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o320 running rich

6adan

Member
New (not flying yet) RV6A engine starts very good but when you start to add power it becomes very rich running and bogs down. I pulled the carb off and checked float setting and it was good. Need some ideas on what else I could look for.

Thanks Dannie
 
How do you know it's running rich? Can a bystander see black smoke coming out the stacks? Is this intermittent, as when you are pushing the throttle in - that could be your accelerator pump linkage is set wrong.
 
Most common reason for running excessively rich on a carb is a fuel level issue in the bowl. Too high of a fuel level in the bowl causes rich condition. Most typical reasons are that the float developed a leak (brass) or became saturated (composite float) or there is a piece of trash stuck in the needle/seat interface. On a new or rebuild carb, I would suspect an incorrect float height setting (accuracy is usually within a 32nd of an inch) or trash in the needle/seat. With new fuel plumbing, it would not be surprising to find junk in the needle/seat area, especially if you didn't flush the lines before connecting to the carb. I flushed two gallons through my fuel system with a filter before first start and got a lot of junk.

As others stated, be sure you are rich. A "bog" is most typically experienced when increasing throttle into a lean condition and is often due to insufficient enrichment from the accelerator pump. If the engine regains performance in a couple of seconds, it is the accel pump. If it continues to labor at noticably low power, it is a lean mixture. Lean conditions are typically not characterized as rough running until just about the point where the engine stops. An overly rich condition produces rough running with reduced power output and classic black colored exhaust and if bad enough cause the engine to roughly quit. Even inexperienced folks don't typically characterize the condition as a "bog."

Assuming this is not a transient accel pump issue, you can try accelerating into the bog condition and then pull slowly back on the red knob. If it eventually gets better, you're rich. If it just gets worse, you're lean. The mixture knob meters fuel out of the bowl and before the jets. Therefore it can compensate for the increase fuel flow due to the high level in the bowl.

Larry
 
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Thanks for the response. We could tell it was running rich because of the black smoke and black plugs and just not running good with the throttle open. We are showing around 18 lb. of fuel pressure. Here is what we have done.
1 Installed a smaller main jet, this made it run better but we could not get the static RPM we should 1970 to 2000 is all it will do.
2 Got a new fuel pump and Rebuilt carb. This did not help.
3 Checked the prop to be sure it was not over pitched 68x76. It is correct according to Mr. Prince
Can anyone give some reasons why we can't get the RPM we should?
 
Fuel pressure 18 PSI? Way too high for a carbuerated engine. You should be running around 5-6 PSI. Sounds like you may have the wrong fuel pump.
 
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Way too much fuel pressure. Those 0-320s can run on gravity feed with less than half a pound pressure. Fuel probably blowing right by the needle and seat.

Roberta
 
I am thinking the Dynon reading on the fuel pump is not correct because this is the second FP and it is a new low pressure pump from Aircraft Spruce.
 
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