engine start with start levers in cutoff???

[Guest Japhy]

Today I've experienced a rather interesting situation:when trying to start my 737, the engines didn't spool up after I put the engine start levers to idle....I don't know what I did wrong, since I always start the 737 from cold & dark.Then I found out that if had the engine start levers at idle and put them to cutoff after switching on the engine start switch on the overhead-panel, the engines spooled up normally...Right now I'm cruising over Europe with the engine start levers at cutoff...(see the attachement).How is this possible?regards,Joerg

[Guest Ray CYYZ]

Wow, thats a cute one you have managed to pull off. Since you can fool that part of the cutoff, try pulling the fire plug out one notch, that is a second cutoff valve. If that doesn't shut them down, look outside the cockpit and see how big the flames are :-lolObviously the cutoff position is exactly that, no fuel to the engines. Might help the PMDG guys if you can reproduce and list exactly the step by step details you went through to cause it to happen.Ray

[Guest]

I have the same problem off and on every now and again. I can never manage to reproduce it on demand however.Eddie Doloughty

[Guest Tim W]

Interesting, doesn't happen here. If I turn off the fuel levers, it goes very quiet!RgdsTimhttp://www.cambridgeflyingclub.com/images/timavatar2.jpg

[Guest Ian_Riddell]

"How is this possible?"Sounds like something is out of synch, Joerg..... Don't worry, it happens to others. I just started up the engines with no Bleed Duct pressure (APU was running, there was Elec Power on the Busses, APU Bleed Switch was on, but there were no pressure indications) ;-)Cheers.Ian.

[Guest cboyes]

JoergI had this happen to me after running out of fuel in Spot Plane view (duh, stupid, I know - I forgot to turn off the centre tank fuel pumps). Switched back to cockpit view but was unable to restart the engines even though there was plenty of fuel in the wing tanks, so I had to ditch in the sea. Then reset the flight and found I had exactly the same problem you described - couldn't start the engines when the fuel cutoff levers were open, but they started when I closed the levers. As Ian suggested the visual display was out of sync with the internal data.I meant to repeat this sequence events to see if the problem was reproducible but never got around it - I just make sure I don't run out of fuel.BTW, I also found the aircraft doesn't come to a stop when you land in the sea - it just bounces along as though its on a frictionless surface.

[WAD3 0]

I had it happen. Only way to get it fixed was to load a default (baron) and make sure it was shut down properly. I also hte that sometimes when I start a saved flight that I left the engines off with, when I load up they are running. Also the cutoffs are always in the on position at load up. That is annoying but not the end of the world. Hope it does get fixed.Andrew

[Guest Pittsburgh]

Hi Don't know if it has already been reported, but I have several times managed to turn the engines on with out turning on the fuel pumps... (all of a sudden I don't really know if it says more about me or the great plane) ;-)Boaz

[Guest Ian_Riddell]

"Don't know if it has already been reported, but I have several times managed to turn the engines on with out turning on the fuel pumps... (all of a sudden I don't really know if it says more about me or the great plane)"PMDG's aircraft is modelled realistically, Boaz. It is possible to start any modern Boeing aircraft jet engine without fuel tank pumps running. It's not recommended however ;-) In some cases, there are special pickups (pipes) in the tanks which bypass the fuel tank pumps. The pipes may have valves in them (The NG has these). In other cases, it is possible for the fuel to be sucked through the non-operating pumps.Each engine has it's own pump(s) to suck fuel out of the tanks.On the NG, the Crossfeed Valve must be closed. The fuel can only be taken from the main wing tanks.You may have problems operating at high altitudes or at high thrust settings, however.The process is called "gravity.." or "suction feed".Cheers.Ian. (Edit) P.S. The APU can also use suction feed. It sucks fuel out of the #1 tank if the #1 and #2 main tank pumps are not running.

[Guest Fltsim Phil]

I've been flying the PMDG 737 with FS2002 since the first update came out. I typically prefer to start with a "cold & dark cockpit" and go through the entire starting sequence. I was loading up the "Cold & Dark" flight that was supplied with the aircraft. However, as most of us have discovered, upon loading up, the engines are running and you must move the start levers to cut-off in order to shut the engines down. Now the problem is that the start levers are forever operating in reverse. In order to actually start the engines, you must leave the start levers in "cut-off" and if you move them to "idle" the engines will in fact shut down. Anyone have a work around for this little "bug"??FlyBoy Phil

[Guest Pittsburgh]

Once again, Ian, you are the greatest source of information. Thanks a bunch for that! It is always interesting to read your posts :-):-waveBoaz