Poulan Pro 50cc won't start.

[woodking]

This saw worked great,and cut 4-5 cords in the 8 months I've had it. Just the other day, I was cutting with no problems, stopped the saw for 10 min., whent to restart and - nothing. Maybe heard a slight 'pop' when I tried to restart, might have been in my head?!
Anyway, it has fuel, it is getting spark with the plug out of the cyl, I even gave it ashot of starting fluid in cyl and replaced plug- no start, no smoke.

Before I toss it for a sthil, any suggestions?

 

[MasterMech]

Before I toss it for a sthil, any suggestions?

Well, that would have been my suggestion.

Pull the plug again, keep the ignition off, hold the throttle open (use a wire or zip tie if necessary) and pull the saw over several times. If all kinds of fuel comes spraying out, then it was flooded and just needs to be cleared and restarted.

If you get nothing, I'd put it back together and attempt to restart it normally. If it doesn't fire after 5-6 pulls with the choke on, pull the plug and see if it's wet. If it is, I'd clear the saw again and replace the plug.

 

[woodking]

Good idea, i'll take the plug out, turn it over and let it dry for a day. I actually like this saw, really disappointed with this first problem!
I'll give this a shot tommorow and post my glorius (hopefully!) result.!

 

[hrhunter]

Lay off the starting fluid, though.

 

[TreePointer]

This saw worked great,and cut 4-5 cords in the 8 months I've had it. Just the other day, I was cutting with no problems, stopped the saw for 10 min., whent to restart and - nothing.,,,

This can be a sign of a low pressure condition in the fuel tank which starves the engine (vapor lock). Solution: as soon as you turn off the saw after cutting with it for a good while, crack open the fuel cap to allow air to enter and relieve the low pressure. You will know if this is the issue when you unscrew the fuel cap as you will hear a pronounced sucking sound. A clogged/failing breather valve in the fuel tank can cause this, but replacing the valve isn't a guaranteed fix. Some saws are just more prone to this.

 

[Thistle]

This can be a sign of a low pressure condition in the fuel tank which starves the engine (vapor lock). Solution: as soon as you turn off the saw after cutting with it for a good while, crack open the fuel cap to allow air to enter and relieve the low pressure. You will know if this is the issue when you unscrew the fuel cap as you will hear a pronounced sucking sound. A clogged/failing breather valve in the fuel tank can cause this, but replacing the valve isn't a guaranteed fix. Some saws are just more prone to this.

My old Mac PM610 did that quite a lot.Started 2-3 pulls every time when cold,would run very strong,but if I shut it off to do something else or the tank run empty it was guaranteed you'd wait 30 minutes at least after refueling before it would start again.

 

[woodking]

I quit trying to start it! It is under warranty, so now its at the repair shop, I'll get to the bottom of this!

 

[Pallet Pete]

Hope you get it working ! All my old Poulans would do this from time to time so I would drain all the gas and oil and let it sit. Usually that worked if not I would pull the plug out and pull the cord a few times and that would work.

Pete

 

[thewoodlands]

This saw worked great,and cut 4-5 cords in the 8 months I've had it. Just the other day, I was cutting with no problems, stopped the saw for 10 min., whent to restart and - nothing. Maybe heard a slight 'pop' when I tried to restart, might have been in my head?!
Anyway, it has fuel, it is getting spark with the plug out of the cyl, I even gave it ashot of starting fluid in cyl and replaced plug- no start, no smoke.

Before I toss it for a sthil, any suggestions?

Did the plug (not sure of the correct term) pop loose, you might need a heli coil.

 

[woodking]

Got a call from repair shop. bad news and good news. (says the shop guy).
Bad= He pulled the muffler to inspect cyl, found it all scratched up. So he took it apart, found a snap ring or e-clip came off piston and wrecked cyl.
Good= Poulan is sending him a new replacement saw , hes gonna tune it up and call when its ready.
Sounds like all good news to me, I told him!