Sometimes it gets cold down here in Georgia. It snowed yesterday, first time in years and it's cold this morning, my wife wants to move back to New Orleans.

So some friends have been harrassing me about carbs and how fuel injection is so much better, especially on cold mornings. But here's proof they are wrong.

Here's how you do it:

1) Don't touch the accelerator until she's turning over and starting to fire. Even a little bit of gas on a cold morning and it'll flood.

2) Don't use the choke for the same reason, richening the fuel mixture too much when it's cold will cause it to flood.

3) Give the Nikki lots of gentle encouragement while she's getting going. DON'T SWEAR UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! Nikki's are very sensitive and swear words will mess up her cold start circuits.

4) Let it turn over to loosen up the rotors and start to fire, then give it just a little gas until it catches, then a bit of throttle to get her firing on all four.

5) You're done and ready to go to work, Zoooommmmm, Zoooooooommmmmmm....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJ7MSTujEU

Just think about it, a Nikki is a fuel delivery system that talks to you, that cares about you and listens to your every request. A Nikki has a soul.

Can you say that about EFI?

No sir, no EFI for me!

Remember the old Pink Floyd song:

"We don't need no fuel injection
We don't need no cruise control

no high pressure pump, near the gas tank

Crit leave us carbs alone............

hey Crit......... leave us carbs alone

All in all you're just a.... nother step towards FCs"

(Pink Floyd song edited by Chris)

 

I have never had problems with cold starts... In fact mine starts better when it's cold! Both of mine start well in the cold. Even with 20w50. My girlfriends brother is constantly telling me I need to upgrade to fuel injection on the SA! Yeah... ok... do you have the money to do that? It works just fine the way it is.

 

Im just amazed your tach works when its cold. Mine will not. A poster here said he had the same problem and was told its the gel inside the needle that keeps it from jumping around all the time. Said it gets cold and heavy, thus it keeps the needle from registering. Once its warm out, the tach works just fine.

Nice start by the way. Where is Jefferson? I see all the snow, we got about 7 inches in Mountains, Waynesville, NC.

 

This is hilarious!

 

What causes flooding? Wore out Apex?? I always pull the choke out to start when cold. Sometime one good pump of the accelerator and she even starts better. I have heard of the different ways one can flood, but to be honest my car never seems to flood.

My compression is good, but my oil seals are shot. Maybe I am just too lubed up to flood her!!

 

Same here. Choke out, about 3-4 pumps and it turns over after about 4 revolutions.

 

this is awsome, you guys dont even know the meaning of cold, the other morning it was -40 deg C with the wind chill factor, -27 C on the thermometer

as for temperatures around freezing I have found that you dont need the choke with the stock systems and ray is right about talking nice to it, even with my 48 ida Im good down to about 15 deg F with 2 good pumps of the accelerator pedal, and cranck it over, I need to feather the acc pedal a bit at first, and I find that swearing is more effective for my setup than talking nice, but the 48 ida is know to be rude itself when its cold.

I have had a few winters in my old fb, and i found the biggest enemy of a cold start(-25 celcius + a wind chill factor to be -40 ) was touching the gas before its fired. The one thing that never faild me was pulling the choke all the way out, and turning the key untill it starts before touching anything, usually returning the choke to about 1/2 to 3/4 to set idle at about 1200 rpm, and a few minutes later its good to go, reduce rpm by letting choke in as it warms up, and when it knows its not gonna stall any more it pops the choke back in. done deal.

 

I used to pump it a few times and use the choke on cold starts and that worked fine, but after the Berryman's flushing and carb rebuild I did a few months ago my Nikki is delivering gas much better, idle and progression much improved.

So I guess as the Nikki gets older and dirtier pumping the accelerator a few times is a good idea to get the fuel flowing, but on a fresh rebuild, on a cold morning, it can lead to flooding (as I discovered earlier this winter). That's when I stopped with the gas and choke and started the sweet talk on cold mornings. Hey, it works.

So you guys up north let's see some video of your cold start ups! Give us your trade secrets too.

 

Thanks for accrediting my Pink Floyd edit Ray, I'm touched.

 

I always use the choke Ray, that is when I have one. Webers have a 'starting' circuit, which works through the choke ****. LOL.

 

My method differs a bit:

1. Stock Nikki
Pull choke to halfway, pump gas pedal twice, turn key.

2. Sterling Nikki
Pump gas 4 - 6 times, turn key.

 

nice, that takes too long for my patience tho, i do that every once in a while, but i have no choke, so i pump the gas 1-3 times, wait a couple seconds, then turn, and as it's cranking lightly rev up. cranks up on the first try, then all i gotta do is rev up around 2500 rpm for a couple more seconds until it holds idle by itself. then just let it warm up lol.

i love the pink floyd chris version!! =D

 

Haha thanks, Crit was trying to say "we don't need no Carburation" and because my dellorto started up right away, I wrote that little jingle.

 

"We don't need no fuel injection
we don't need no cruise control"

Great line Chris! Nikki's rule, and Dellortos are cool too.

Now I don't doubt all you peddle pumpers out there, I realize some of you guys may need to pump a little to get her going in the morning. I did too, before I rebuilt the Nikki last fall.

But here's the deal, if I give that rebuilt Nikki even a hint of throttle or choke on a cold morning, she floods. It took me awhile and a couple deflooding procedures to figure this out.

In fact, you can see this happen in the video, when I first turned the key I had the choke out and then, when she first started to fire, I gave it just a touch of gas - big mistake - you can see her quit 'cause I had fowled the cold plugs with gas.

Knowing this, I immediately got off the gas, put the choke in, then let her spin awhile to blow out the gas. You can see this in the vid too, after she cranks for awhile she comes back to life, once the plugs dry out and start to spark again. It also helps to offer sweet words of encouragement to let her know you care.

All Nikki's have personality, that's the point. Love your Nikki for who she is and she will love you back. She will start on the coldest mornings.

"Crit leave us carbs alone............

hey Crit......... leave us carbs alone

All in all you're just a.... nother step towards FCs"

 

Nice thread Ray.

One of the biggest factors that everyone forgets that helps the "Rotary" engine to fire properly is -------------- The battery.

Cranking speed is essential in a Rotary and especially one that has a lot of miles on it and the seals are getting worn.

So make sure you have a very good battery, very good cables that are free of corrosion everywhere including the ground points.

Also make sure that your ignition system is in great shape. The fuel filter is serviced on a regular basis and that you use some seafoam to keep the internal clean.

The cranking speed associated with a strong spark will ensure better starts in all conditions.

Another factor that some of you may not be aware of is that during winter they have to change the formula of the fuel (butane is added) to help the combustion process with the old carbureted vehicles. Those in very cold climates are affected the most.



For you SE guys remember to depress the accelerator pedal once to the floor before cranking to bring the fast idle cam up. :-)

 

ray, nicely put , mine's do for a good deep cleansing, but i'm gonna wait until it needs a rebuilt.

 

Ya, I suspect that once I finish this rebuild, cold starts will be ALOT different.

 

Great thread!
Yeah, it really is so under appreciated- that part about talking nice to her. Man, once you swear, it's all over. (I mean after all, you wouldn't expect nooky from the Mrs. after swearing at her, would ya?!)

 

i remember one time my car wouldn't start, my girlfriend was with me and i started going "come on baby, i promise i'll give you a good bath and take care of you from now on, it won't ever happen again, i'm really sorry for being so rude to you" my gf was looking at me thinking i was talking about her. . . i don't think she ever got who i was talking to :P

 

Sounds like you were doing it right BD and probably a good thing she didn't realize it was Nikki, not her. You did follow up with the bath, right?

Doc is spot on with his note on having a strong battery, good cranking speed and strong spark on cold mornings, this makes all the difference. That's why my white GSL is prone to flooding on cold mornings, I've got a 10 year old battery that is fine on most Georgia days, but not when Old Man Winter makes his occasional visits.

In fact that old battery wasn't enough this morning. It was colder, 22 degrees, and after a brief flutter, it just quit spinning the rotors fast enough. But she started up immediately with a jump from the MP5, all she needed was spark and spin. And it was a fabulous trip into Atlanta this morning, blue blue skies, cool and dry like rotaries like it and 85 was in great shape, a nice 55 mile jaunt.

But the real truth is spoken by our Nikki Zen Master Sterling. I was in a pissy mood this morning because like an idiot I didn't brush the snow off the car yesterday when it was melting, so this morning the snow was converted to big ice blocks on the roof, glass and wipers (and wife Cathy, who is from Mississippi, is telling me how to get it off). I was late to work, grumpy and not thinking about Nikki.

So when I tried to start her up she immediately recognized my pissiness and, after that brief flutter, decided I needed a time out. I don't think she was very happy about being zapped with the MP5 either, I'm expecting some kind of retribution in the next few weeks.

So listen to Denis, be nice to your Nikki!

 

Ray, you are one of a kind. I always had easy starts even with my chokeless blowthrough Nikki. BUT, since the FI swap, I know it's going to start. I don't have to worry IF its going to start. But it doesn't matter if you don't have a good strong battery with a rotary.

 

Yep I'm needing a battery. Bitch didn't start again this morning.

 

hey now, what happened to the sweet talk? :P

 

I love my red top, and agree with the Doc: new ignition parts help a ton.

I did a rebuild about 6 months ago on my Nikki and i have to pump it a couple times when it's cold. But usually fires up after four or five revolutions.

 

whats the min. CCA you need in a battery for a rotary engine ?