Subject: Trouble shooting Renesis
From: paul lamar
Date: 8/5/2016, 10:12 PM
To: A10-Me-Earthlink


Hi Guys We got some further fault finding done today towards
isolating the cause of the massive missing problem with our Renesis
4 port. The troubling symptom / major problem is as we approach
23-24” MAP at various prop pitch and rpm’s (both A and B
computers), with very little warning begins to miss and then pretty
much go immediately into massive missing and popping in the
exhaust. Just before the bad stuff begins the EGT’s read 1540 and
1440. I have only done mode #3 programming and adjust the mixture
with the manual mixture control while watching the narrowband. It
stages at 19”Hg as per Tracy’s recommendation for Red and Blue
Injectors.

So order of events today:

I wondered previously what the seals where like so having received
a new $22 pressure transducer I took out trailing plugs and grabbed
some pressure data while cranking. See plots in WORD file attached
- Rotor #2 has one pulse down by max of 6 psi compared to the
highest pulse. Does this mean that side seal is leaking?

We then went after 3 key possible problems: 1st being Engine
monitors holding Injector #1 open so:- A. Disconnected Dynon engine
monitor to isolate it as a cause of disturbing Injector #1. No
change. B. Disconnected EM3 to isolate the same as above. No
Change.

2nd being Pulses in the intake manifold messing with EC2 fueling.
We inserted a 0.6mm restriction in MAP sense line. (This line then
’t’s’ of too A and B Computer MAP’s. No Change.

3rd Renesis CAS generating to higher input voltage. Tracy
recommends 1K across CAS’s. I think this mod may have been done.
See photo of EC2 PCB below pin 4 & 23 both tied back to pin 22 via
something inside the heat shrink.

So I’m stumped for the moment. At least we know more of what the
problem isn’t, Which is helpful.

Also the EM3 does at times fail to read RPM etc and display reads
NOP.

Appreciated any input.

Cheers

Steve Izett

Good work on the pressure recorder Steve. I guess you used a
Micromite.

What brand of pressure sensor did you use?

Could be a side seal leaking as only one chamber seems to be
affected.

Try changing your spark plug gaps to .020".

Check the gap on the inductive sensor on the e-shaft. The closer
the better. Make sure the bracket is stiff. You don't want it
resonating at some RPM.

Are you still using the Chevy coils?


What most people do in road racing is put a container in the MAF
plumbing to average out the MAF. One has no idea exactly when this
is sampled by Tracy's computer. It tend to vary cyclically with
RPM. Putting it another way it damps the manifold pressure
variations.

Here   is a picture of it on  a road race car.


Paul Lamar


Hi Paul

The pressure sender was a cheapy of eBay but claimed a 1mSec rise
time, and I know the sample rate was something greater than that.
Appears to read OK.

We have two seperate CAS sensors and switching from A to B has the
tiniest miss at high rpm but otherwise no difference. The renesis has
a non adjustable gap. (you could enlarge it with awash I suppose)

The coils are the heavy duty Chev variety but probably a cheap
version. Tracy recommends and has been running these coils I believe
with good results. Wonder how I might check the coil output?

Plugs are the flat (sorry don’t know the technical name) type and
where clean. I’ll swap them out fir some others.

Cheers Steve



Tracy was not running those coils at high RPM. Never the less they where overheating
to the point of failures. Tracy went to the trouble enclosing them in a box
with a blast tube. What is your gear box ratio.  I think Tracy never ran higher
than 2.85:1.

Again those coils are for a piston engine that fires them half as often.
If used for an engine that fires once per rev the maximum RPM for those
coils is 4000. Tracy was not infallible. Just stubborn at times :-)

Here are some old messages on the subject.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think I noticed one of the D581 type have weak spark shortly before complete failure.  I am still using three of the D581's just to proove to myself that it was a heat problem that caused several failures before I put a cooling plenum around them.

I have heard no reports of the D580 type failing (even without a cooling plenum) but I still recommend an enclosure with a supply of cool air to them.  We are pushing them pretty hard in aircraft use.

Tracy


Hi Al,

I have not seen degraded spark from a LS1 coil, since I have only used the LS1 coils on my 20B.  I can say that I have seen degraded performance (output voltage/current) on a single coil ignition system on a GM engine.  I would imaging that in addition to failure of solid state components the primary or secondary winding could have a defect (intermittent open, short or high resistance) that would affect the output voltage.

Joe

On 10/21/07, Al Gietzen wrote:

   Has anyone noticed a "degradation" of spark strength as a failure mode of the LS1 coils?  I've assumed that a coil failure would most likely occur due to failure of a solid state component in the coils circuitry; resulting in no spark.



   Al

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Please get a late set of RX8 coils or switch to a capacitor system.

The best plugs are iridium. The RX8 uses iridium. Try a smaller gap.

Paul Lamar

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