Kitfox SS won't start

[Paul Z]

Anyone looking for a slightly used Kitfox?

[gregsgt]

Any inline fuses or circuit breakers between the battery and engine?

I had a boat that blew an inline fuse on the outboard after a thunderstorm. All it did was crank. I just about went crazy trying to fix it for days only to have it be a stupid fuse.

[Paul Z]

I've been working on the Rotax 912 ULS, I have replaced the battery, it does spin a lot faster when attempting to start. I have tried swapping the electronics modules with some I borrowed from Southern Mississippi Rotax yesterday, but neither did the trick, it still doesn't start. In working on it, I notice the small angle bracket that holds the dual coil mounts assembly number 29 part numer 851-266 on the front pilots side had broken again. Replacing that will be my 4th bracket. I even order 2 brackets the last time I worked on it because so I would have a spare. A lot of good that did me, it's in my tool box in Dallas. The dual coil mount assemblies look to be held in place by a total of the three rubber isolation mounts. It does bounce around a lot when the bracket shears. I'm guessing it may be a broken ground wire or a wire associated to the coils due to all of the vibration because the mount having broken. I'll call in to tech support to see where to look for the grounds or wires.

[N981MS]

If the problem is in the switch on a Continental or Lycoming you can remove the P lead at the magneto and it should run. Their mags are always hot unless you ground them which is what the switch does to shut them off.

If you remove the P lead the engine should be regarded as ready to run with a bump of the prop. Thus it is not safe to leave it in this configuration on the ground.

[Av8r3400]

Since the "P" leads from the CDIs are the only means of shutting down the engine on a Rotax, this would be highly unadvisable.

You could disconnect them, or one, from the switch and try rotating the engine (with plugs removed) and checking for spark. This would give you a sense of if the switch is the issue.

Just don't crank the engine with the plugs out too much or you will fill the crankcase with oil. The crankcase pressure is what returns the engine oil o the oil tank.

[Dave S]

Paul,

The Module grounds should be on the right side - two separate black wires - one from each module and they should go to two separate mounting screws on the right intake manifold.

Dave S

[Slyfox]

sorry to hear about your troubles. being out of town with an engine that doesn't start is frustrating. The older model 4 use to break this bracket all the time and then the engine wouldn't start. the fix was to take on the bracket where the grounds are hooked up and put a nice ground wire to the negative of the battery. then take that whole assembly and mount it to the motor mount instead of the engine, then the bracket holding the electronic gismos had a nice solid mount that didn't break. I would at this point try to affix a connection with wire or some sort across the break and see if the engine will start, if so, get some wire and connect the grounding wires direct to the battery and get it home. good luck.

[Dusty]

I was talking to our rotax guru who is just back from a rotax course,dodgy spark plug caps can cause a non start,something peculiar to wast spark systyms
Maybe

[Paul Z]

Well we got her running again.

I replaced the battery per John's Recommendation, it was 3 years old. The engine turned a heck of a lot faster but still no spark.

I called Ronny Smith and told him after having pulled and replaced the modules, and told him no luck. I put back on my original modules. It didn't turn out to be the p-leads, the ignition switch, a bad ground, bad coils, bad electronics modules. Six or so months ago, I had a problem with my pilots side Carburator barfing fuel so I sent it out to be rebuilt by a Rotax Repair shop. I can remember a conversation at Oshkosh 2014 with John about not having a particular shop rebuilding carbs because of problems he had with the rebuilds. I'm sure you all remember the float problem. According to the year of manufacture & serial numbers for the engine build and the carburetors it did not apply to my engine. At the time, I had checked the weight of all of my floats, and they were good, so I basically determined it did not apply to my carb's floats. John McBean told me it might be the floats. However, I knew my floats were good, and I just had my recent Carb Barfing problem fixed, having sent my carb in to be rebuilt.

I pulled the lower cowling, I knew couldn't be the problem. I knew I didn't have the tools (scale) need to do the job or the parts (floats). I decided I needed some help so I checked the Rotax Site for Rotax and found 4 people. The first was Ronie Smith owner of Southern Mississippi Rotax, I asked if he could come up but he was busy. Ronny put me on to Coley because Ronny was in the shop alone.

Coley Richardson, the 2nd on the list I found, from near Jackson, a Great Rotax Mechanic to work with. Coley drove over to help. Coley and I pulled the float bowls from the co pilots side carb removed the floats. We weighed the Co-Pilot on a digital scale he had, and two thumbs they were within speck. We then pulled the floats from the Pilot side that was recently rebuilt, one float was within spec, the other was kind of "fat". Coley pulled out a box of floats from previous repairs and we started weighing floats. We found a 2nd slightly used float that met spec. And we put it in. We put her all back together and then tried starting. She's Alive! She was running, extremely rough but She's Alive. We pulled it back the hanger, and decided to check the needle valves. We pulled the floats the weight was good, and next we pulled the needle valve, the Flat tab on the float bracket was bent down. We cleaned the needle valve, cleaned the seat, bent the tab strait, and put it all back together. Started her and she Purred like a Cute Little Kitten. Coley and I basically concurred it was a poor carb rebuild. We stabilized the coils with some zip ties. I'll get a new bracket in Sebring, and have them put it on. I also plan on ordering some new floats all around. We also replaced spark plugs, I had a spare set under the seat. Without the availability of spare parts, a volt ohm meter, and a small drug dealers scale I was stranded.

If you are ever stranded in Meridian, or Jackson MS, and break down do not hesitate to contact Coley Richardson. He might be the Sanford & Son of Rotax Mechanics but he did a great job. He drove from Jackson, and got me running. He has quite a few Rotax spare parts, although you might get some used parts. He treated me very well on price, for a full day's work, trouble shooting and working. It cost me $400 for a full day's work, and his 3 to 4 hour round trip drive.

I'm off to Sebring.

[ken nougaret]

Excellent news Paul. I've been feeling your pain and kept checking into the forum to see if you had found the problem. Maybe I'll see you at Sebring. I won't be able to make it till that Saturday. Ken