MODEL ENGINE INSTRUCTION MANUAL

ATTENTION Alpha Plus model engines are not a toy but a powerful competition engine. It can be dangerous and cause damages if used against the present safety rules and instructions stated in this manual. Especially: 1. This engine can not be used under 14 years of age. 2. Do not modify the engine to prevent danger from happening. 3. Use the engine with suitable mufflers of good quality. Check the Alpha Plus Model Co., Ltd. webpage for latest information for muffler recommendation. 4. If there is any modification made on the engine, Alpha Plus Model Co., Ltd. does not guarantee the operating safety. 5. This engine must not be used beyond model purposes. 6. Always use your engines outdoors only.

INTRODUCTION Alpha model engines are specially designed and manufactured by using high precision CNC working and of years of experience in the R/C model industry. In the engine box you will find a sheet of exploded view/parts list which contains part numbers for you to understand this engine and also to order spare or optional parts. Before using this product, please make sure you have read the whole parts of this instruction manual carefully. Follow the instructions and you can: 1. Get the best performances and longer life of the engines; 2. Avoid incorrect or mistaken maintenance damaging the engine; 3. Assure safety of yourself and the surrounding people.

INITIAL STEPS Please perform the following steps first and check your car user/instruction manual: 1. Place a clutch system on the engine crank shaft. 2. Place a header and muffler to the engine exhaust. 3. Place a glow plug with correct heat range in the cooling head and tight it firmly. 4. Place the engine on the chassis and secure it correctly and firmly. 5. Connect the fuel lines from tank inlet to muffler pressure nipple and from tank outlet to carburetor inlet. 6. Connect the carburetor ball linkage to the throttle servo.

STARTING AND STOPPING ENGINE Put the model on the starting box. Make the flywheel run in anti-clockwise direction accordingly to the model. To start the engine, connect the glow plug to the igniter powered by a battery at 1.5-2 volt. Then, open 1/4 of carburetor. Next, accelerate by radio control.

To stop the engine, please use a plastic or a soft stick to stop the flywheel. Or use a clean and thick rag to cover the exhaust end. However, the latter means could cause oil accumulating inside the engine and make RTR engines become not easy to pull start. NEVER stop the flywheel with your hand. FUEL Always use high quality fuel in order to generate good performance of the engine and extend its life. Good lubricant can assist all moving parts running smoothly without wear. During the running in, use the type of fuel indicated in the next section. After the running in, use high quality fuel of nitro content 25%-30%.

RUNNING-IN The carburetor is set at the factory. Please follow the below steps to complete the running-in of engine. After this procedure, you can get the best carburetion via adjustments of the high and low speed needles. 1. Mount the engine on the car correctly. 2. Unscrew the factory preset high speed needle (on the top of carburetor) for 1-2 turns. 3. Fill the tank full with fuel. (High quality fuel of nitro content below 16% is recommended.) Put the car on the starting box. Open the throttle half and start engine. 4. Set full throttle and rich condition. Run the engine for 2 tanks in order to clean the inside of the engine. 5. Static running-in. From the 3rd tank, adjust the idle adj. screw to close the throttle till the clutch is just driven and the engine is just running but not idling. The inlet port of throttle is about 1-2mm. Set the full speed needle as rich as possible to run the engine for about 1 hour. Make sure the vibration of engine calmly and the pipe resonating as quietly as possible. Otherwise, the parts will wear. In this stage, a lot of smoke will be blown out. So please run in engine in an open space. 6. Motion running-in. Also called loading running-in or hot running-in. Use high quality fuel of above 20% nitro for this stage. Run the model at a medium and low speed in a pattern of 8 on a flat ground for about 10 tanks continuously. Do not accelerate the throttle quickly and excessively. The needle is still set as rich at this moment. Pay attention that the temperature is between 90- 110 Celsius. 7. Adjustment for use. In the following 3 tanks, coordinate low speed needle to gradually adjust the full speed needle to reach the best engine performance (Temperature is about 130C and varies with weather, glow plug used and altitude). Maximum angle of each adjustment should not exceed 60 degrees turns.
High Speed Needle 1-2mm

Idle Adj. Screw

Low Speed Needle

MAINTENANCE Each time after use, pour fuel all out of the tank. Fuel remaining inside the engine can cause oxidation (rust) and thus ruin the engine heavily. Therefore, always make sure no fuel is left inside the engine. Never pour the fuel back into the fuel bottle for reuse. Once the fuel is out of container and has been in contact with air, its content changes and quality deteriorates. Ball bearing, crank shaft and conrod are

the parts which are most likely to be oxidized by bad fuel. If you find oxidation on your engine, stop using your existing fuel and use a mixture of only methanol and oil to run the engine. For outside of the engine, use petrol of 5-10% lubrication oil to clean. Remove dirt with a small brush. For inside cleaning, first remove the air filter, the glow plug and the backplate cover. Then use the same petrol to clean. Before removing the backplate cover, REMEMBER to position the piston in the top dead center. If not, the piston could be broken against the groove.

YES
Top Dead Center

NO
Bottom Dead Center

An air filter plays an important role to assist the engine run well and obtain a long engine lifespan. It prevents dust from sucking into the engine which could damage the engine seriously. Especially piston, ball bearing and the crank shaft are the parts which are exposed to dust danger and wear the most. More seriously, the conrod could be broken. If possible, always use new filters prepared with appropriate foam air filter oil for each run. Massage the air filter oil thoroughly into the foam filter so the whole filter is filled with oil. Remove excessive oil by hand pressing it in a paper towel. Never (re)use cleaned air filters. Dust particles will always remain in the foam channels, regardless the way you clean it. Finally attach the air filter to the carburetor firmly by using a zip tie wrap. Overheating is another issue to be aware of. It can make engine parts lose their mechanic characteristic and then affect their performance. Always pay attention to the temperature on each part and do not lean fuel too much for the purpose of avoiding overheating. Smoke trails should always leave the muffler while accelerating. WARRANTY & EXCLUSION Factory warranty will void if: 1. Damaged ball bearings, conrods and couplings are installed on the engine. 2. Damages due to operation against the instructions. 3. Damages due to improper use of fuel, muffler, air filter or other accessories. 4. Damages due to dust or dirt which comes into the engine. 5. Damages due to manipulation or modification of the engine internals and externals. TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS Three View Drawing

Unit: mm

Use Alpha glow plug T3 (Hot) or T8 (Cold) on Alpha engines. Current high performance model car engines deliver their best performance after they have run 4 liters of fuel. Perform only engine setting changes when engine is at operating temperature of 90-110 degrees Celsius. If the engine runs high after releasing the throttle and then slows down in RPM after 1 or more seconds, Then the low speed needle is set to rich! Turn the low speed needle 1/8 turn (clock-wise ) and perform a high idle RPM throttle movement. If the engine now stays constant at a high idle RPM, turn the idle speed screw 1/8 turn (counter clock-wise ) until the idle RPM is constant, but the engine will not stall. Repeat the steps until high idle throttle movement and idle speed rpm are stable. If the engine is running correct and suddenly will not start or runs dramatically different than before, Never change the engine settings but check for defective parts like defective fuel tank, fuel line, fuel filter or glow plug. The break-in period is 90% the key for a good running engine and a long lifespan. Try to stay below all maximum settings of the engine performance. If you are just running your car for fun, then be sure that the engine is running always at a richer (more fuel) setting. Try to warm up the engine for 2 minutes minimum by running the car at medium speed (rpm's) before asking the maximum power from your engine. If your engine will not start and fuel, fuel line and glow plug are OK, (1) Remove the glow igniter. (2) Open the throttle fully and press the car for 3 seconds on the starter box. (3) Now close the throttle. (4) Place the glow igniter. (5) The engine should now start without opening the throttle. Argus Model Co., Ltd. does the best to ensure the high quality and reliability of products. We reserve the right to make changes without notice. For any questions, please email to argus_model@livemail.tw