Thwarted!

[Dave Shepard]

This thing doesn't seem to want to cold start very well. Don't know if maybe the carb rebuild wasn't very good. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[SkwerI]

Good deal! I wish my 395 was that cheap, looks like you got a runner there.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I was expecting more trouble getting it tuned, but all I had to do was back out the low speed. At first, it was idling at 3000, and a bit boggy. As I backed the low speed out, the idle dropped to 2500, it revved properly, and high speed was 12,000. The manual says to run it 600-700 low for break in of a new saw. I'll cut some firewood with it, and then bring the high speed up to the 12,500 spec, or just on the edge of four stroke.

 

[SkwerI]

This thing doesn't seem to want to cold start very well. Don't know if maybe the carb rebuild wasn't very good. Any ideas? Thanks.

My 372s all take 6-8-10 pulls or more on full choke before they kick when cold, but then push in the choke and they always fire off on the next pull. They run perfect otherwise so I just accept it as the nature of the beast.

My 395 starts with 3-4 pulls but it's still new.

 

[Paul B]

RJS, please quantify 'cold'.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I had to prime it this afternoon to get it to run, after maybe 40 pulls. It sat for a while at 14F while I got the cookie log out, and it started two pulls on choke. Maybe it just needs to get run some more. My Husky66 is the best starting saw I have. 3-4 pulls, push the choke off, and it sits there idling.

 

[Al Smith]

I don't know if this applies or not .My 2100 for reasons unknown to me gets black chit stuck in the screen in the carb .Doesn't do it all the time though .The son of a brick goes along just fine then the rotted SOB won't start the next day .Sure enough ,clogged screen. Yet after the sceen is cleaned it will run all day and may or may not start the next .

If the screen is okay maybe half dozen pulls cold .Warm 1 maybe two .

Any thing over 80 -85 CCs' is way too big to be tugging on 20-30 times .

 

[SkwerI]

Al, I bet it's the inside of the fuel line dissolving due to the changes in gasoline (ethanol mostly). The newest fuel lines are more ethanol resistant. You might have to pick up a roll of fuel line and go through some of your older saws.

 

[JamesTX]

It's also good for polishing your metal mirror in the slammer.

If you have a scratched dvd, polish it with toothpaste, then car wax.

 

[Al Smith]

That's what it was B ,fuel line residue . I thought I got all the old flushed out but must have missed some .Even with a new fuel line and a celullos filter that chit gets through .

I know another guy that has the same problem .I'm thinking tank seal or some thing because I even pressure washed it . I've heard the older metal tanks are bad for his .

It might not be the problem on Daves saw but something is hindering the fuel delivery .It should not be that hard to start .Geeze that would wear you out .

 

[woodworkingboy]

The taper on the crank/flywheel is actualy what holds it in place .The keyway is just for reference .

Tooth paste has a very very light abbrasive in it thus gripping the metal surfaces better . Old ,old trick .

The toothpaste trick was taught to me by GrandDog, the head mechanic at Baileys. One model of Husky was prone to the keys shearing.

 

[Al Smith]

I've got a little 70 cc Mac that runs like a raped ape but I'm soon to be on my 4 th crankshaft because it evidently slips the flywheel and break out the keyway . The next go around will be with a different flywheel ,laped to the crank and maybe a tad bit of tooth paste . Gull durnit I'm running out of crankshafts .

 

[Dave Shepard]

Thwarted again! The saw started hare the first time, that was expected. Saturday, it started hard, but then was fine the rest of the day. Sunday, cold started it, and I mean COLD started it fine. This morning, same 8 pulls. Stopped by a friends after work to cut some boiler fuel, and work the saw, and it's got no spark. Don't know what that's all about. I tried to take the kill switch out because it had gotten cracked in the bed of the truck, but it fell apart. The coil has to be grounded to kill the spark, right? Still wouldn't make spark, even unhooked from the broken switch.

 

[Al Smith]

Does it have one of those damned coils under the flywheel ?

It just might have a cracked coil casing ,you can't see the crack .Moisture gets inside and causes a malfunction .

Pull the coil out and dry it in the oven at low heat or just let it sit in a warm room a week or so .Spray the outside with urethane or glyptol which is an electrical type varnish,red in color .Make sure any metal that must make contact for the circuit is not covered .Might save it,might not.

On the other hand it might just be the kill wire is shorted some place .

 

[Dave Shepard]

The coil is beside the flywheel, not under. I'll check the coil wire again, but it looked good when I put it in the other night. I brushed the gunk off of the coil with a kero soaked toothbrush. It didn't get dipped, but if it was a leaker, I don't think it would have started right up. Kind of a bummer. I'll pull the recoil tomorrow so I can poke aound in there and see if maybe the coil moved and I lost the air gap. Might also be a crappy plug, but I blasted it, and it didn't help.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I got the saw to run today by putting in another plug and disconnecting the wire to the kill switch. I would have expected a hotter spark. I figure either the wire is bad to the switch, or the coil dried out enough to run. New problem. I found the white tube pictured below on the floor of the garage. I don't know if it belongs in the saw or not, but the saw will leak out a whole tank of bar oil overnight. I'm thinking it goes to the vent hole, inside the tank. I don't remember ever playing with it, however.

 

[Al Smith]

That damned 2100 would take a fit about like that .Run fine one day then seemed to lack spark the next .For reasons unknown to me it just quit acting like spoiled child and decided to spark .About the time you think you know something up pops a deal like that to make you feel dumb as a mop handle .

 

[Dave Shepard]

Latest update on my chainsaw repairer journey. I put a new plug and switch in it, and it works fine. I also shoved that little plastic pipe into the vent hole from the outside, and now it doesn't leak bar oil. If it quits again, I'll have to assume it's got a cracked coil, and will implement the glyptol solution. Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[SkwerI]

Good to hear, Dave. About time you got that saw running.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I bucked a few big ash logs this afternoon, the 32" full comp is a little grabby, but just barely noticeable. As long as you don't stuff it hard like it's pine, it really sings. I put a couple of tanks through it, and it needed to have the idle bumped a tad. I reset the idle and low speed. It seems to four-stroke to at least 13k. It's set at the factory 12,500 now, until I learn more about these things. It starts on the 3rd pull, if I don't use the decomp. It really liked chewing up those ash logs, can't wait to get it in some of the big pine with the square chisel chain. I've ordered an Oregon full-skip square chisel to see what all the fuss is about. It's been a dang fine day.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Don't see how full comp would make for a grabby chain?

 

[Dave Shepard]

It's not the full comp that is grabby, just the amount of ash I was trying to saw through. Rakers were probably a little low for ash. The pine I tested the saw in the other day wasn't grabby, and you could really bear down on the saw.

We're supposed to be doing some logging at work soon, big pine and sycamore. I'll run the saw a while, and see how my mechanic-ing holds up.:roll: Then I'll try to figure out a port and polish, less squish, big hole in muffler type modification.

 

[Dave Shepard]

Figured out the intermittent not running problem, the fuel tank is not venting. The saw would start and stall, then act like it was flooded, but the plug would be dry. I haven't fixed the vent yet, but found that it will run fine as long as you keep it running. Starts second or third pull.

I also got a new tool for working on saws, a Bosch Impactor. It is an impact driver ( ), that takes any 1/4" hex bit. I got an assortment of longer torx and hex bits, but I'm going to order some 6" hex bits for taking the saw apart. I found that a lot of the time in working on a saw, especially to the extent of a complete teardown, was spent screwing fine thread hardware in and out. It's got 800 in/lbs, hopefully that and the impact will be enough to get most bolts loose.


Bosch Impactor

 

[cybergeek23851]

Figured out the intermittent not running problem, the fuel tank is not venting. The saw would start and stall, then act like it was flooded, but the plug would be dry. I haven't fixed the vent yet, but found that it will run fine as long as you keep it running. Starts second or third pull.

I also got a new tool for working on saws, a Bosch Impactor. It is an impact driver ( ), that takes any 1/4" hex bit. I got an assortment of longer torx and hex bits, but I'm going to order some 6" hex bits for taking the saw apart. I found that a lot of the time in working on a saw, especially to the extent of a complete teardown, was spent screwing fine thread hardware in and out. It's got 800 in/lbs, hopefully that and the impact will be enough to get most bolts loose.


Bosch Impactor

I LOVE mine... makes mounting breaker boxes, disconnects, anything go smoother if it needs a screw installed.

I have it's bigger brother.

http://www.boschtools.com/Products/Tools/Pages/BoschProductDetail.aspx?pid=23612
I snagged it new in box on ebay a couple of years ago for $100.00

 

[Al Smith]

Figured out the intermittent not running problem, the fuel tank is not venting. The saw would start and stall, then act like it was flooded, but the plug would be dry. I haven't fixed the vent yet, but found that it will run fine as long as you keep it running. Starts second or third pull.

I had that problem on two saws .The infamous 2100 Husky and a 2800 Poulan . I stuck vents on them like Stihl uses with the little screw in them [older Stihls ] Problem fixed .