Stihi 260 won't shut off

[xman23]

I was warming up my saws as I do every few months in the off season. My 23 year old 260 Pro wouldn't shutdown. I moved the switch all the way up. I moved the selection switch up and down, maybe four times before it shutdown. As I was doing this I considered going all the way down to full choke. I assume this would have stalled the saw. But didn't have to as the off position finally worked.

Before I tear into this, I thought I would ask if anyone know's what the issue is, and the fix.

Thanks
Tom

 

[ABMax24]

Switch or the wiring to the switch. IIRC the kill switch shorts the power to the coil to ground, obviously it isn't shorting the power to ground so the coil keeps sparking and the engine keeps running.

 

[salecker]

Yup just a matter of readjusting the contact point on the switch or you have a wire broke.

 

[ericm979]

Yes the switch shorts out the coil primary. It's probably the switch contacts. It's not a sealed switch.

The choke would have killed it. Or you can take the cover off and pull the spark plug wire.

 

[rwh63]

sounds like my ex-wife!

 

[CincyBurner]

Seems like same thing that happened to my MS 260 Pro last year. It wouldn't shut off. It needed to be put in choke position to shut off.
I took it in for service - broken ignition wire.

 

[xman23]

It was the broken wire attached to the a brass shorting contact that you move up and down. Very old school. Amazing this design, Its not broken all the time. So i spliced a wire in. It worked a few times but my repair must of opened up the holder.
I'm off to my dealer to see what they say. Stihl is a great saw, but they do get into over engineered solutions, A mechanical cam that hits the stationary micro switch would have been fine.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Easy, just put as much gas in it as you need to cut. That way it shuts off when you are done and you don't have to do any extra work.

 

[RockyMtnGriz]

Easy, just put as much gas in it as you need to cut. That way it shuts off when you are done and you don't have to do any extra work.

Ha! I have this crappy little Craftsman/Poulan somebody gave me that I used to like to use for limbing until it started wearing out seriously. That thing must have had the biggest fuel tank to cc ratio of any saw ever built. Ran FOREVER on a tank. Never get a break with that saw!

 

[salecker]

just choke it till you fix the switch,very simple design to repair

 

[xman23]

It's fixed. The Stihl dealer did a nice job replacing the pair of wires that get shorted to shut off the saw. Also replaced the plastic movable piece I F up. The one the contact wire attaches to. $125. Still not a great design. But my guys say it's on all Stihl saws.

There is an issue with choking the saw to shut it off. It floods the engine. And restarts are not easy. I think there is a procedure for flooded restarts, but I can't recall what it is.

 

[TomMcDonald]

It's fixed. The Stihl dealer did a nice job replacing the pair of wires that get shorted to shut off the saw. Also replaced the plastic movable piece I F up. The one the contact wire attaches to. $125. Still not a great design. But my guys say it's on all Stihl saws.

There is an issue with choking the saw to shut it off. It floods the engine. And restarts are not easy. I think there is a procedure for flooded restarts, but I can't recall what it is.

You can either plant the throttle and pull the rope until it starts (you might need three hands), or pull the plug and turn the engine over 20 times (the excess fuel will vapourise out the spark plug hole). Both methods can be a pain so best not to flood it in the first place.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

Clearing a flooded saw is not hard. Just set it on high idle, like you do after it fires. Throttle locked open and no choke. Lay the saw on it's side and pull over a few times. Now hang it by the handle and pull a few more times. This allows the fuel to move through the transfers and out the exhaust. If you can tell when the piston is at bdc, you can part it there and then just rotate/hang the saw and the extra fuel will run out the exhaust on its own. Repeat the rotate/hang motion a few times and it should fire.
A stock saw will flood easier than a ported saw, and will also take longer to clear, but it's not bad.

 

[salecker]

If you are choking the saw to shut it off...
You don't have to leave the choke on till it stops,choke it till it starts to die then open the choke.By the time it stops moving it has cleared some of the extra fuel

 

[Ashful]

Husqvarna's have the electric kill switch, but I wasn't aware there was even an electric short/kill integrated into the Stihl multi-function lever. Every time I've ever had a problem with a Stihl or Echo not shutting off, it has been a simple mechanical issue of sawdust fouling the linkage, and always fixed with a blow gun nozzle on the air compressor.

Now that I keep my saws blown clean after every few uses, the problem doesn't occur. But I guess I wasn't so fastidious when I was younger.

 

[xman23]

All, Thanks for the tricks on starting a flooded saw. Isaac, LOL, about all that was missing was hold the saw above your head and pull. All great suggestions!

Saecker, I to thought I could get it stalled and get the choke off in time to prevent the flood. If there is a trick to it, I didn't figure it out. That's when I decided to get it fixed.