Husky 262 won't start

[b11lefevre]

I know there's a lot of these posts, but this one is killing me.  I picked it up tonight and it popped on the 2nd pull with the choke then nothing.  switched coils with a 268 and nothing, cleaned the carb, changed the plug and nothing.  got frustrated and sprayed a little starting fluid in it without the air filter on it and nothing.  Got really desperate and put a little gas in the cylinder and put the plug back in and nothing.  I know you're not supposed to do this but what the heck.  The saw ran fine when I put it away so I have no idea what is going on.  I also checked the compression with the decomp button in and out and it works fine.  The only thing I didn't check was the exhaust/muffler, but I would assume that it would at least pop if it were clogged up.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[nmurph]

start with the basics. i assume it has compression, did you check for spark bf you changed the coils? if not, put the original on, gap it (a business card will work) and check for spark. if you don't have spark, then i would change plugs and retry. if you have spark with the original coil, your problem likely is in the carb. remember, one thing at the time and start with the basics.

[Rocky_J]

There are three distinct 'systems' and you can narrow it down to one of the three. No sense jumping around between various ideas all affecting different aspects of the engine because you may end up creating more problems than you fix.

The three systems can be defined as:
Fuel (gas, air in the correct ratio and adequate flow)
Spark (strong enough to ignite the fuel and at the correct time)
Compression

If it's a fuel problem then messing with spark will only waste time and create more issues, and vice versa.


The last part of the fuel flow is 'exhaust' and in order for fuel to flow in, it has to be able to flow out. Make sure the exhaust screen isn't plugged. I've fixed dozens of machines by removing and throwing away the plugged spark screen in the muffler.

[b11lefevre]

I did check the spark, I just listed the things I did in a random order as I remembered them.  There is no screen in the muffler either.  I was assuming that even if the carb was screwed up that it would at least pop with starting fluid.  Stupid question, will the carb off of the 268, a 1989, fit a 262xp?  Is there any way that the timing can get messed up?  I rather use stuff of the 268 if I can to get it going since I have 3 other saws.  Limbing tops for firewood gets a little old with a 372.

[sablatnic]

Maybe the needle valve is stuck open, and the engine is just flooded?

[nmurph]

don't use starting fluid in 2 stroke engines. it has no oi. not only that, it will remove the the layer of existing oil in the cylinder. when you say you cleaned the carb, exactly what did you do? flooding is a possibility. pull the plug, leave the piston at BDC and let it sit overnight. if it is flooded, it should act better in the morning.

[sablatnic]

nmurph is absolutely right about not using starter fluid. Just use a few drops of the mixed gas. You can keep the saw running on that all day without problems.

[nmurph]

b11,
let me know if you give up on the saw. i might find something to trade.

[tmroper]

I hope you have maybe got your problems with your saw figured out.  If not I figured I would share with you my current frustration w/ a husq. 288xp lite.  First off change your fuel line these things seem to last me about a year and they can cause you a lot of frustrations and headaches for such a cheap fix.  Second I couldn't get my saw started and if I did it would run just a short time and then not start again so I took off the bar and chain and side cover which contains the brake and decided to see if it would start w/o the cover it ran like a champ.  I discovered that my brake band was so tight it was really adding excess friction to the motor.  On my model this band is unadjustable so I cleaned and buffed it and it seemed to help.
Good luck

[b11lefevre]

Borrowed a compression tester, 55lbs.  Just enough to fool me into thinking it was ok when I was trying to start it.  Thanks for all the help.

[Hilltop366]

Not sure if you did this but a compression test should be done with throttle wide open to get a true reading. The reason is it can't compress air much if it not getting much air. Not sure if this will help but I though I would throw it out there.

[nmurph]

Borrowed a compression tester, 55lbs.  Just enough to fool me into thinking it was ok when I was trying to start it.  Thanks for all the help.

was this a single pull or did you continue to pull until stopped climbling? holding the throttle is not necessary. i have compared the two methods and there was no difference in the three saws i checked.