DCS Bf-109: Engine fails after a few minutes regardless of ATA or radiator settings

Has anyone experienced recurring engine failures in the DCS Bf-109 lately? I can’t seem to keep her running longer than a few minutes before I get a complete engine failure. It happens regardless of ATA or radiator settings. I’ve tried keeping the ATA below 1.2, then below 1.0, radiators at Auto or Full Open. No matter what, a few minutes into the flight or after takeoff, pow, the engine fails.

I experimented with the MW50 switch, auto prop governing… nothing seems to have an effect.

Looked through the other forums and couldn’t find anything current.

Haven’t flown it since the latest update, I’ll try to give it a whirl today if I get time.

Are you doing a cold start?

I’ve mostly been experimenting with Instant Action missions. I’ll try a cold start later and see if anything different happens!

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Can’t reproduce your issue sorry. I do note the temp in the top (green circled - oil temp?) gauge is jumping up a lot quicker at high power settings when the speed is low, not sure if its that getting outside the allowable range?

Forgive me for stating the obvious but this has happened to me. But only because I failed to switch to auto prop control soon after takeoff. Good luck getting it sorted!

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There is no bug with the engine of the 109 in DCS, however there is a problem with MW50 and the fuel pumps. Make sure you click on the P1+2 switch on start up or bind it to a button, do not move the slider into position or use an axis. Engine failure due to this bug will only happen if you use MW50 though.

Other than that, engine failures are most commonly caused by using manual prop pitch (governor switch forward). Make sure it’s set to auto (aft). I do not recommend manual prop pitch except for take off but as soon as you are airborne you should set it to auto, I even do this before raising the landing gear.
Take off power is 1.35ata regardless of take off weight. It is possible to take off with prop pitch in auto but it is not recommended as the torque will be too much for your tiny little rudder at low speeds and you will have to use brakes to keep the 109 on runway heading.
Instead, most people manually set prop pitch to the 12 o’clock position for take off and switch to auto immediately after getting airborne.

Secondly, never go past 1.42ata without MW50, doing so even for very short periods will quickly kill the engine. If your 109 is loaded with MW50 make sure that the MW50 switch on the front dash is set to the right and the selector lever (not sure what it’s called) on the left just below the canopy is set to MW50 (which it should be by default). You can confirm that MW50 injection is working by increasing throttle until it jumps past 1.45 and checking the MW50 pressure gauge left of the ASI. If it stays at zero immediately go back to 1.42ata.

Finally, make sure you do not overheat the engine. Slow speeds at high power can quickly lead to overheating as well as prolonged periods of sitting on the ground with the engine in idle. On the ground you can open the radiators manually and put the nose into the wind while running at least 1000RPM but no more than 1200RPM. If you plan to stay on the ground for longer periods simply shut off the engine.
In any case the 109, like other German fighters, does not overheat easily in flight.

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