How to Start a Gas Powered Remote Controlled Car

Starting a gas powered remote controlled car should be comparatively straightforward if you have installed the motor properly. Although a number of older cars required pull cords and crankshafts to operate effectively, today some of the latest versions require little more than the touch of a button.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Open space for driving
• Radio controlled car, nitro powered or gasoline powered
• Nitro fuel or gasoline
• Well-ventilated area

Start a Nitro Remote Controlled Car

1. Prime the engine by turning it over by hand and obstructing the exhaust opening. You can also add some fuel manually to the crankcase using a squirt bottle.
2. Pull the pull cord vigorously, the same way you would do it if starting a lawnmower. Two-stroke engines, such as the kind of R/C cars often have, require more mechanical energy than their four-stroke counterparts, so give it everything you've got.
3. Check to ensure that the glow plug has heated up rapidly. This is normally taken care of by an additional dedicated battery, so you may want to make sure the contacts are working properly if the crankcase fails to ignite.
4. Check the exhaust ports on either side of the chamber to make sure the piston is cutting off the air supply until the very last second. You want air to be drawn into the crankcase when the fuel reaches the very top point for maximum power outlay.

Start a Gas Remote Controlled Car

5. Fuel up the car using conventional gasoline. Repeated use with this fuel is what gives such cars their growing popularity--conventional gas costs far less than nitro mixtures.
6. Wait for the engine to turn over on its own. Most gas-powered R/C cars (also called fuelies) use normal starter motors and larger parts than their nitro counterparts. That means they operate according to similar principles as a lawnmower or small automobile.
7. Check the glow plug and exhaust if the car fails to start. It's not unusual for fuelies to suffocate because they have picked up debris somewhere in their travels. A little basic cleaning should have everything running smoothly in a matter of minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider switching to an automatic start if you have continuing issues with a pull-start mechanism.
• Never reach inside the engine while it's running.
• Never add gas to an engine that is on.
• Do not handle any engine parts for several minutes after operation--interior temperatures can easily exceed 300 degrees F.