed with idle stop screw.
The main needle is the first one that you adjust and under acceleration it should produce some blue smoke. Use the idle stop screw to regulate the speed if the engine is idling fast or slow.
Please make sure that you do not adjust at low speed. Keep the clutch from engaging and the engine will become idled; just slow enough. To make the transition from idle to full speed, just regulate the needle.
There are plenty of magazines about RC rustler cars that contain more detailed instructions. You can read them to have a better understanding about this topic.
Check Engine
As we discussed earlier about priming the carb, you need to be extra cautious during this task because the engine will be flooded if you prime the carb even a tad bit longer during the startup. The upward movement of the piston will be blocked due to the excessive fuel in the combustion chamber.
We understand that you are a beginner and this kind of a blunder is pretty common. Don’t fret! Just follow these steps if the engine gets a bit flooded:
- Firstly, the blue glow plug wire needs to be removed.
- When you remove the glow plug and the gasket, you will notice the glow plug wrench supplied with the model. Remove it as well.
- Plug in the EZ-start controller when you turn the model upside down. To clear the excessive fuel from the engine, push the EZ start button for a few minutes.
- Be careful while doing this because you might accidentally spray the fuel in your face if you look into the glow plug while the engine is spinning.
- Now assemble the model as it was before.
- Reinstall the gasket and the glow plug, reconnect the blue glow plug wire as well as the EZ start controller. Do not prime the engine after this. Push the EZ start button after pulling the throttle to ½ throttle.
Idle Time
Several issues can occur if you have left your car unused for months.
- Your engine can get stuck because of the excessive rust, if you didn’t clean it before putting it into storage.
- Your nitro rustler car won’t start immediately. You will need to lubricate the internal parts with the after run oil.
- The glow plug can get damaged in some cases when the car is left unused for months.
- The internal screw of the car can get loose. Do check them and tighten them up before starting the car.
- Changing of fuel and the fuel filter is important because the fuel evaporates after sometime and the fuel filter becomes clogged.
- The fuel lines get rotten after months.
In order to avoid these problems, you need to do a timely maintenance of your Nitro rustler to keep it in finest running condition. Here are some tips for you:
- Your top priority should be cleaning and re-oiling the air filter after each running session.
- Inspect your rustler for any kind damage or wear and tear like loose wiring, loose or missing screws, fuel leakage etc.
- Doing the full after run maintenance will clear the engine and improve its daily performance.
EZ Start Wand
For a nitro rustler car EZ start wand is necessary to start the car and if yours is broken, you will be unable to start your rustler (Click here to see if its good for bashing).
Many people have gone through this exact problem in the past and they get frustrated because of the problems this EZ start wand creates. We have some simple recommendations for you. Get a new glow starter to avoid the EZ start wand. You can also get old style wands which are zip tied to the batteries. You can also go with the pull starter or shaft starter. The performance of your car will improve by following either of these steps.
Carb Settings
Do you want a rich performance for your nitro rustler car? Doing a factory reset of carburettor’s setting is the best way to achieve this.
While you are fine tuning your car, put the carb settings back to its factory settings and then continue re-tuning your engine from there.
Now that the carb is back to its normal settings, make sure that you lean your high-speed needle. Now before starting the engine, warm it up completely. Following all these steps will give your engine a high performance.
Check the Red Fuel Line
The fuel flow will be normal if your red fuel line clip is released. One of the reasons of engine troubleshooting is the fuel flow being blocked.
Clearly check all the fuel lines before starting your engine. When you start your nitro (Click here to work out if the fuel is bad first) rustler car, the engine needs the free flow of fuel so it is important that you keep the red fuel line clip open or else you will keep facing the troubleshooting in the startup.
Check Wires
The ground yellow wire is located on the engine block/engine mount screws at the ground of the engine. This means that the wire is an essential part of the engine as it’s the ground wire for the EZ start.
If it is loose, it will hinder in the glow plug mechanisms and the engine startup (Are Petrol cars different? Click here). Thread the glow plug eye hole with a motor mount screw and tighten it down.
Related Questions:
What are The Advantages of a Pull Starter? Are you thinking of replacing your rustler’s starter? Try replacing it with a pull starter. Following are the advantages of having a pull starter:
- Pull starter is light weight as compared to the EZ starter.
- No need to charge the battery again and again in pull starter.
- With pull starter, you can start your engine much faster than the EZ starter.
- Pull starter has a cleaner look.
- It is not necessary to carry around the starter, so that makes it simpler.
- It contains less rotating mass.
What are The Advantages of a Shaft Starter? Replacing your EZ starter with a shaft starter can also benefit you. Here are some advantages of the shaft starter:
- Shaft starter is much easier to work out than the other two starters.
- With the shaft starter, if you set the carb right, your car starts up at once. There is no need to pull again.
- When you are racing your car in the field, you don’t need to worry about it stopping in between and starting it again. This means its more durable during the race.
- You don’t need to worry about the weight either.
How do you start your car correctly? Now that we know most of the details about a Nitro Rustler car, you are probably curious to know about how to start your rustler. So, lets learn about the steps to be followed for starting your racing engine and then finally starting your Nitro rustler car.
Starting your racing engine:
- Before starting the engine, read all the instructions and precautions from the manual that is given with your car’s model.
- The first time you start your engine, it must be at the room temperature.
- After checking this above point, turn on the radio system.
- On the transmitter, there is a throttle trigger. Make sure it is on the idle position.
- You need to connect the EZ start controller.
- The starter button needs to be pressed in short two second bursts. During this time the fuel moves rapidly through the fuel line.
- Your engine will finally start once the fuel reaches the carb.
- Please don’t rev your engine with no load.
Starting your Rustler car:
- The EZ start electric system is used for starting your nitro rustler.
- It consists of an on-board motorized starter and a hand-held control unit.
- Firstly, plug the EZ start controller into a 4-prong receptacle that is installed on the battery box of your nitro rustler.
- Press the red button on the controller.
- The motor will start spinning the engine and the glow plug will heat up with the power from the control units.
- If all your preparations and settings are correct, your car will start immediately.
- The motor led and the glow plug led on the hand-held controller will turn green when your rustler starts.
