Troubleshooting

Setting of the tachometer needs to be completed once it has been installed on your craft.

To program the tachometer:

1. Press and hold a pencil or similar into the key located between terminals 2 & 3 on the rear face.
2. Turn the power on.
3. The display window will show either “select”, “pulse” or “adjust”. Release the button when “pulse” is showing.
4. After ~3 seconds, “P14.5” or similar will appear and the digits will flash consecutively starting with the last digit. Quickly enter by pressing down on the key button, then
   

   Engine	Rotec R2800	Rotec R3600
   Pulses per revolution	3.5	4.5

   For example, for the R2800 you would enter 5 then move to the next flashing point area and select 3. This will equal 3.5 pulses per revolution.

5. The display will then change over to the “operating time hours” indicating that you have completed the procedure for setting the unit for your engine.

Note: An alternate pulse location for pin 8 can be obtained by connecting to pin 7 on the 7 pin module plug.

The please see the Oil Schematic attached.

We are able to supply you dummy models of the R2800 and R3600. These models provide you with the exterior shape of the engine.
We are unable to provide customers with working models for obvious intellectual property reasons.

No the only reduction ratio available on both the R2800 and R3600 is 3:2. To alter this would require a complete redesign of the engine.

The emergency kit (sometimes called the survival kit) covers items which are hard to source outside of Rotec. These parts are common service items, where they can be replaced in field.

Emergency Kit includes:

• 1x Hall Sensor pick up
• 1x Electronic ignition module
• 1x Magneto Coil (applicable to R2800 only)
• 1x Fan Belt
• 2x Rotor Buttons
• 1x Module Wiring Harness & Plug
• 2x Distributor Cap Clips
• 1x Rocker Gasket Set
• 1x Anti-Drain Oil Filter
• 1x Scavenger Filter

All spare parts can be requested here!

A noisy Rotec gear box will NOT be gear back lash as measured at the prop tip. It will more likely be the bell gear spline shifting ever so slightly on the crank spline. This is the reason why we now have a press fit on this spline. To fix, simply remove the bell gear, clean all oil and debris using solvents and a tooth brush. Prep the area with 7471 primer. Once the primer is dry you can apply Loctite 638 over the splines and re-assemble the bell gear. Torque the nut down to 50 ft/lbs, or just a quick burst on the in pact gun but NOT too much or you can pull the end of the crank thread off! Rattle guns can apply over 250 ft/lbs!

There is no need to safety wire the bell nut just use the same Loctite on the thread and it will never come loose.

The Loctite method will buy you around 100-200hrs before it needs to be redone.

Click here to see how to work on a current bell gear spline that has a press fit. Obviously for an easy fit spline you would not have to use heat nor anti-seize.

Hall Electronic Test Procedure:

Please see Video:

Summary:

1. Remove center coil lead from LHS distributor cap. Place spark plug in the end of coil lead and rest spark plug body to ground (bare metal)
2. Power up the ignition system
3. Check for +12V DC at positive terminal of ignition coil
4. Disconnect three pin Dean’s plug from LHS distributor
5. Check +12V DC at center pin of Dean’s plug
6. Check for ground (earth) -12V DC from outside pin furthest away from groove pin
7. Using a small 12V globe, short both out side pins together (groove pin and earth pin) then release. Every time the short is released a spark should jump at the spark plug. If the spark jumps then module is good and the sensor bad. If no spark, then module or wiring is bad

WARNING: Disconnecting the battery from the engine while running can lead to electrical problems. Modern alternators are different to old aviation alternators. The current output of the alternator is controlled by the inbuilt regulator which changes the amount of field voltage that is supplied to the rotor. The more voltage supplied to the field, the more current output from the alternator. So when the battery is all of a suddenly removed from the circuit the alternator sends out a spike in voltage as it no longer can sense the line current of the electrical system. This voltage spike can damage the Hall sensor in the LHS distributor and potentially damage the electronic module also.

Starting Issues:

If the R2800 magneto can not quite produce enough spark at cranking speeds to fire the engine as it has no impulse coupling. Rather if the electronic ignition kicks things off as this produces a very hot spark at any speed, even hand propping. As soon as the engine has started on the electronic ignition the magneto kicks in as soon as the magneto rotor speeds up.

This is most likely why your engine will not start now. Because only the magneto is running and the spark is too weak at cranking speeds to ignite fuel in the engine. Please Refer to the Hall Electronic Test Procedure.

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Common spare parts which may need replacing in your installation.

Common mistakes found with radial R2800 & R3600 fan belt installations:

1. The belt tension being low. The close center distance between the two pulleys makes the belt tension feel a lot tighter than it really is.
2. Misaligned pulley grooves. Shim base mount as required.
3. Clients often forget to tighten the lower alternator mount as it is somewhat hidden. When this is no tightened, the loose alternator tends to sit on an angle causing belt misalignment.

New alternator belts can be reordered by contacting our sales team.

Oil and radials come hand in hand, after shut down oil must well in the lower cylinders. Oil will weep past the piston rings and if an exhaust valve is open it will end up on the floor. If an inlet valve is open it will come out the lower intake drains which must be open at all times when the engine is shut down.

It is advised that catch bottles are used to catch oil from both lowest exhaust pipes (on the radial collector ring or exhaust stubs). With the two intake drains on the bottom cylinders, ½” garden hose is slid over the entire intake drain boss. This oil is always reused, using a strainer and funnel to recycle it back into the oil tank.

Oil can also siphon from a high mounted oil tank. To stop this you can use an anti-drain back oil filter or oil shut off tap between the oil tank and inlet of the oil pump.

The electric oil scavenger pump helps as it pulls all unwanted oil out of the engine after shut down, which minimizes oil loss. Paul Chernikeeff’s own R2800 powered aircraft (+500hrs) does not have a electric scavenger pump or anti-drain oil tap. Instead he uses do however use the anti-drain oil filter. It is not uncommon to catch 1 liter of oil in each catch bottle. Which is why it is important to recycle your leaked oil after shut down.

Aside from the exhaust and intake drains oil should come from NO other area.

Note: Only technical information released by Rotec should be considered sound. Many third party opinions found on the internet are inaccurate.

Recommended Fuel:

The fuel of choice for the R2800 and R3600 is AVGAS.

All pre late 2005 engines (B spec) should restrict the fuel to AVGAS until such time as the ignition timing is reduced to 22 degrees.

All engines supplied beyond late 2005 (Classified C spec or above) will function on Premium unleaded fuels (95 RON or higher). These engines have the ignition timing set/adjusted to 22 degrees to avoid any uncontrolled detonation. Rotec recommend the use of Premium Unleaded (95 RON or higher) should be interrupted from time to time with the one or more tanks of AVGAS (one does not need to flush the unleaded fuel out of the system – the AVGAS can be added to any remaining unleaded fuel in the tank).

When using premium unleaded its wise to install a knock sensor to detect instances of uncontrolled detonation along with a close examination of the spark plugs looking for carbon build up; including a regular valve and valve seat examination looking for
burning.

Recommended fuel additive:

The recommended and tested fuel additive by Rotec Aerosport is Flash Lubes Valve Saver. It has been found to be beneficial in reducing the harshness of unleaded fuels. The product was found to be compatible with Premium Unleaded and AVGAS and in any mixture of these fuels. In using Valve Saver one does not need to flush out fuels when switching from one to the other.

Apart from less carbon on the heads and pistons, and less wear on the valves and seats; Valve Saver also cleaned the fuel delivery system.

Please check the internet for availability of Flash Lubes Valve Saver. http://www.flashlube.com/

Note: Care should be taken that any additive used is compatible with AVGAS, Premium unleaded or in any mixture of the two.

Warning:

Unmodified engines supplied prior to “B” specification (prior to late 2005), if you are unsure of your engine please contact factory for support. Please quote your engine number (base and after the top cylinder) and provide date of purchase if possible.

For all unmodified engines supplied prior to B specification please contact factory for support on how to retard the engine timing down to 22 degrees.

Continued use of Premium Unleaded on pre B spec engines, without any additives, will cause piston rings to crack and valve and valve seats to wear more rapidly than expected.

Absolutely, there is a saving on fuel and engine life.

Contrary to what most think this is where the lowest temperature is, so it is easier on hot engine components. On the Bing Carburetor no one has any idea where it really is so you could in fact be running rich of peak, which would raise cruise head temps, also burn more fuel, and potentially shorten engine life, through excessive and unnecessary heat.

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The TBI-34 has less airflow relative to the TBI-40 due to its smaller diameter inlet. Less airflow means less fuel drawn from the spray bar. This mean more holes are needed for even fuel mixture for the smaller TBI unit.

100% Yes! If you suspect you have vapor lock and or a failure of the fuel delivery system, by all means try introducing fuel by employing diaphragm override button. Tests have shown that at full power most engines will continue to run albeit extremely rich with the diaphragm button employed. Definitely something to understand, and keep in mind during flight.

NO! If you lean the engine to the point where it has actually stopped firing, to richen the mixture will probably do nothing, as the air speed over the injector spray bar has now become too slow to help; even if you go to the full rich position. The best way to bring the engine back to life is to promptly pull the throttle back to idle, (if the prop is still wind milling this will immediately restart the engine), then apply full rich, and increase power to desired levels. The engine will give plenty of warning that it is getting towards an excessively lean state. It will start to run very rough when too lean. Leaning any further will see the engine starve of fuel and stop firing.

The TBI can run on both Avgas and auto gas. However it should be noted that vapor lock is far more prevalent with auto fuels than with Avgas. In both cases and in particular use with auto fuels, great care must be taken to shield the fuel hoses in fireproof sleeve and keep all fuel items such as fuel pumps and the regulator as cool as possible. Air blasting these items is recommended. In the case of using auto fuel, a restricted return fuel line back to the main fuel tank is recommended. This will allow any air bubbles that are formed by vapor lock to bleed off back to the fuel tank.

No, any carburetor or throttle body that restricts manifold pressure to control power output, will by nature greatly reduce the local temperature at the throttle opening. A traditional exhaust heated carb heat system is mandatory.

Yes, the TBI relies on fine air filtration as unwanted debris and dirt are not only bad for your engine but also can impeded the movement of the slide throttle.

The TBI comes standard with a “last chance filter”, which is located inside the main fuel fitting. It consists of a very fine gauze mesh that is designed to stop debris from blocking the many fine jets. The airframe is still required to have its own filtration up stream. The TBI in built filter should be inspected and cleaned every 100 hours.

The TBI can be mounted at any attitude and at any angle. The system has no float so can fly at any attitude. Even upside down. Making the TBI the perfect aerobatic fuel systems.

The TBI can be mounted vertically, in fact any attitude make no difference.

When attaching scat hose you must be very careful not to have sharp 90 deg bends, as the airflow across the spray bar is then biased and the TBI performance cab be adversely affected.

Many make a simple spigot out of fiber glass, it’s a good idea to make the ID of the spigot flare so it matched the full radius of the TBI trumpet.

A plenum box attached to the 30mm stand off would be a good idea.  Plenums act as a static air reservoir for the TBI to draw from, rather than pulling from a length of scat hose which can often have dynamic air fluffing about its length.

The remote fuel regulator can suffer from the effects of G forces, because these forces will alter the weight of the fuel in the delivery lines. For this reason it is recommended to mount the TBI regulator no further than 6 inches from the fuel fitting on the TBI’s main body, closer is even better. On the Horizontal plain, the regulator must be mounted level with the same fuel fitting, or even slightly above +2” -0”. This is important. Do not position the TBI regulator lower than the throttle body.

Note: All installations need to be thoroughly ground tested on the ground before flying.  The ground tests will tell all.

No, the Rotec TBI is not a carburetor, it is in fact a mechanical fuel injection system. It self meters fuel supply by use of a cleverly calibrated negative pressure fuel regulator. This in effect continuously compensates for any variations in fuel pressure and or power requirement. Other slide type carburetors do not do this!

No, unlike many other fuel systems you do not have to keep adjusting the mixture in flight. You would typically fly at full rich for the entire flight and at all throttle settings and only lean the mixture in instances where fuel economy is required, (cross country for example). For any given throttle position the air fuel ratio will be maintained. This ratio is set by the allocation of the many tiny holes and where they are located in relationship to the power setting used.

To start the engine you simply depress the diaphragm override button, and this injects fuel into the engine. This can be operated from the cock pit with a simple cable and rocker arm mechanism. After starting the engine subsequent restarts should not require priming. If the aircraft is already fitted with an existing primer system this can be used too.

The TBI can run at a fuel pressure ranging from 0.05 – 6 psi. This includes gravity fed fuel systems. In most cases the typical fuel pumps used on most piston aircraft engine will fall within the correct specifications.

The primer is the middle button on the regulator.

The unique feature on the Rotec model, (not found on the Ellison), is a primer button on the pressure regulator. When it is pressed extra fuel releases into intake tubes to help with cold starting.

You may choose to have the primer connected to the cockpit via a push or pull slide cable, much the same as the mixture arm or throttle cable is.

Please see the installation guide for more information.

The TBI (Throttle Body Injection) is just a device that mixes petrol with air. The TBI does this better than a conventional carburetor as it has many fine jets as opposed to just one large jet. Even so the distribution of this mixture is the responsibility of the engines intake system and how balanced it is.

The attitude or position of the TBI spray bar relative to the engines plenum chamber can have an effect on the evenness of the fuel distribution. Changing the relative position between the TBI spray bar and engine manifold can alter the evenness of the mixture distribution, so this is an area that can be experimented with to get the best results.

Other causes of uneven fuel distribution can be the result of poor intake plenum or air box design. A good test is to remove all ducts and test with nothing connected as this is a good reference.

Click here to see good and bad air box designs.

RAM air should also be avoided.

What you are experiencing is a well known fuel distribution problem on the 3300 engine. This is more to do with the design of the Jabiru intake plenum and pipes. The TBI can help with its fine fuel atomization, but even so it can not magically fix this issue. By mounting the TBI on an angle, the angled fuel spray bar may help bias the fuel to the lean cylinders. This is a method used on Bing carburetor also.

Of course a set of liquid cooled heads will give you a lot more tolerance with its superior engine cooling, as these cannot overheat no matter how lean the mixture gets.

No, this is not needed. The TBI with manual mixture control is so easy to use. Because of this there is no point to add any more electronics to the engine.

Yes the spray bar holes are very small, 0.01″ each. This is why you need to use a good quality fuel filter. Don’t forget that the TBI also has a “last chance” finger strainer built into the main fuel fitting, this should be inspected every 100 hours to ensure that no holes have not been exposed to debris or contaminants.

In the unlikely event of of this happening, holes can be cleaned by; removing TBI from installation, periodically testing each hole with a 0.01″ wire and flushing the spraybar with fuel or break cleaner.

The TBI throttle leaver slides on full Teflon bearings and bushes (similar to the Ellison). Therefor this should not be an issue with our unit unlike some others. Keep in mind that the TBI is used on some very large engines, for example, the Lycoming O-540.

Yes. Adding a Rotec Throttle Body Injection system to your engine, along with the the Rotec Liquid Cooled Heads will further increase engine performance. Along with a cooler running, and therefor more reliable engine, the TBI will increase the performance of the fuel system, and as a result increase power output.

The later ‘thin finned’ Jabiru heads have slightly wider bolt pitching for the rocker cover screws. These can easily be made to fit by lightly filling out each hole. Customers have done this and have reported no issues or leaks.

The Jabiru series of aircraft engines have been popular amongst the sport aviation community. Rotec have assessed the engine and, in our opinion, it is well put together. The main issue is the lack of cylinder cooling and this is where most of the serious issues arise. Very careful operation of the air-cooled Jabiru is required to avoid permanently damaging the cylinder heads and/or engine. The Rotec LCH conversion eliminates any technical issues relating to head temperatures and therefore has greatly enhanced the engine’s ability to go the distance. With water cooling at nearly 30 x that of air, it is clear to see the enormous advantages of the LCH program.

Read the LCH installation manual. Also see the Documentation tab in the Liquid Cooled Heads page, for more LCH documents and information.

Each of the LCH heads are lighter than the stock Jabiru 2200 air-cooled heads by around 250g each. Air-cooled Jabiru 3300 heads are comparable in weight to raw LCH heads. So when the weight of the coolant, piping and radiator is added, the penalty is very small. To date no installation has required any adjustments to weight and balance. When using the Rotec LCH the Jabiru fiberglass air rams are both deleted in almost all installations.

See weight comparison movie here for more information.

The LCH fits all Jabiru engines, 4, 6, and 8 cylinders, with hydraulic or solid lifters. On the later hydraulic engine we blank off and plug where the external rocker oilers would once have been. Other than that there is NO difference between heads.

All stock Jabiru components are transferred to the LCH head. i.e. the Rockers, Valves, push rods, push rod tubes, spark plugs etc. These are all retained and located in exactly the same location.

Please watch the following for more information:

Yes, several aircraft are flying now. Go to our LCH Projects Page to see some of our customers projects.

Terry Ryan (from Tocumwal, NSW, Australia) has 50+ hours on his LCH conversion and loves it! He flies all day at around 1/2 the CHT of an air-cooled Jabiru. His compression on his old engine are now like new! Terry Ryan also has his second jabiru engine converted to Rotec Aerosport Liquid Cooled Heads.

Rotec Aerosport recommend the following:

Pump	Description	Documentation
	Use the 80L/min pump for standard Jabiru 2200 & 3300 installations.
	Use the 15L/min pump only in installations with exceptional radiator performance and the with the fiber glass ducts are retained.
	Use the 115L/min pump with Jabiru 5100 installations.

Yes. It is entirely possible to integrate a heating system into your aircraft. Adding a heater core, and extra piping into the cooling system provides your with the bare essentials in creating a cabin heater.

In extremely cold environments it may be wise to include an electric pump controller as apart of your installation. Also the water pump may be turned off depending on the electrical setup.

Rotec Aerosport offer warranty on our liquid cooled heads and items included. For Jabiru warranty it is advised you contact Jabiru. Keep in mind receiving warranty from Jabiru is almost impossible anyway. We are more interested in making your engine last and run at reliable temperatures rather than worrying about warranty!

Yes, we have a good installer in the USA. Any one who can install a standard Jabiru head can install ours also, as it is a similar installation process. It is not a difficult job. Our heads are NOT certified they are an experimental product. So anyone is allowed to install them.

Please see the LCH installation manual for more information on installation. Also see the Documentation tab in the Liquid Cooled Heads page, for more LCH documents and information.

The rocker shafts like the Jabiru air cooled heads are the same, in that a fairly loose fitting scallop is cut in the pin, to accept the ¼” SHCS or keep. The shaft can not come out but is free to rotate about 5 degrees in each direction. The o-rings should not allow them to float about or rotate easily as the o-rings apply friction.

Any 2 port radiator, without integrated filler port can be used. A small motorcycle radiator or one similar to that in the Rotax 912 will be ideal. The reasons that the radiator must not have a radiator filler port, is due to most installations not having the radiator at the top of the cooling system. This means the coolant must enter the system from a separate filler neck located at the top of the system. For more information about installing an LCH system refer to the LCH Installation Guide.

Please refer to the LCH Installation Guide.

We cannot supply a capacity for your LCH system because there is no standardized setup. The following values are capacities for the average installation including; a 200mm x 300mm radiator,  pump, piping, head volume ect. The average installation has the radiator located about 1 meter from the rows of heads.

• Jabiru 2200 ≈ 2.5 L (85 fl oz)

• Jabiru 3300 ≈ 3.5 L (120 fl oz)

• Jabiru 5100 ≈ 4.5 L (155 fl oz)

We recommend a coolant mix of 50% water and 50% antifreeze (ethyl glycol). This gives you a boiling temperature of 107 °C (225 °F). Increasing the percentage of antifreeze in your coolant mix will increase the boiling temperature, although it will degrade cooling performance in a short time. This is due to a build up of solids from the antifreeze on the walls of the cooling core. If higher boiling performance is required we recommend using a waterless coolant such as Evans NPG+ Waterless Coolant. Evans claim a boiling temperature of 190 °C (375 °F) allowing for maximum protection during high altitude flight.

Yes, they are no longer required as heat is now removed from the heads the radiator via the the coolant. Although they can be retained I choose despite being redundant.

Yes. Adding a Rotec Throttle Body Injection system to your engine, along with the the Rotec Liquid Cooled Heads will further increase engine performance. Along with a cooler running, and therefor more reliable engine, the TBI will increase the performance of the fuel system, and as a result increase power output.

Yes the you can see a circulation schematic in the LCH installation manual.