Stihl 026 Chain Saw -Won't Start

canucklehead · Mar 24, 2011

DOH!! I wasted a lot of time over being stupid!

It was a Stihl 034. I was not choking it properly on the cold start. you hold fuel trigger down and then push the kill switch all the way down. I was only pushing kill switch to the on position, but not choke position. now i know. and I have a clean carb and clean fuel filter.

thanks for your help.

Treemonkey1000 · Mar 24, 2011

Hey no worries I have to play around with the different start settings on a couple of my Stihls and Husky's

haroldy · Mar 27, 2011

i have a sqeeze bottle , when the saw is cold i squirt a little on the air filter
saves pulling several times, it usually starts on first pull using this method

vinnyh · Oct 11, 2011

O26 SAW STOPED RUNNING IN MID CUT.I TOOK IT APART CLEANED IT OUT .I HAVE SPARK & FUEL & GET NOTING.I TRYED PUTTING FUEL INTO THE CYLINDER & STILL NOTHING. ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAL PLEASE REPLY..

Treemonkey1000 · Oct 11, 2011

If you have a pale white spark you might not be getting enough to torch off the fuel. Second thing is if you have a compression guage to see if maybe the seal in the case has blown to where it doesn't have any real compression.

canucklehead · Oct 12, 2011

yep, I'd be looking for spark. pull plug, leave plug attached on plug wire and ground plug to the engine case. pull cord and see if you have a good strong spark. hard to see if you do it in a brightly lit area, low lighting is easier.

ALSO, this happened while running.... is it possible the STOP switch got bumped, or maybe the ground wire on the stop switch got disconnected? I like to start easy.

and treemonkey is right, low compression will also cause poor starting issues.

6sunset6 · Oct 12, 2011

my 026 The positions of the switch are slightly off. When I think it is on for normal running it is still shorting off. Made it really hard to start till I figured it out. It did not used to be like this I think the cover got bent a little , probably from falling over from time to time.

vinnyh · Oct 12, 2011

THANKS FOR THE QUICK REPLY..THE PLUG HAS A GOOD SPARK..COMPRESSION IS GOOD SWITCH IS GOOD.FLYWHEEL IS GOOD. I'M GETTING FUEL.SPARK.&COMPRESSION & STILL NO SIGN OF ANY KIND OF LIFE..WHAT AM I OVER LOOKING..

RobertN · Oct 12, 2011

Are you getting a big fat blue spark?

Is the plug really wet, flooding?

I'd start by trying a new plug. If nothing else, check the quality of the spark between the old and new. I have had plugs before, that seemed to spark ok, but a new plug worked better.

Also check the plug wire connections for good connectivity.

vinnyh said:
THANKS FOR THE QUICK REPLY..THE PLUG HAS A GOOD SPARK..COMPRESSION IS GOOD SWITCH IS GOOD.FLYWHEEL IS GOOD. I'M GETTING FUEL.SPARK.&COMPRESSION & STILL NO SIGN OF ANY KIND OF LIFE..WHAT AM I OVER LOOKING..