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3 Answers

Priming after botched start

Asked by: 3503 views Aircraft Systems, General Aviation

When starting a cold fuel injected or carbureted engine after an attempt is made to start and the engine fires but does not start, does the engine need to be primed again before attempting another start? I have been lucky enough to have engines  after 2 or 3 blades every time. Thanks.

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3 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Jul 12, 2012

    It has been my experience that if a cold engine starts and dies or fires and doesn’t start, that it needs more fuel (more priming).  If you follow the manufacturer’s priming directions, you should not have problems.  It sounds as if you have been following directions, as you have not had problems.

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  2. Jonathan Silva on Jul 12, 2012

    Checklist, Checklist, Checklist. From my experience, if the engine is trying to start, but just coughs and keeps spinning on the starter, adjust your throttle so the engine has a bit more air. If that doesn’t work, or isn’t the case, you may need a bit more priming.

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  3. Nathan Parker on Jul 13, 2012

    “does the engine need to be primed again before attempting another start?”
     
    It’s tough to tell the difference between a fuel-starved engine and an overprimed one (too much fuel).  As the above poster said, coughing is often an indication of overpriming, so you need to increase the amount of air the engine is getting by opening the throttle wide.  If the engine never catches at all or catches briefly than stops dead, you probably need some more priming.

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