SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    Chain saw guys... help, please? Stihl won't start.
Page 1 2 3 4 
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Chain saw guys... help, please? Stihl won't start. Login/Join 
Member
Picture of vthoky
posted
Good evening, SF.

Last weekend brought some birch trees down, and the task for evenings this week has been to cut up the downed parts.

My pal J brought over his Stihl MS250C and said, "have at it, make sure you know the number for 9-1-1." Big Grin For the past two evenings, I've come home from work, changed clothes, and cut for a couple of hours. No sweat. Well... there was sweat.

This evening should have been a repeat, but the little Stihl just doesn't want to. This saw has the delayed-start thing, which is a little unnerving. (What's the benefit?)

Got fuel, got choke, got a bunch of yanks on the starter cord... got nothing. I'm in that state of, "well it was running fine when I shut it down yesterday. Why the heck won't it run today?"

Chain saws are like a number of other things in my world -- I can use them, but I don't always know enough to diagnose them when they don't act right. Where do I start?

At this point, it's almost dark and I'm very content with letting it sit 'til morning. But tomorrow morning it had better start -- I've got a lot of work to do!

Thanks, all.




God bless America.
 
Posts: 13425 | Location: The mountainous part of Hokie Nation! | Registered: July 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Did the safety brake get tripped?
 
Posts: 8944 | Location: The Red part of Minnesota | Registered: October 06, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Speaks Bendablese
posted Hide Post
Could be a flooded carb now if you've attempted a lot of starts with the choke. Pull through it until the engine burps and will fire.

Stihl* starting - Set run switch to choke. Pull until the engine burps once. Move switch to run. Pull once more.

* Regular carb, non Mtronic saws.
 
Posts: 286 | Location: MD | Registered: September 28, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
On/off switch in the correct position? How much fuel is in the tank? Fill it and see if it starts-might have a broken pickup tube.



I'm alright it's the rest of the world that's all screwed up!
 
Posts: 1363 | Location: Southern Michigan | Registered: May 30, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of vthoky
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by MNSIG:
Did the safety brake get tripped?


Safety brake? Is that the lever ahead of the handle that stops the chain? --> I pulled for a while with that lever both forward and backward. Got nothing but a tired arm in return.

Flooding. Makes sense. Pull through it with the choke still on? Or off? Will it behave differently (better) after I've let it sit overnight? Or does that overdose of fuel stay in the carb?




God bless America.
 
Posts: 13425 | Location: The mountainous part of Hokie Nation! | Registered: July 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Remove spark plug and dry it off.



I'm alright it's the rest of the world that's all screwed up!
 
Posts: 1363 | Location: Southern Michigan | Registered: May 30, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Repressed
Picture of ShneaSIG
posted Hide Post
250s can be touchy about flooding. No more than 3 pulls on full choke, then go to half, no matter if the engine burped or not. If it floods, go off choke and give about 20 pulls.


-ShneaSIG


Oh, by the way, which one's "Pink?"
 
Posts: 11059 | Location: MO | Registered: November 19, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
If you pulled a lot with the choke on, it’s flooded. Set the switch to run and be prepared to make many pulls. It should finally fire up. Make sure the switch isn’t set between choke and run. If it is, it will sound distinctly different than when pulling during choke and on run.
 
Posts: 840 | Location: FL | Registered: January 29, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Did the safety brake get tripped?

there is not a single stihl that has this as a starting issue, so exactly what is your point?
Its flooded per your description.


“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
 
Posts: 10966 | Registered: October 14, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of sourdough44
posted Hide Post
‘His saw’? I’d check the plug, maybe put a new one in.
 
Posts: 6129 | Location: WI | Registered: February 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of vthoky
posted Hide Post
Sounds like Job One tomorrow is to yank the plug and clean/adjust it.




God bless America.
 
Posts: 13425 | Location: The mountainous part of Hokie Nation! | Registered: July 15, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Keeping the economy moving since 1964
Picture of chbibc
posted Hide Post
From what you describe it sounds like it was flooded. I've done that with my MS 250 (also with my MS 291 and old 034). Next day started fine.

Cleaning or replacing the plug is also good idea as has been noted.


-----------------------
You can't fall off the floor.
 
Posts: 8513 | Location: Rochester, NY behind enemy lines | Registered: March 12, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
Happens to my ms390 all the time.
Remove spark plug. Pull cord 3-4 times. Dry plug.
Reinstall plug.
Do not choke. Put in "high idle"

Pull starter a couple of times. It will then start.
 
Posts: 1038 | Location: New Jersey | Registered: August 16, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
To all of you who are serving or have served our country, Thank You
Picture of Jelly
posted Hide Post
How many hours on the plug? Some 2 strokes can suck the life out of spark plug surprisingly fast. Sometimes it is best just to throw a new plug in with the proper gap and see what happens.

If new plug does not work see if new plug has spark.
 
Posts: 2675 | Registered: March 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by vthoky:
Sounds like Job One tomorrow is to yank the plug and clean/adjust it.


Don't, pull it out and replace it. I had a similar issue with an echo and it turned out the plug was bad.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
250s can be touchy about flooding. No more than 3 pulls on full choke, then go to half, no matter if the engine burped or not. If it floods, go off choke and give about 20 pulls.

I *MUCH* prefer Stihls to Huskies, as it is much easier for me to tell where I am at. It is *almost* always the case that the "burp" is obvious and after pulling the lever up one click to half choke it fires right off. The MS391 threw me a curve today though. Four pulls and not even a hint of a hiccup. None the less, my rule is never more than four on full choke. Switched to half choke, one pull and it was off to the races.

The safety brake (anti-kickback device that locks the chain when forward) won't stop the engine from starting, it will just make it lug a bit once it starts. I normally slap it back to make sure it off before starting "just because" but it isn't necessary. Some folks advocate starting with the safety brake on.

As a rule, I fill the fuel and oil before putting the saw away (we use avgas, so it isn't necessary to drain the fuel), so I always start out with it full. It is worth checking that its full, and make sure that you use mixed fuel.
 
Posts: 6872 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of sourdough44
posted Hide Post
While at it, check/remove the spark arrestor.
 
Posts: 6129 | Location: WI | Registered: February 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Watching for
Falling Rocks
Picture of erratic
posted Hide Post
My MS250 is now going on 10 years of hard labor and I concur with the flooding possibility. I have never had a starting issue following the sequence described in the manual, but I have had a "fail to shut off" issue when the kill wire pin vibrated loose. Otherwise, that's one fantastic machine.
 
Posts: 858 | Location: North Florida Mountains | Registered: December 11, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
posted Hide Post
Fuel, spark, compression.
Needs all three so start checking there.
The only one you can have too much of is fuel and the spark plug will be wet if that's the case.


___________________________
Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible.
 
Posts: 9456 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
When you fall, I will be there to catch you -With love, the floor
posted Hide Post
Bought a Huskie Electric as a back up this year to my gas powered version. Cuts through decent sized birches like butter. Never thought I'd be that happy with a electric version.


Richard Scalzo
Epping, NH

http://www.bigeastakitarescue.net
 
Posts: 5803 | Location: Epping, NH | Registered: October 16, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata Page 1 2 3 4  
 

SIGforum.com    Main Page  Hop To Forum Categories  The Lounge    Chain saw guys... help, please? Stihl won't start.

© SIGforum 2024