I'm writing this to hopefully save someone else some head scratching and maybe an event. As this seems to be one of those quirky radical things. We were at an event at Road America this weekend and if it wasn't for Team Stradale would not have been able to run.
It was cold Saturday morning (34 degrees) and the car would crank just fine. It turned over fairly quickly but would not fire at all. After checking the usual suspects I called Team Stradale. After a short discussion I found out that unless you have at least 12 volts while cranking the car will not fire. Even though it turned over fine I had only 11 or so. After connecting a jump pack the car fired immediately.
All of my race cars up to now didn't really much care. I once ran an entire race in spec miata on only the battery. Obviously not the case here. Not a big deal just make sure to keep your battery(s) fresh. I'm ordering a new set for my car from Stradale now.
That is great information.
Another starting trick I learned is if you stall the engine and the engine won’t fire right up, turn off the master power and then turn it back on. This puts the ECU back into “initial start” mode which provides more fuel (and may adjust timing) which helps the engine fire right up.
Stall the engine? Ummm................. I've never done that before. 😜
another thing to keep as a spare is the regulator ..friend had same battery problem at last race meet .. new battery solved issue .. then on last race car dnf voltage on dash said 9.5v changed regulator now 14v !! now all running fine .. ps rear battery nearest engine supplies 12v for fuel pump/ecu /etc and battery behind mesh on air intake on side pod gives the extra 12v for 24v starter ...
Thanks for the extra info. Will be looking at a regulator as soon as my credit card cools off. I've purchased a lot of stuff for my car lately.
Is it really a 24v starter or is just dropping this extra battery in parallel to give us some extra CCA to help the starter out? I'll have to take a look at the wiring diagram for this. I guess the second battery could be in series to make the 24 but that would mean some interesting wiring to charge both batteries and keep ground references straight.
Hi guys.
i have a road legal sr3, and i have starting issues, no matter if i have fully charged battery or jumpcables, as long as the engine is hot, its a reeeeeal pain in the ass to start.
when it cools down, starts at first try no matter what;)
about charging. If charging stops, problem may be your 30amp fuse. The short cable from fuse to battery at the charge system is underdimensioned, causing cables to heat up and melt connectors.
i changed that little cable and never had problems since
Are you in Norway by any chance? I heard a street legal SR3 went there recently.
I have no specific knowledge of this engine but generally would start by checking that it is sparking when hot. It may also be useful to verify that any crank position and cam position sensors are reading correctly when hot, also check that the ECU knows the engine is hot.
Hopefully someone with more in-depth knowledge and experience will be able to give you advice.
Hi Robert,
I am guessing it is a 1500cc engine and on 12V starting?
If so that will be your problem and why Radical went 24V starting.
I would recommend upgrading, you can do it fairly easily and cost effectively if you are happy to charge the starter battery at home every now and then.
Hi, nope, its a 1300, and i have the 24v setup with a new starter.
feels more like fuel is not comming or bad spark.. but starts easy when its cold
Hmm ok, have you tried swapping batteries? If the main battery is struggling it may sounds ok due to 24v but not providing enough power for the ECU etc.
Also any strange noises and does the engine spin over at the same speed when hot?
No strange noise, no struggle no nothing.. i can crank it for 2-3minutes .. nothing.. then push button again and it starts at 1st turn.
Feels really like fuel isnt comming, but i do have 2.7bar at the rail when priming;k)
9a4 ecu, with map from mbe motorsports.
i wonder if the map is bad for hotstart sequence?
When you are having the problem on hot starting are you turning the master switch off and then back on before starting? When you switch the master switch off and then back on it puts the car into “start mode” and it starts more easily.
@charleyhradicalsportscarregistry-com
Its the only thing i do. I allways turn off masterswitch, not to pull any power from my aux connections.
I have upgraded single coils, and looks to me like low spark, OR the spark doesnt come all the time.
but no back/missfire or anything
when it starts it starts like there is no problem at all.. but i could crank the fuck out of it for a longer period of time without anything happening. Its not voltage related in any case. I have tested out everything
plugs are also dry after cranking and resetting ignition
Yes i have. I just installed OBD and tested connection couple weeks ago. How do i download and send you the file? Via email or what?
