Cannot adjust mixture on Number 4 engine

[El Vert]

I recently got the 377 (order #151405 from PCAviator), without COTS, and it is by far my favorite FSX plane. Love the early prop planes, and the Stratocruiser is the nicest one I have.

I have one problem I've been unable to solve, pertaining to fuel mixture. For whatever reason, I cannot move the mixture lever for the number 4 engine off of Auto-Rich.

To be precise, I can grab it with the mouse and move it to Auto-Lean or anywhere else, but it will stay there only so long as I hold it with the mouse, left button depressed. When I let it go it snaps back to Auto-Rich. I cannot make it stick on Auto-Lean, or on any other setting for that matter. The other three levers move and stick where I leave them, but number 4 will not.

I have reinstalled at least once, and I've run the update file after each install, but this behavior didn't change.

I don't know if this is relevant, but at one point when I was trying to solve this, I went to settings in FSX and discovered that automixture was enabled for some reason. I disabled it again, and now I check it every time I fly to make sure it's still disabled - and it is. But, I'm wondering whether that glitch created a file or something which is causing this behavior.

Any ideas as to how to fix this?

El Vert

[Lewis - A2A]

Hello,

for the base aircraft without Accu-sim/COTs this is controlled automatically due to an old limitation with FSX.

thanks,
Lewis

[El Vert]

Thanks for the quick response!

I am downloading COTS right now.

El Vert

[El Vert]

A follow-up.

With one caveat (see below), COTS turned out to be a bust for me. I now have the same problem that others here seem to have at times. With COTS installed, I cannot start the engines.

I tried everything from a cold start (which, I'll admit, I'd not tried before) to CTRL-E, to using the Auto-Start command on the menu thingy. No. 1 will turn over and try to start, but even with the throttle firewalled, it runs for maybe 5 seconds and then stops. It will do that every time I hit CTRL-E, but it won't keep going and the other engines just sit there. If I sit in the FE's seat and watch the fuel routing dials, they go to the start position (which I think is manifold), sit there for a few seconds, and then go back to their original position.

I tried the following:

1. Reinstalled all the SimConnect files. No joy.

2. Reinstalled both the Stratocruiser and COTS and then the updater file. No joy.

3. Uninstalled COTS, which for some reason made the Stratocruiser disappear on the plane list, so I uninstalled that too. Did away with all A2A directories and a leftover file I found in the SimObjects directory and reinstalled first the plane, then COTS, then the update file, rebooting between every installation. No joy.

4. Uninstalled it all again, and reinstalled the plane and COTS without the updater file. No joy.

5. Finally decided to just install the plane again, and CTRL-E worked. Installed COTS on top of that and it went back to no engines. Installed the update on top of all that, engines still won't start.

So, I surrendered and uninstalled it all again, and reinstalled just the plane and the update file, and the engines are working again. And, as a bonus (here's the caveat referenced above), the original problem with me being unable to move the mixture knob on the No. 4 engine is now gone. It moves like all the others, and will stick where I leave it. So, I got that going for me. Which is nice.

This post is long enough, but here are three more notes in case anyone has any ideas:

I'm using the Steam version, and I've never had the boxed version installed on this computer. There was a recent update from Steam that installed itself before I could try any of the above. It specified that it was to fix a SimConnect problem in part. When the engines wouldn't start, I tried re-running all the SimConnect installation files as per 1 above, but no help.

I have had problems starting the engines even before COTS. My default flight starts cold, and it starts at an airport other than the original, and it uses a slightly non-standard plane (the OZ version of the Goose). I read something here to the effect that moving to the original default airport is sometimes necessary to get the engines on the Stratocruiser going, and I have gotten the engines to start when they wouldn't just by slewing to a new airport. But, I have forgotten what the default airbase is, and couldn't find it via a Google search . . . so, I can't move to the default airport or re-create the default flight. Instead, I just jump from airbase to airbase until I get the engines to start.

At some pre-COTS point, because of this problem, I created a flight with the Stratocruiser once I got the engines started, and saved it (from Hilo in Hawaii). It didn't work when I had COTS installed, but now that I have only the plane, it works. So, I'm currently flying solely out of Hilo for now, where I hit the runway with the engines running.

I'd take any suggestions as to what to do, because I'd love to get COTS to work. FWIW, it does run, I get the voices, the FE sets things up for flight, etc., people board the plane, and I have the new dials and features. But, those features are not that useful when all I can do is sit on the runway, repeatedly starting No. 1 and then watching it die.

If you read this far - thanks!

[nessis]

Did you clean out the the A2A directory in "my documents" that has the COTS career record files? IIRC thats where they are anyway.

I was in the exact same situation (engines wouldn't start, FSX:SE w/ out ever having a boxed installation) and I uninstalled both the WOS B377 and COTS, cleaned out that directory and then reinstalled 1) WOS B377, 2)COTS, 3) 4/20 Accusim update, and now everything works perfectly for me.

I don't use the default airport (which is Friday Harbour btw) to start my flights and instead start from the first airport on my flightplan via freeflight. However, I do always load in at whatever airport that is with the trike (in engine off state) before selecting the Stratocruiser. I've been told repeatedly (and I'm not sure if its just folk wisdom or what) that loading the sim with a "complex" addon aircraft can screw things up for whatever aircraft you load subsequently.

I hope maybe that'll help, and good luck!

[Jacques]

Hi El Vert,

It isn't so much the default airport as it is a default FSX aircraft. I use the default Cessna at my home airport with the engine and all switches set to off. I saved this as my default flight, i load it first, then load the aircraft I'm going to fly afterwards.
I don't have the Steam Edition, so I don't know the differences between that and stock FSX.

But, did you double check that the mixture is not on auto-mixture?

Also, with all of the uninstalls and installs, did you delete the .dat files in your documents/A2A/FSX/ 377 folder? They sometimes become corrupted and cause strange behaviors.

Edit-- posted on top of Nessis, disregard my post!

[El Vert]

Nessis and Jacque,

Thanks for the replies, and especially the info re: the default airport and the default plane!

Yes, I removed not only the files in the A2A directory but the directory itself during the full uninstall/reinstall procedures. The only thing I didn't do during the uninstall (which I forgot to mention) is that I used the default uninstall so that I didn't have to go find my registration info again. Maybe I should try that .. . as soon as I dig through all the emails from A2A (and Orbx and JustFlight and all the others).

As soon as I can today, I'm going to re-create the default flight at Friday Harbor with the Trike, as I've seen others say the same thing that both of you just said, and I've had the experience of the engines working at some airports, but not at others. Didn't think to change the plane.

Call it voodoo, call it folk wisdom, no matter to me - if it works, I'm happy!

El Vert

[nessis]

El Vert, one last thing I thought off when I was starting up my Stratocruiser just a few minutes ago - the engine won't start with the parking brake on, in fact after the first turn on the first engine I don't even get a "turning" or "contact" on any of them until i turn off the parking brake - so you might try that if you're still encountering frustrations.

[Jacques]

Ooooh, thats really weird, and not something I experience at all! I do notice that some sounds or announcements disappear sometimes. For instance, Heidi no longer announces that the "smoking sign has now been turned off and you can smoke if you wish", but she does announce when its been turned on! (I wondered if A2A were trying to be a bit more PC ).

But, just to emphasize one thing: the default flight does not need to necessarily be at Friday Harbor, and I think its best if it is not in the air with engines running. It is simple enough to load up at any convenient, perhaps a stock FSX airport, select the default FSX Cessna, shut down the engine and make sure all switches and the battery is "off", then save THAT flight as your default. That way, every time you start FSX and go to free flight, the Cessna is spinning around, you press "fly now" and you are at the airport you chose in the step above with everything off, in a default state. THEN you chose your desired airport, and whichever complex aircraft you want to fly. It is one extra step that takes a couple of minutes more, but gives you a really good chance of having a trouble free flight. I hope this might you both banish some of the gremlins in your aircraft!

[El Vert]

Nessis and Jacques,

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I am taking all of them into account.

Here's a status report - I changed my default flight back to the Trike at Friday Harbor, just to be sure I got it back to the program defaults. I tried a flight or two with just the 377 installed (no COTS), and I followed Jacques' procedure by starting with the Trike, and then switching to the 377 once I was on the runway.

Mostly, it worked. Mostly. With the Trike as the default plane, for some reason I could turn on the outside lights, but the inside lights would not come on at all. I exited and restarted, got nearly the same result - the lights would come on inside the 377 for maybe a 30 seconds or so, and then would go off.

So I figured - the Trike has no lights, right? I re-created my default flight, this time with the default Cessna, which has lights. This seemed to fix that problem, and the lights in the 377 would come on and stay on.

I did have one oddity starting the engines (and this is still without COTS). CTRL-E started No. 1 up, no problem. It did not start the others. I selected No. 2, hit CTRL-E again, and then No. 2 fired up, followed by the other two. Odd, but at least all engines were running.

The other thing to note is that mostly - mostly - the original problem I had was solved, even without COTS. I could switch to Auto-Lean with all four engines, including No. 4. However, it's not 100%. On one flight, no problem. The next flight, it reverts to the original behavior, i.e., No. 4 will only stay on Auto-Rich. I can sorta work around that by reducing throttle on No. 4 until it's drawing about the same amount of fuel as the others.

So, with fingers crossed, I installed COTS. I can't remember for sure, but I think I ran the update file right after that. I started with the default Cessna/Friday Harbor flight, switched the plane to the 377. And COTS was running . . . but no engines would start. Same behavior. CTRL-E would move the fuel dials for a few seconds, and then they would go back to their default.

I did not check the parking brake as I hadn't seen that note from Nessis at that point, and I need to do that too. But, since I had pretty good luck getting the plane to work without COTS, and wanted to fly, I uninstalled COTS, reinstalled the plane (for some reason, uninstalling COTS makes the plane disappear in the menu), and took off from Tahiti bound for Tasmania, a nice 3500 mile flight. No Auto-Lean for No. 4, but other than that all is well.

I intend to keep at this until I get COTS to work, but I'm not there yet because I keep getting distracted by actually wanting to fly the plane! Next thing to check is the parking brake as per Nessis, and I also intend to remove everything, including the two A2A directories (I had overlooked the one in Documents), and reinstall from scratch.

But, I have to get to Tasmania first . . . .!

El Vert

[DC3]

Hi El Vert,

I have read all of your posts completely hoping COTS would work for you. Of all the A2A aircraft I have (6 total) this is my long time favorite. I keep coming back to it.
Since my version is working ok I can not give you any advice on your problem. Since you do fly without COTS I am assuming you know how to put fuel in the aircraft and oil and all that good stuff. It seems odd the fuel selector switches would switch on and off with the Cntrl-E start. Maybe you can set each of them to tank to engine and turn on the boost pumps and see if you have any better luck with start ups. It sounds like instead of all engines being controlled simultaneously they are only being controlled when each is selected. This is probably desirable in the long run. Also on the start up there are several steps which I assume you are following, including turning on the main switch, mags, selecting the engine with the engine selector switch, pushing the start button to start the engine turning and then pushing the prime to get it to fire. I typically push the start button for about 5 seconds and then push the prime. I think in real life the start would probably be pushed for 6 to 8 blades. These are just some ideas and you probably have done all these things already. I hope you get it going because when it works COTS is very cool.

--Mike

[El Vert]

DC3,

Thanks for the thoughts, and while I know how to do some of what you mention - like load the plane and put fuel in her - I have tried to do a manual cold start only once, and that's only because I couldn't get CTRL-E to work. Suffice it to say that I had only a foggy idea of what I was doing.

I'm a newbie at using a plane as complicated as the Stratocruiser, there's a lot I don't know, so I appreciate any advice anyone wants to give.

On my particular problem, I notice that the engine start up thing has been a problem for other users as well - with and without COTS - and reading those threads, I was under the impression that if CTRL-E would not start the engines, something was wrong that wouldn't be fixed by the cold start procedure. Which is why I use that first thing after installing COTS, to see if it broke my engines. Once I get this sorted, I will definitely heed your advice about cold startups.

El Vert

[El Vert]

For the record, I finally got COTS working, and I think it was due to the advice above.

I think the trick here is that you need to use a stock FSX plane as your default flight, as recommended by Nessis and Jacques. Once I did that - and uninstalled and then reinstalled everything - the engines start up every time.

It's great to have the FE to take care of the engines. He is more attentive than I can be when I have to fly and do his job too. Also, ya gotta love Heidi, and all the new sounds, etc. Very nice!

The only thing I don't care for is the way the autopilot handle works now. Before, it would snap back to zero when I let go of it. Now, it stick where you leave it, and for me at least, it's kind of a trick to get it to stop at zero with the mouse. Maybe there's a key command which would let me adjust it with the keyboard?

On the whole though, it's a great add-on. Thanks again for the advice!

El Vert

[gulredrel]

You can map key commands with the input configuration tool which is located under ..FSX/A2A/B377 directory, if I remember correctly (or via start menu entry).

Regards
Jens

[Scott444]

El Vert,

Regarding the auto pilot, hover the mouse over and use scroll wheel to do fine-tune adjustments to the heading. The mouse scroll wheel also works well for other cockpit instrument settings such as tuning radios, flipping switches, etc.

I hope this helps.

Scott444