My Husq. 41 will not start

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fire_N_ice

Member
Hearth Supporter
Aug 27, 2007
148
Monmouth County, NJ
Ran it an hour on Monday, now will not turn over. Got a new spark plug, (old one is gapped properly and looks to be in good shape) and went to Lowes to see if they had any type of replacement filter and they do not. I have a 30 mile trip to a dealer tomorrow to see if they have one but I was wondering how to clean the one I have? Any suggestions? I saw an online manual stating to clean it , but they don't say how and with what. (I do have fresh gas in it) TIA for replys.
 
Did you take the spark plug out and connect it the wire and pull it over to see if you had spark?

You said it does not turn over? Do you mean it pulls fine but does not start?

I have a farm boss Sthil that ran fine once and then would not start anymore and it was the coil failed/no spark and they do not give those coils away. Seems like it was in the $80 range.
 
I know this is gonna sound really stupid.......but only because the same thing had me stumped for a couple hours with my Stihl 310.....until I had my first cup of joe and cig of the day................................But has your kickback safety bar been engaged ? I assume that Husky has them.........Give it a pull toward your rip cord and see if ya hear it make a clunk......
 
fire_N_ice said:
mile trip to a dealer tomorrow to see if they have one but I was wondering how to clean the one I have? (I do have fresh gas in it) TIA for replys.

Depends on what the air filter is made of . Foam filters are washed in soap and water, dried and oiled.

Fuzzy metal mesh ones can be blown out using compressed air, washed and dried, or both. I use gunk type engine cleaner on them then a light pressure garden hose to make em clean as new.

Remember there is a fuel filter in the tank that could be plugged. I would get a spare at the dealer for both the air and fuel filter.

To clean the motor. I take the bar and chain off, gunk engine cleaner the whole motor assembly, not down the carb hole. Then turn on the garden hose full blast to force the wood and oil off the motor, not down the carb hole or into the exhaust port. Sun dry or hot air blower to dry and fire it up.

The main reasons my saws wont start are

Switch off
Flooded with fuel (hot engine choke on)(hot engine over primed )(or both)
Chain brake on
No gas
Dirty air filter
Carb out of adjustment
Old fuel (last years still in it the next year)
Saws old (80 ish)
 
This could all be fixed, take the saw to the local Stihl dealer and beg for a good trade-in! Just kidding, I have a 141 Husky, had it for about 6 years now, and it's never failed to start. I'm usually the one that gets all frustrated when things won't start, only to find that one of the safety devices is engaged. I've never put a new plug or fuel filter in mine, and I cut 5+ cords of wood with it for 3 years. I replace the air filter once a year, and keep a spare in my toolbox. Other than that, I just clean the saw occaisionally, but nothing serious. Let us know what you find out.
 
Yours may have a different problem but my new 141 wouldn't start a few weeks ago. Just about the time I was ready to give up and take it back I noticed something. The fuel line under the air filter had come loose. The line is just press fit, no retainer of any kind, on each end and it had come off on the carb end. Luckily it didn't burst into flame like my old Pro-Mac 610 did years ago.

I pushed the line back onto the metal tube to the carb, secured it with a thin diameter safety wire "clamp" and it fired right off.
 
Did run to dealer this morning to get air filter. All they had was the maintenance kit( air filter, fuel filter, spark plug, 2 cycle engine oil) I showed them the old air filter and we agreed it was pretty much shot. Got home, put their plug in and checked for spark. YES!, next. Air filter in, STOP switch off, cranked it a couple of times, got a little hint of "I want to start". I then put 2 drops of gas line anti freeze (alcohol) on the air filter. 2 more pulls and it started up!
On my way to the dealer I seem to remember, the saw had sat for a couple of days on its side 1/2 full of gas. Maybe the way it was positioned caused the fuel to drain back into the tank creating a length of air in the line. The dealer agreed that might be the problem.
Thanks for all the suggestions. They really helped me get more familar with my saw.
My brother gave it to me about 4 years ago, when he moved from the Jersey shore to PA. They built a house with a gas fireplace and are not too happy with it. They miss the wood burning aroma to the point of walking the dog around the neighborhood late evening, winter, just to smell wood burning.

Did cut some wood today, Thanks again!
 

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I have had 2 141 saws and I sure wouldn't brag about them. First one died just in warranty period because it injested a carb mounting nut. Figure out that one, but they acknowledged it sure does happen and gave me a new saw. This one works ok if you can manage to make it start. Never could make it start right cold with no primer and that damned automatic shutoff choke. Touch the throttle choke opens instantly and the saw invariably dies. Not easy to modify so the choke works PROPERLY like a choke should. Next time I am going to get a Stihl since one look shows you they are much better made. You will find that if you use something to jam the choke closed manually it will start and run better till its warmed up. I like the weight but if I used it a lot anymore I would get something better.
 
Husky and Stihl make homeowner saws and professional grade saws, but good ones cost more. The low end Huskies are glorified Poulans. Some have luck with them and some not. Just curious my Husky says to put the chain brake on when starting, for safety reasons. I don't care to bog down my clutch, so I don't do that.
 
Now I am taking it to the shop. with my new problem of it hard starting and every time I gave it gas, it would bog down and choke. So I read the manual and it talked about a final setting with the needle valves. So I tryed to correct the too high idle causing the chain to move with out aid. Then I set the high speed needle and...................... Viola, does not run at all.
 
I have had 2 141 saws and I sure wouldn’t brag about them. First one died just in warranty period because it injested a carb mounting nut. Figure out that one, but they acknowledged it sure does happen and gave me a new saw. This one works ok if you can manage to make it start. Never could make it start right cold with no primer and that damned automatic shutoff choke. Touch the throttle choke opens instantly and the saw invariably dies. Not easy to modify so the choke works PROPERLY like a choke should. Next time I am going to get a Stihl since one look shows you they are much better made. You will find that if you use something to jam the choke closed manually it will start and run better till its warmed up. I like the weight but if I used it a lot anymore I would get something better.

If you buy an entry level saw you get entry level features guys. The rule of thumb is you get what you pay for.

If you want a saw that is going to perform, spend the extra money on a professional level saw.

Stihl, Husky, Jonsared, Dolmar and Shindaiwa all make high end saws. Do your research before you buy.

From what I've seen best (new) saws for the dollar are:

Husky 346XP
Husky 372XP

Stihl MS361
Stihl MS441

Dolmar 5100
Dolmar 7900

I'm not familiar with Jonsared or Shindaiwa through personal experience.
 
Mine was free, new saw for me, but built in 92 or 95?? Brother used once a year. So I expected problems.. only I expected them immediately, not 1 hour after running fine. I started having problems after refueling. maybe it is the gasohol. Well I would think it is time to take to shop and let them reset and check. It has never been there. If they say it is not worth fixing, then stihl dealer, here I come.
 
Mine was free, new saw for me, but built in 92 or 95?? Brother used once a year. So I expected problems.. only I expected them immediately, not 1 hour after running fine. I started having problems after refueling. maybe it is the gasohol. Well I would think it is time to take to shop and let them reset and check. It has never been there. If they say it is not worth fixing, then stihl dealer, here I come.

I'm not dissing a free saw by any means, just pointing out to Driz that when you purchase a new saw, you do get what you pay for.

You don't buy a Yugo and expect it will have Porsche speed and Toyota reliability and the the same tolken you don't buy an entry level saw and expect it to meet top performance.
 
Just a thought did you try removing the exhaust and cleaning the spark arrester screen. If you run with heavy oil concentration gas mix this will clog and cause problems like yours. Just a thought before you spent a ton of money repairing.
 
What that saw needs is something jamming the choke open till you get a chance to run it up to speed. That magic choke is nothing more than a recipe for failure. If everything is "just right" it will run fine but thats not the real world case. Get it adjusted right to spec and it probably will work for you at least most of the time. Otherwise just jam it open with something and I bet you will be good to go. Damned eviro extremests and government morons can't leave anything alone. How long can you run a saw without the choke on before you notice and open the thing anyways? I bet you everything I have the beancounting morons who dreamed these regs up never even saw a chain saw except on a store shelf. I did notice later on that the higher end ones had a somewhat different choke than those smaller ones. Now of course it the saw came with a primer button like most other things do today it would start fine. Dumb, Cheap!
 
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