CaptTim

I went on the WB Sim #support Discord channel and posted the problem. The developer quickly pointed me to a fix that needed just one parameter change from 0.1 to 3. I used Notepad to do the edit, but I've now downloaded the free utility Notepad++ that someone recommended to me on the WB Sim Discord, which actually would have made that editing much easier! BTW, it's essential to follow every detail in the solution which is at the following web address: https://discord.com/channels/955520899094818886/955524866407297075/1256132000775929946 After I made that edit to that line of code in the XML file, the starter switch works fine and the engine now starts reliably.

Today I ran into a different but related problem in attempting to start the WBsim C172. I'm using the Honeycomb Alpha yoke, and I've been using the magneto switch on that to start the engine. The problem now is that in the WBsim C172, when I turn the switch to Start, in the sim it keeps flicking between Start and Both, over and over repeatedly. As a result, most times the starter isn't on long enough between flicks to get the engine turning up to enough speed to get it to start. Even if I have the Battery Off, i.e. it isn't cranking the engine; the same flicking misbehavior is happening in the magneto switch in the sim. Yet when I load in the Asobo Classic C172, the magneto switch behaves as it should i.e. if I keep the physical switch on the controller to Start, in the sim it stays at Start. I checked for any other controller programmed for MAGNETOS START function and there is no conflict. And I'm using exactly the same controllers setup for the Asobo Classic C172 in which the flicking issue doesn't show up. This might have been occurring occasionally before on the WBsim and I had put it down to a weak battery or some such issue, but now that I have looked closer at it I have spotted this flicking switch in the sim display that has gotten so bad today that the engine will not start. And it happens even after I have connected the battery cart and let the battery voltage come up to 27.4 V or higher.

IIRC if the engine is still hot or warm recently running before the start attempt {i.e. check your oil temp before priming!} , you should not begin with the priming sequence because that risks flooding the engine. After the engine is flooded, the procedure to overcome the flooding involves open the throttle fully and crank the engine - see more details in the POH. So when starting a hot/warm engine, basically proceed through the startup as if you had just already completed the priming. However, see my post above about a modification to manually start in the sim, vs in the RW.

If you attempt to use the exact starting sequence as in a RW fuel-injected C172, I have found that in the sim the engine will not start. The modification to the procedure that works reliably for me to start the engine in MSFS 2020 is that you have to immediately push in your MIXTURE control knob once the starter is cranking the engine. If you leave it all the way out waiting till the engine fires up, as you would actually do in the RW after priming a cold engine, then the engine will not fire at all and so it will not start using the manual sequence. This same issue occurs for me on both the Asobo ("Textron") C172 and the WBsim C172 Enhancement model. BUT... In the Asobo C172, that model doesn't seem to degrade the battery CCA capacity in cold weather. In any case, in the Asobo typically I wait till the starter initially spins the engine up to approx 650 RPM then I quickly push in the MIXTURE control; and then the engine fires to start and run. The slight difference with the WBsim C172 is that you have to push in MIXTURE control very quickly after the starter begins turning the engine; and then the engine fires to start and run. That works reliably for me, successfully starting the engine even with relatively sluggish cranking when in cold weather conditions - i.e. conditions in which the WBsim battery is so cold that it won't deliver high CCA's (cold-cranking amperes), just enough to barely get the engine spinning. I hope this will be helpful!