HUSKY PROBLEMS AGAIN

[fire_N_ice]

Last year I had taken My chain saw to the dealer because it would not start. $350, 8 weeks later, + an argument about the new carb. (Dealer would not warantee the carb unless I bought a new bar and chain) I got it back Basically rebuilt.( carb,plug,ignition system, air filter , Part from air filter to carb, fuel filter, fuel line) During the time I was missing the Husqy, I was using my electric and got all the wood I needed cut and stacked for the winter.

I went to start it this year and it ran like brand new. Let it idle for a few minutes, stayed running to my surprise. However, when I went to cut a 6 inch soft wood pine log, it started losing power and stalled. Started it up again reved it up, and it bogged down again in mid cut. Had to finish the job with my wen electric saw.

Note: did change to fresher gas after the first stall. So guys what do you think is wrong now?
Did they clean up the carb and SAY they put a new one on? Did it get gummed up again? Is it time to buy a STIHL?

TIA for any replys!

 

[cmonSTART]

What kind of Husky is it? Is it the 41 in your signiture?

From the list of parts they replaced, it sounds like your saw was pretty gummed up and rotted, which it plausible. $350 and 8 weeks sounds a bit much though.

I can only guess what's wrong with your saw because I'm not there listening to it, but maybe an air leak somewhere, like seals or intake? I would have to hear it run to be sure. Honestly it could be a lot, even fuel with the fresher gas (water, sawdust etc).

 

[JimmyMood]

That's disheartening. You needed to buy a new bar and chain to get a warranty? what kind of extortion is that? I bought a Husky 142 from Lowes back in February and I have the same problem. It starts, idles, and runs at full throttle fine till I try to cut and then it just dies. I'm now afraid to bring it back because I'll probably be charged $350 too. This is only after about 5-6 tanks of gas. Oh, and the recoil starter was practically broken out of the box, I had to rewind the spring.

I called Husky about the problem and they directed me to their authorized repair shops. I have become completely frustrated with Husky's "authorized" repair shops, for all the extra money I spent over the other brands I can't get this one fixed.

Authorized shop #1 said they won't fix it under warranty because I didn't buy it from them.
Authorized shop #2 said they might fix it under warranty, but only if they can prove it was a manufacturing defect AND it will take 8 weeks anyways. I can understand that if I broke it, it is my fault but the guy sounded like he was setting me up.

Dare I call the Husky support line back and try for "Authorized Shop" #3?

 

[TMonter]

You should be dumping any stale gas out and filling with fresh gas.

What two-stroke oil are you guys using?

 

[fire_N_ice]

Yes the 41 which is an old Pro model '93 to '97, I think. Bought from a different dealer by my father who handed it off to my brother, then off to me. Dealer said compresion is good. I will try today to see if anything changed. TRYED nothing changed.
I feel now, that they(Husq) are working with Lowes, you must take it back to Lowes if something goes wrong. Working P/T with their competitor, I know we will send it out if out of waranty or there is a question with a waranty. It goes to a central "repair Shop". If it is covered under waranty, customer does not pay, if not, then the shaft is brought out.

So I know there is a difference between a store bought and a dealer except for a few dealers. From what I know and have seen, if purchacing from either one a major item: Buy the extended waranty.

 

[TMonter]

Authorized shop #1 said they won’t fix it under warranty because I didn’t buy it from them.
Authorized shop #2 said they might fix it under warranty, but only if they can prove it was a manufacturing defect AND it will take 8 weeks anyways. I can understand that if I broke it, it is my fault but the guy sounded like he was setting me up.

Dare I call the Husky support line back and try for “Authorized Shop” #3?

Call husky and complain. Any husky shop that refuses to work on a husky warranty repair can lose their dealership status.

 

[JimmyMood]

Husky said something to that effect when I called back, they said they would forward that information (that the dealer was refusing warranty repairs) to their sales department. They then gave me the number for shop #2.

Lowes doesn't want it back either because I didn't opt for their extended warranty plan (I think that it was $60 or so) because I figured the manufacture had a good reputation and I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Sorry, I seem to have hijacked this thread......

 

[Carl]

Just posted to the other Husky problem person. I purchased one a couple of years ago and had the same problems. I think they must coat the carb with something for storage. It floods very easily and once flooded it is difficult or impossible to get it to start. I dryed the plug, pulled only a couple of times with the choke on, then pulled a few times with the throttle open and it would start but not idle. Finally I decided to mix the gas a little lean and this brought it to life. They must be very finicky about their mix so you might try using a little lean mixture till it will run and idle ok. It worked for me and now is runniing almost like any other saw. The more I ran it the better it got so once running you should cut some wood even if you have to restart it. Just don't choke it more than a couple of pulls.

My verdict is I will not buy another Husky. My first and only because I was on an island with no sthil dealer. My two new sthil's I purchased here at home start the second pull. The Husky on the island at our second home is starting better now. Old gas will never do in one of these. Make sure it is less than 6 months old.

Good luck and I certainly wouldn't take it back unless for a refund. I opted not to have the hardware where I purchased it tinker with it and glad I didn't.

 

[sapratt]

If you have to pay $350 for work on your saw at a dealer then its not worth it. Even if it may be covered by warranty
Find a small engine shop have them look at it and tell you what is wrong with it. One thing I have noticed
just from buying some parts. A dealer is twice as much money as a small shop.

 

[brad068]

350 bucks!! I should move out to east coast and make a killing! I haven't run across a motor that I can't fix

Check your low and high speed mixture screws. Pop off them damn plastic covers and set the screws @ 1 turn out from bottom on both is a good start. Better yet take the screws all the way out ( keep track of them) and blow air into the holes then set. If that don't work take the diaphragm cover off the carb and bend the needle valve lever to let more gas in to the diaphragm. Did they do a leak-down test? This test can solve alot of problems. Yes new gas does do wonders too but when you dump out the old gas, check the pickup line to see if it is in good shape. blended fuel will soften up the fuel line and collapse it or restrict the flow. Does the line have a small rip in it? Is the suction line, ( if equipped) in good shape (on,fit tight, pliable,etc.)? 99% of the time, the problems are with the fuel and mechanical system and a 1% that it is electrical in my experiences

 

[fire_N_ice]

At the time, local small engine repair shop said it would take 3 weeks to even look at it and dealer said 1 week/ fix within 2 weeks total. Ended up taking it back to engine repair shop after I left the dealer to ask about the carb waranty thing and even he could not believe what I was told. He said my bar was fine with minute wear.Same for chain. Told him from that point forward I would bring him all my small engine repairs.

Took a vid+sound of what is going on. Tryed to post here but it is too big. will try utube. then post the link .

 

[fire_N_ice]

Is it me? Am I not doing something right?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhTYxMu2g04


www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhTYxMu2g04 (Link)

 

[granpajohn]

350 bucks!! I should move out to east coast and make a killing! I haven't run across a motor that I can't fix

Check your low and high speed mixture screws. Pop off them damn plastic covers and set the screws @ 1 turn out from bottom on both is a good start. Better yet take the screws all the way out ( keep track of them) and blow air into the holes then set. If that don't work take the diaphragm cover off the carb and bend the needle valve lever to let more gas in to the diaphragm. Did they do a leak-down test? This test can solve alot of problems. Yes new gas does do wonders too but when you dump out the old gas, check the pickup line to see if it is in good shape. blended fuel will soften up the fuel line and collapse it or restrict the flow. Does the line have a small rip in it? Is the suction line, ( if equipped) in good shape (on,fit tight, pliable,etc.)? 99% of the time, the problems are with the fuel and mechanical system and a 1% that it is electrical in my experiences

I will second most of this^. In addition; regarding old/new fuel and its delivery: Also clean that pickup line and filter with carb cleaner. Then I blew it out, (after putting it back in the tank etc.), by attaching a piece of fuel line at the carb end...blow til it bubbles a bit. Then be prepared for it to, (under tank pressure), spill back at you a little. There is a tank vent to prevent negative pressure from starving the carb.

When mine was brand-new-under-warranty, it also developed a tendency to refuse to rev up and make power. That all came down to mixture screws. The Husky is very sensitive to this. Garn couldn't be more right...get those damn plastic covers off. And keep your tuning screwdriver handy.

Lastly; I once mistakenly tuned without the air filter element in place. This made a very surprising difference in fuel delivery. She was eating much more air than gas to the point of not running at all. Make certain you take this into account.

Oh, mine is a 345. Hope it helps.

 

[brad068]

FI,

Its sounds like it is running out of fuel. You can hear when you are cutting that the engine is rich then starts to rev up (leaning out) then dies. As I stated before, check the fuel line, pulse line, gas tank vent line or grommet. I would say that a crankcase leak is not a problem which a leak-down would find. If it isn't a external fuel problem than I would say the carb is the problem If it was in my hands I could figure it out easier than trying to tell someone. Just remember, its always easier for a engine to pump just air than a fuel/air mix.

 

[Acosi151]

That's disheartening. You needed to buy a new bar and chain to get a warranty? what kind of extortion is that?

When I was running thinning saws guys who didn't keep on top of their sharpening would end up going through angle gears and engines twice as fast as maintained saws. I can only assume that with a chainsaw dull chains leave saws under heavy load wide-open longer than they should be and bent / worn out bars would add even more load to the already bad situation.

I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY THAT THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR SITUATION. It's just a 'devil's advocate' answer.

All that aside, for $350 I'd either learn to fix it myself or sell it to someone who does and buy a new saw. My current saw, a used Jonsered Super 630 61cc, cost me $200 and has 5 cords under it's belt felled, limbed and bucked since I bought it last month. I just 'fixed' my father-in-law's husky 41 by cleaning the air filter and spraying some carb cleaner through. 41's are old saws and a used one would be worth less than $350 so be careful before you spend any more money.

 

[cmonSTART]

bummer, it says the video is no longer available.

 

[fire_N_ice]

Vid now has link too. just trying to gather enough info before I try it myself, Thank you all for your responses. Have the day off 2day so will get to the list of things to check this afternoon.
$ thing: they pre diagn. as dirty carb only to open a Pandoras box of problems.
I am pretty new to chainsaws, so living in NJ, attitude of dealer, attitude of mechanic, promises of returning my call and not returned, 20 miles one way trip to dealer, etc. I was happy to get my chainsaw and go. looked like a pretty busy shop and great service . . . . to the ones who spent the most $. Dealer was/ is 80% Nursery 20 maybe shop.
Funny thing about the small engine repair shop, I could tell in his response, after he told me it would be 3 weeks b4 he could look at it, and I told him I would take it to the dealer, that he knew that they may take me through the wringer. So I am still learning. But now I know.

 

[fire_N_ice]

Everything checked and is good. Tryed to readjust the settings on the screws. these "screws" do not have a screw head and are rounded with somesort of grip etched on the head. Looked like a special tool is needed and the forecepts I was using of course, made things worse. tryed high first, then low.

You know what happened.

Waiting for it to cool, so I can drop it off at the small engine repair shop. Oh well. Then heading to the Stihl dealer just to look. I have 3 face cords split and seasoning. So I can cut with the electric for the time being. Most likely next week.

 

[taxidermist]

Post your problem on arborsite.com and see if they can help. Can you rev the saw to full throttle when not cutting wood? Also on the arborist site you can search on how to remove the caps on your H and L settings.

Rob

 

[fire_N_ice]

Too late, saw in shop but not the dealer. He was thinking it might be the carb diaphram hardened up over the winter. I think I emptied the carb bowl but now I am not sure. Ethonal in the gas to blame. The gas that was in there, was from the dealer, so it might of been regular.

Big sign on the Stihl dealer door, to skip the regular gas b/c of the 10%ethonal too. (NJ)

Just looking. Good peeps!

 

[cmonSTART]

Thing is, I think even the 89 and 93 octanes have the same percentage of ethanol too. It's all the same now. There is no getting away from it. We're all doomed!

It does sound like a fuel delivery problem. It didn't even sound right when you revved it up just before cutting the log. I think the new saw shop is on the right track with this.

 

[brad068]

Everything checked and is good. Tryed to readjust the settings on the screws. these "screws" do not have a screw head and are rounded with somesort of grip etched on the head. Looked like a special tool is needed and the forecepts I was using of course, made things worse. tryed high first, then low.

You know what happened.

Waiting for it to cool, so I can drop it off at the small engine repair shop. Oh well. Then heading to the Stihl dealer just to look. I have 3 face cords split and seasoning. So I can cut with the electric for the time being. Most likely next week.

Sorry FI, forgot that. Some carb screws still have the slot under the caps. I have taken out these style screws and used a small file edge or a small dremel cutting wheel and cut these slots in them. The screws shouldn't come out that hard espically once the screw is out far enough that the spring pressure is relieved. It is sometimes eaiser to remove the carb to access these screws but I don't know how far you want to go. The "splines" on the head of the screws are for the plastic caps to grip so the screws can be turned (that one turn).

Another option sometimes is to remove the shoulders on the plastic caps so the don't hit each other when they turn depending on what style of caps they are.

That could be the problem with the diaphragm but I still think it is something else.

 

[kenskip1]

How about a clogged gas tank vent?If the saw is unable to draw the gas out of thee tank this will kill a saw. To test this, simply loosen the gas cap and see if this takes care of the problem.Another tid bit, and this may be a weak coil. As the coil gets warm it looses it's ability to make a good hot spark. Just my $.002. Hope this helps, Ken

 

[Hogwildz]

Did ya put fuel stabilizer in for the over winter slumber?
If not, time to de-gunk the carb.

 

[fire_N_ice]

I will find out with in 4 weeks. Like I said , I am not sure if I "winterized" it properly. I don't think I did. Stihl dealer spoke highly of the small engine repair shop owner, Norm.
Too hot to cut wood here anyway.
Not many people working on their yards either for me to scrounge and score some more wood.
I have time. My electric has a pro chain. It works well.