- Joined
- May 1, 2017
- Messages
- 146
- Reaction score
- 45
Hi all - I’d be very grateful for your collective expertise. I’ve been frustrated by real difficulty with engine-starting in my ‘78 Arrow, even recently having to employ an external power plug because my battery was running low after multiple cranking attempts at a “hot” start. Although Arrows (IO360-C1C6) are notorious for hot start difficulty, my problem is extreme, and only surfaced with this serious issue since my last annual (May 2018), when I subsequently found that my Arrow’s gascolator had been improperly re-installed by the shop at the annual inspection, causing fuel leakage. The engine start problem appeared about that time, so I had the gascolator fixed (a new cap - the old one was cracked) by a different shop and had that shop simultaneously install a new hi-torque Sky-Tec starter to replace the original one. I thought those “fixes” would solve the hard-start problem, but they had little to no effect. I then asked a local A&P on my field to clean and switch around my plugs, and to clean the injectors. Also to little or no effect. So now, I’m stumped. I’ve owned this aircraft for over 19 years and never experienced this problem. The local on-field A&P (who cleaned the plugs and injectors) is also an experienced pilot, took the Arrow for test flights (both cold & hot start trials) and had exactly the same experience as me.
Where do I go from here without embarking on a fishing expedition?
Where do I go from here without embarking on a fishing expedition?
