reported ENG START CYCLE stays on

[NightMan]

Since this last update the ENG START LIGHT stays on after starting the first engine.

Maybe this has been previously reported, but it is the first time I face this problem.

Bug Demonstration - A-10C II - Engine Start Cycle light doesn't turn off.trk

Edited February 24, 2024 by NightMan

[ASAP]

check the position of the motor switches, if you have a key binding that has it in the motor position the light would stay on.

IRL that would be an emergency procedure and you'd have to shut the APU off followed by the engines.

Edited February 24, 2024 by ASAP

[jaylw314]

That turbine RPM looks a little low, I thought idle was 60-65%?  May not have been a normal start for whatever reason

[NightMan]

Sorry.

NO, no, and no.

I've been "flying" the A-10C for over 8 years and working on and using this mission for almost as long.

Nothing has changed, except this last update.

Everything was working perfectly the day before.

However, I've been doing some debugging and found that the problem is somewhere in the mission code or in the Mission Editor itself.

If I create a new, simple mission and run it, all the systems work perfectly.

The engines start as usual and the ENG START CYCLE goes out as usual, allowing me to start the second engine.

 

CONCLUSION: The problem is burried somewhere in the program and in the way it treats old missions.

I tried editing the mission, change the plane to another type, saving it, changing it back and saving it again, but to no avail.

So, the problem is definitely in the way the program treats old missions.

Please; someone escalate this to the Devs.

Edited February 24, 2024 by NightMan

[Yurgon]

I see the same issue and I've filed a bug report in the Closed Beta Testers section.

On 2/24/2024 at 11:26 PM, NightMan said:

If I create a new, simple mission and run it, all the systems work perfectly.

I can't confirm that observation. I created a fresh mission with the same ambient parameters like your example mission and see the same problem there. After about a dozen engine starts I feel fairly confident in saying that the outside air temperature seems to be the deciding factor. With OAT at or below 0°C I consistently see the engine start failing in all 3 versions of the A-10 we currently have in DCS (A-10A, A-10C, A-10C II). With OAT at 5°C the issue doesn't appear.

Clouds, wind, fog or aircraft loadout all don't seem to play a role with the engine start issue.

Do you see the same?

Edited February 26, 2024 by Yurgon

[NightMan]

Hi!
Uuffff.
I'm glad I'm not crazy. Thank you!
However, when I started this mission, back in 2016, one of the conditions I had was precisely the weather - I wanted a cold and snowy environment, for reasons which are not relevant now.
I've been playing with it and evolving it since then, but one thing I never changed was the weather. And it was working just fine the day before the update. In fact, the last time I changed something in it was in 2021-12-07.
So, if the weather is the factor, then ED must have introduced something new to the A-10C model in this recent update.
The fresh mission I created didn't take into consideration the weather - I just placed a plane at the ramp and started the mission.
After reading your post I increased the temperature on the affected mission to 1º C and tried again, but the result was the same.
Then I radically changed the weather to a hot Summer day and tried once again, but it changed nothing.

[Yurgon]

57 minutes ago, NightMan said:

After reading your post I increased the temperature on the affected mission to 1º C and tried again, but the result was the same.

Like I said, at 0 degrees Celsius I still see the engine start issue, at +5 degrees it starts up fine for me. In another attempt I just upped the temp to 45° in August and the engine start was notably slower than usual but it still stabilized at 60% RPM and the ENG START CYCLE light went off.

Of course there could be other factors playing a role (wind and/or clouds might be plausible, but who knows what else plays into it).

Please upload a track or a mission of your failed attempts at higher ambient temperatures. Otherwise there's too much guesswork involved.

[Ramses823]

There seems to an issue with the start cycle in colder weather. I have been flying the F-16 for the past few months, but I have been back in the A-10 for the past two weeks or so. I have well over 800 hours in the A-10 so I'm very familiar with the start cycle. now I remember reading in a post at some point someone saying something about the start cycle in the A-10 and cold weather. I was messing with the F-16 at the time, so I didn't pay it much attention however, I just did a mission with the weather at 3.2 C and I motored the left engine then once over 20 percent rpm I brought the left throttle over the hump then set the left start switch back to norm and she started up no problem well I'm waiting for the start cycle light to go out on the caution panel and no dice it stays on. So I try to moter the right engine with the right engine start switch and nothing. So out of frustration after trying some random combination switches and playing with the right throttle I get the right engine up definitely not a by the book start up... So I go back in the mission editor and set the temp to 8 degrees c and jumped back in the pit no problem she started up smooth as silk....    

[razo+r]

Seems to be reported already, unfortunately.

[Ramses823]

Thats the post I was referencing. I'm, sure the ED  team has their hands full with the new maps and everything but this issue needs a little light shined on it so it can be addressed. 

[Yurgon]

It's reported and I've just bumped the internal report.

[Ramses823]

Just now, Yurgon said:

It's reported and I've just bumped the internal report.