I got this Poulan Pro 20″ chainsaw from a buddy of mine. He doesn’t like to fix things so he is having me look at it. It’s in good shape but it won’t start. It’s got spark. Even when I put gas on the plug or in the carb it won’t even fire? If it’s got spark and you add gas shouldn’t it fire? And yes the red button is up…not down to kill it.
Sometimes you just have to keep pulling that cord til she pops …..or your arm falls off. I’ve had some real dandy times where I swear it took 20-30 pulls.
If the chain brake (Unknown whats its actually called) resetting properly?
DT
I am assuming it ran when your friend put it away.
If so, it sounds me me like it is time to clean/ rebuild the carburetor.
Be sure to clean all the very small ports with a fine brass wire, replace the diaphragm and gaskets.
I see that some of the cheap chain saws have a designed life on them. I had one that had a 50 hour motor on it. Guessing the motor was designed to last about 50hrs and throw away.
If you clean off the plug, spray it, and down in the cylinder with starting fluid let them both dry while you clean or remove the air filter. Now give it a shot of starting fluid in the cylinder put plug back in fast and try it.
Starting fluid + 2-stroke cylinders = destruction. There’s no lubrication for the piston or cylinders when trying to run on starting fluid. Plus the ether acts as a detergent, so any residual lubrication in the cylinder is now too thin to be effective.
If you have any doubt that it’s the carb, just replace it. Carbs on those are around $20…no need or purpose for cleaning and replacing diaphragms and gaskets on such a small carb when the whole carburetor costs less than 90% of rebuild kits…On a carb of that size, the smallest impurity will cause trouble.
Have that same saw. Also a PITA to start. Try this. Push on the gas primer bulb 20 times. Then press throttle full open and hold open while pulling starter cord. Once it fires, message that throttle open and close until it warms up.
-j.
If you clean off the plug, spray it, and down in the cylinder with starting fluid let them both dry while you clean or remove the air filter. Now give it a shot of starting fluid in the cylinder put plug back in fast and try it.
I heard that it’s not good to run ether through these things? I did try gas with plug out put gas on plug and replaced… and then in carb but no go
Did you clean or remove filter.
Did you clean or remove filter.
Yes I have done both. I’m going to take the carb out now and clean it
A huge % of homeowner chainsaws die because gas gets left in them and it evaporates leaving oil to gum up the carb. If it has spark, there is a really high probability it’s the crab.
Sometimes just by pressing the primer bulb 20 times and then letting the saw sit for a day, you’ll force enough gas into the carb that it will wash the gunk out and it’ll start.
Do NOT run 2 stroke equipment on starting fluid.
As Merican Eagle said, on small power equipment, it’s now cheaper to totally replace carbs than it is to spend time cleaning or rebuilding. I just did the carb on my Stihl blower for $10. Carb is identical to the factory original right down to the Made in China stamp on the bottom. Took 10 minutes to replace, fired on the third pull. Dial in the high, low and idle took another 2 minutes.
Grouse
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Will pull a carb apart to clean it, but rebuilding is pointless. It’s not cost or time efficient.
If it’s got spark, might want to check compression before cleaning the carb.
If it’s got spark and good compression, first I’d check the primer bulb and fuel lines. Pretty common to crack and suck air.
If those are good, if you’re good mechanically, clean the carb. If not or time is more valuable than money, order a carb.
Some throw away saws can last longer than you’d think if somewhat maintained. Most are left in the shed by homeowners who have no clue how a combustible engine even remotely works.
Try a different spark plug
And and try a fresh mix of gas.
Not out of the same gas can.
But mix a fresh batch.
I have seen brand new spark plugs
Not fire under compression
Try a different spark plug
And and try a fresh mix of gas.
Not out of the same gas can.
But mix a fresh batch.
Yup that was my next thought, too!
I have seen brand new spark plugs
Not fire under compression
Never heard of that happening and am very curious about why a brand new plug wouldn’t fire under compression and how do you know it’s the plug not something in the ignition system causing the plug to fail other than putting in a different plug? Had the plug been checked to have spark, then failed when installed? Pretty loyal to ngk and not to fond of champions.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>2riverrunts wrote:</div>
I have seen brand new spark plugs
Not fire under compressionNever heard of that happening and am very curious about why a brand new plug wouldn’t fire under compression and how do you know it’s the plug not something in the ignition system causing the plug to fail other than putting in a different plug? Had the plug been checked to have spark, then failed when installed? Pretty loyal to ngk and not to fond of champions.
The plug that is in there is the one it came with from my buddy. It looks like new though. And there is a white spark and I’ve adjusted the gap wider then narrower. So my next thought was to replace the plug. But then if it has spark doesn’t mean it’s working correctly?
So I took it apart enough to get at the fuel line going into the carb from the primer bulb. Doesn’t look like gas getting into carb. So I took that line off and press the primer bulb and no gas goes through it. All I hear is air. I see gas on the other side of the bulb but none coming out. Bad primer bulb?
But then if that was the case why won’t it start when I put gas in the carb? At least fire?
Can you take the bulb out and put in a straight hose from tank to carb just to see if that works. I would of thought it would have started with a little gas in carb but that’s still not where the spark is.
It could be flooded.
Pull plug out.
Pull over multiple times to get any excess fuel out.
Check plug for spark.
Put plug in.
Hook up fuel lines properly.
Prime the bulb.
If the bulb isn’t pumping fuel properly, it’s more than likely a bad fuel line or the bulb is bad.
If it pumps properly, choke it and try to start it.
If it doesn’t start, pull plug and see if it’s wet with fuel.
If it’s not, there’s probably a blockage in the carb.
If it’s wet, it could be flooding and getting to much fuel.
Both carb issues, that a new carb would hopefully solve.
If the coil or flywheel is a little dirty that can cause weak spark, something else to consider.
I let it sit for an hour with the plug out then tried it again and no fore. I think I may end up getting a new carb and primer bulb. I just don’t understand why it won’t fire even with a little gas squirted in the carb? And it had spark
I let it sit for an hour with the plug out then tried it again and no fore. I think I may end up getting a new carb and primer bulb. I just don’t understand why it won’t fire even with a little gas squirted in the carb? And it had spark
You said before that you poured gas on the plug. That kills the spark the same as flooding it REALLY BADLY and is why it didn’t fire. You want a clean and dry plug.
Good luck.
I let it sit over night without the plug in it and no go. I ordered a new carb and primer bulb kit off ebay..should be here by end of week. $15.00. Hopefully that fixes the problem
Love it!!!
So I finally got it to start!!! Here’s how:
After buying a new carb a primer bulb kit I installed it and still no start! Ugh!! Because the new primer bulb was clear and not red like the original one I noticed the gas in the bulb was clear and not premixed (the guy had put gas in just before he gave it to me so I didn’t dump it out)? So I dumped it out and put premix in. It still didn’t start and I thought that maybe the walls of the piston were getting washed down from the gas so I dumped a little 30 weight oil in the spark plug hole and put the plug back in. I pulled the recoil and it stuck almost like it was frozen. So I pulled it slowly again and it was free. I pulled it hard again and it fired!!! I pulled and pulled and it didn’t fire. I repeated the oil in the cylinder 2 more times and it started and stayed running as long as I kept on the gas!!! I had ordered a carb adjusting tool for it and adjusted the carb jets until it was running smooth and not bogging or stopping when I let off the gas. I cut a few logs with it and called it good!! But now I’m wondering if I were to put oil in the cylinder to begin with would it have started then?
Hope this helps someone in the future
When you get your new carb and bulb kit, dump the current fuel in the saw’s tank then buy a gallon of NON OXY gas to mix for it. Mixed gas using the good old everyday regular alcohol enhanced junk does nothing but gum up small carburetors and fuel associated components when the saw is being stored and not used. Treat that gallon of gas with some stabil or seafoam when you mix the oil in.
Make sure the chain moves in the track freely before trying to start the machine…..sometime a chain can get bound if the clutch doesn’t fully release. Dirt and wood chips/saw dust can gum up the bar and nose gear and hinder free chain movement. Any drag on the chain might hinder starting.
You mention a “white” spark. Try closing the plug gap up until you see a BLUE spark….much hotter. Getting a spark doesn’t mean that the coil is not creating enough juice for a blue spark and a cold spark will also hinder ignition.
When you get your new carb and bulb kit, dump the current fuel in the saw’s tank then buy a gallon of NON OXY gas to mix for it. Mixed gas using the good old everyday regular alcohol enhanced junk does nothing but gum up small carburetors and fuel associated components when the saw is being stored and not used. Treat that gallon of gas with some stabil or seafoam when you mix the oil in.
Make sure the chain moves in the track freely before trying to start the machine…..sometime a chain can get bound if the clutch doesn’t fully release. Dirt and wood chips/saw dust can gum up the bar and nose gear and hinder free chain movement. Any drag on the chain might hinder starting.
You mention a “white” spark. Try closing the plug gap up until you see a BLUE spark….much hotter. Getting a spark doesn’t mean that the coil is not creating enough juice for a blue spark and a cold spark will also hinder ignition.
Yup have new carb in already and non oxy gas and stabil in it. Also I took the chain and blade off when starting it. I also gapped it at .030 like it’s supposed to be from factory. It runs great now!! Problem was no compression from only gas (no oil mix) and that’s why I put oil in cylinder to get it started.
But now I’m wondering if I were to put oil in the cylinder to begin with would it have started then?
The oil in the cylinder increased compression by taking up space inside the cylinder head and made it possible for the machine to run on what was probably too lean of a fuel/air mixture. Tweaking the carb mixture adjustments probably would have done the same thing.
Good work getting it running. Always very rewarding to save a machine from the scrap heap.
Grouse
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