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SPECIAL NOTE
If your engine is turning over very slowly due to a fl at battery STOP CRANKING THE
ENGINE IMMEDIATELY.
This is very damaging to the starter motor and the starter relay. Turn the ignition off, and
charge the battery. A Kartelli Corse 6Amp battery charger should give the battery a boost
to be able to start within 30 minutes.
If the battery is fl at, instead of the starter motor drawing 50 Amps at 12 Volts to start, a fl at
battery will actually draw 80+ amps at 8 Volts low speed. A fully charged battery makes
engine starting much easier. The Cheetah® engine does have a built in alternator to
keep the battery topped up, but it is NOT a battery charger. It is designed only as a trickle
charger, and to not drain the battery once the engine is started.
Technically, what happens is the battery boosts the spark at starting and whilst idling, and
is actually a very small drain on the battery, but above 5,000 rpm the alternator will give up
to 0.3 amps of charge to the battery. A well charged battery will last a very long time, but
a top up charge from time to time will increase the battery life. If we made the alternator 3
amps then this would take power away from the wheels.
RUNNING THE ENGINE
Now the engine should be running on the stand. If the engine is Revving too fast, turn the engine
off immediately using the OFF/ON Switch. Adjust the idle screw on the carburetor. Turn the igni-
tion back on, and press the start button. As the engine has just been started, it should start again
very easily.
If the engine starts and then STALLS, due to any number of normal reasons, including air in the
fuel system, then another safety feature of the SQ CHEETAH® ignition system will have acti-
vated – THE START INHIBIT. The start inhibit feature is to stop accidental pressing of the start
button when the engine is running. Some other brands of engine will actually allow you to press
and engage the starter motor whilst the engine has already started and running. This can cause
catastrophic engine failure. To avoid this SQ implemented a feature into the CDI computer which
disables the starter motor once the engine has started i.e. revving over 1,500 rpm.
Re-enabling the starter motor and to reset the start inhibit, simply switch the start switch to off,
and then on again. The short answer is: If you go to start the engine and it stalls, simply toggle
the on/off switch and press the start button again – easy
