My dads Stihl MS250 chainsaw won’t start…

[@grrrexky]

10:15 don't remove that for summer time. The position it was in is for summer time use. Turn it around for winter and it will take in warm air around the cylinder preventing the carb from icing.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Good lookin out! Thanks!

[@searchDscriptures]

Love the way you don't fool around with small talk and right to the reason I'm watching - help with figuring out my issue. Thanks

[@SHONEY21Z]

Thanks for the support!

[@ashutoshjangra5332]

What to do bro if I have used the machine using gasoline with out mixing engine oil

[@SHONEY21Z]

That’s not good. It will burn up the piston. Take the exhaust off and move the piston up and down with the pull cord. See if the piston has scratches on it

[@canoetipper019]

"Hi" to your dad. I have one of those saws too...nice saw for around my 3 acre house lot. That air diverter stores right there in the saw...just flip it over so the 'sun' is up and put it back where you got it from. I learned this when my saw wasn't running real good in the winter the first year I got it. I probably will have to surrender my man-card, but I read the owner's manual and found that out...lol Nice video, and really nice to see you have a good relationship with your da. Cheers from New Brunswick, Cabada...eh.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Gear info. Thanks! I did not know that. But makes sense. Cheers from PA!

[@danielpadgett2831]

Just a tip and this comes from the stihl dealer you need to let it warm up a min or so before going full throttle like that

[@SHONEY21Z]

Correct thank you sir. You don’t want to cold seize it. I knew I’d only be running it for 10-15 seconds so I did a quick test to make sure it went up to full throttle. I’ve seen them where the owner would start up a cold saw and go right into full throttle cutting up firewood. It won’t last very long lol

[@danielpadgett2831]

@@SHONEY21Z yes sir great video thank you for sharing

[@renejakobsen7444]

Mine does the same - will try this today. Ran last year but failed to start now. Thanks!

[@SHONEY21Z]

Get the old gas out and clean the carb. Check the diaphragm and gaskets. Good luck!

[@kevincoverstone6479]

I had the same problem, and I just clean the magneto connectors. Replace the spark plug, gas filter, and put a new air filter on it. Runs great.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Thanks for the tip! Thanks for sharing!

[@inspectr1949]

You're a good son, I'm 75 and my 2 abandoned me years ago.

[@SHONEY21Z]

I’m sorry to hear that.😕 Thanks for watching and supporting the channel.

[@carrotcake1955]

Thank you. I couldn’t see what you were doing part of the time. Looks like getting the carb off takes some disassembly. Oh well.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Bad filming. Been getting better. Thanks for commenting!

[@akaroamale475]

Great thanks. Now tighten the chain and adjust the idle so the chain pulses with the motor idling.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Great tip! He always needs his chain adjusted haha. We did do that. I like to have the idle slightly below clutch engagement.

[@donmoore7785]

Stihl tech taught me to use carb cleaner on the air filter, then compressed air until dry. I would never buy filter after filter. Carb cleaner acts as an agent to help remove dust. That chain is dangerously loose, not a little loose.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Great tip! We did sharpen and adjust it before he left. I’ve seen those filters crumble it get very hard. Nothing could clean them. I don’t mind replacing when needed

[@FastEddie45Az]

You didn’t even try to start it and went straight to the carburetor. It did start and run last week. I would have looked a fuel delivery and spark first, but your the expert

[@SHONEY21Z]

Yeah that was my fault, I did that before I started filming, wasn’t thinking. This isn’t the first time time my dad let the carb get dirty, and he was using it regularly so I was fairly confident it was just a dirty carb. Normally if I have no history of the saw, I’d do spark and compression test first. Try a little fuel into the intake and see if it starts, then I know for sure it’s carb related. In other videos I show the steps to diagnosing non start issues. Thanks for sharing though!

[@chamunorwachibanguza7902]

Thank you for the video 👍🇿🇼

[@SHONEY21Z]

Thanks for watching!

[@poochie49]

nice video. So my MS250 ( it's an older model, 20 years old)seems to be hydro locked. Almost impossible to pull the recoil. It has good compression and spark. cleaned the exhaust screen and looked at the flywheel key. Both look fine. I know this saw works. it did sputter and I did start it once a few days go but when I stopped it nd tried to restart it seemed to be locked up. I'm thinking the carb may be leaking fuel into the cylinder and cauing this issue. What do you think? Thanks

[@SHONEY21Z]

Confirm that the cylinder is getting filled with gas, (it’ll shoot out with the spark plug removed). Also confirm that the engine pulls over easy without the plug in. I can say this, the ms250 is one of the hardest saws to pull over. It’s a known issue. Some are definitely harder than others for some reason. If the carb is clean and not leaking, it should get a putput out of it on 1-2 pulls with choke one. Don’t pull again or you’ll flood it. Move choke to half and pull again. If it’s running well, it’s much easier to pull because the engine starting to fire will help fight against the high compression. See if that helps and let me mnow

[@MrJohnnyb42]

Getting those carbs out are tuff because of the fuel line.

[@SHONEY21Z]

I find the throttle linkage the tricky part

[@harryduncan6699]

Does the saw have a spark arrester. Wouldn’t that be the first to examine?

[@SHONEY21Z]

Good thinking. And yes that can cause a poor run condition. Generally I see a motor that will run but won’t rev up when the arrestor is blocked. But since my dads saw is always caked with sawdust, the carb was going to be my first thought. Thanks for the tip!

[@harryduncan6699]

@@SHONEY21Z was cutting last week and my 026 quit, wouldn’t restart. Cause was spark arrestor and air filter. I think what happened was as it became more clogged, the rpm’s declined, increased carbon in exhaust, clogged worse till it died. Replaced filter and put in new screen…..started first pull. Need to check rpm’s before cutting tomorrow.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Air filter was clogged and restricting air so it ran rich until the screen clogged. Good catch. According to my dad, it ran fine until he shut it off and wouldn’t restart. So I wasn’t thinking spark arrestor.

[@woodturningwithjoelarese8923]

Thanks for a great Video. You are a good son! I have a 250. Any idea why my recoil is so hard to pull? It’s as if the compression is over the top. Saw runs well once I gather enough strength to pull! I took apart the recoil mechanism and noticed my saw only has one centrifugal pawl, so I’m thinking the mechanism may cock. Any insights appreciated.

[@SHONEY21Z]

That’s a really good question. I’ve heard that same complaint on about 3 other ms250 saws. I’ve haven’t actually had my hands on one that’s like that but I’ve done a lot of research on it and there isn’t really an answer. Some say tight rings from factory, some say carbon buildup, nothing points to the recoil, flywheel or exhaust. The saw usually rotates very smoothly with the spark plug out. They get readings of 180psi or more on compression. So unfortunately I can’t answer your question, only option would be to maybe try new rings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@woodturningwithjoelarese8923]

@@SHONEY21Z thanks, really appreciate your reply. I tore it down, but didn’t replace the rings,

[@woodturningwithjoelarese8923]

Guess I should have. Take care and thanks again for taking the time out to so thoughtfully answer my questions.

[@SHONEY21Z]

No problem, thanks for reaching out.

[@pdevonport7266]

The reason they are hard to start it's not just because they have hi compression it was because stihl is pennypinching on their design and have installed a smaller starter recoil that fits a lot of it's smaller range . If they had fitted a more appropriate recoil, the diameter of the pulley would've been larger and thus gearing down requiring less effort to pull the cord. They only have one centrifugal pawl. There's absolutely nothing wrong with your saw it's just a quirk of the 250. I find drop starting the easiest followed by putting the rare handle between your legs and not starting at on the ground which puts the most strain on your shoulder.

[@Rockjock007]

Not to be that guy but did you try and start it? many times it is operator error. I always dump the fuel and add fresh, then I start the saw. Ther 025/250 has always been a great saw.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Yeah I guess I shouldn’t filmed that part. I pulled it with the choke to get it to Hickok but it didn’t. So I opened the throttle and pulled 30 times to see if it may have just been flooded but that didn’t work either. Then I started filming for a carb clean. If the chain is dull, makes a lot of dust, and gets through that airfilter and into the fuel system.

[@WASIMEDOO]

Mine won't start I try every thing clean the cod what is the turns on the cod scrows please

[@SHONEY21Z]

Was the carb dirty? The screws adjust the carb. The L should be around 3/4 turn out from the bottom and the H should be about 1 turn out from fully seated. Does the saw have spark? Compression?

[@WASIMEDOO]

Getting spark getting compression getting gas in the carb I try adjusting the screws but still not starting anything other advise please

[@SHONEY21Z]

@@WASIMEDOOnot running at all? What’s the compression at? Did you check the spark arrestor? If it’s not that and not starting at all, I would check the flywheel and see if the flywheel key sheared off the flywheel

[@stan121midling5]

yea, i had my Stihl MS250 for about 4 months now and i had issues with it not wanting to start, i replaced the spark plug and next i will try new gas and if that does not work, then i will do like you did here, but really i had issues with mine not wanting to start after a few times just after i got it, so kind of real stupid to pay that kind of money for something that is like really picky to keep running ok :0

[@SHONEY21Z]

Have to make sure the air filter stays clean and the chain stays sharp. If the chain is dull it’ll make more dust and it’ll get in past the air filter. Generally I don’t have any issues but it’s important to keep the airfilter clean, use non ethenol gas mixed with your oil and keep the chain sharp. That will keep the saw running for a very long time.

[@MrJohnnyb42]

I had just recently bought a 250, ran it for 20min. never started again.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Did you use oil/gas mix?

[@MrJohnnyb42]

@@SHONEY21Z Of course

[@SHONEY21Z]

What ended up happening with your saw? Sounds like a bad crank seal or something.

[@MrJohnnyb42]

I found out through tech support that 250's don't exactly start the same way every other Stihl product starts. They said only pull three times on choke. They don't always pop. More than 3 times and they will flood. It's just the way they are i guess. @@SHONEY21Z

[@paulveenings6861]

The air filter on the 250 never has a good seal. Dust in the carbi is always a problem with mine.

[@SHONEY21Z]

It really is. I found no difference between the stihl and aftermarket filters too. Just have to keep the chain sharp and avoid fine dust.

[@pdevonport7266]

Yes they're rubbish, you can remedy the problem by putting grease around the bottom of the filter which will completely seal it.

[@pdevonport7266]

The black plate you removed is supposed to be for summer and really should never be removed unless it's extremely cold, it only stops the carburettor icing up because it lets in warm air off the motor and if it is left off you end up with lean fuel mixture in warm or normal weather and potentially ruin your Motor. For winter setting you rotate the plate and it's slides down and stays in place so you cannot lose it but really it should never be used unless you are having problems with an icing carburettor.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Thanks for the info!

[@spergnation1859]

Wait so what was the fault?

[@SHONEY21Z]

Dirty carb. Not as bad as I thought but enough saw dust inside to block the jet. Doesn’t clean his airfilter enough and chain dull. Makes more dust than chips.

[@spergnation1859]

@@SHONEY21Z Thank you so very much.

[@spergnation1859]

​@@SHONEY21ZIt worked! Did everything you did. Saw works like brand new. Thanks again.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Glad to hear! Good work

[@TheTronder007]

You're not supposed to remove the black plastic shutter for summer operation, you take it out and flip it 180 degrees and reinsert it.. There's a snowflake and sun symbol on the shutter, and if I remember this correctly the sun symbol is on top for summer mode and snow flake on top for winter mode..

[@SHONEY21Z]

Found this out since then. Thanks for sharing! Good info.

[@FFL-vg9ro]

The shutter stays IN and closed during the summer to keep the engine heat away from the carb. Reversing it in the winter allows a little heat in to keep the carb from icing up. Running it OUT in the summer can lean out the mixture and burn up the motor. That would be really bad advice,

[@stan121midling5]

to be honest i had a Stihl weed Wacker once and it did the same thing as my Stihl chainsaw, IMO Stihl just is bad :0

[@SHONEY21Z]

In my experience, stihl is far superior in all 2 stroke gas operated machines.

[@andreazkaryo9700]

Saya punya sthill ms 250 sudah 2 tahun,permasalahannya setiap menarik starter terasa berat dan mental.powl sering rusak karenanya.

[@SHONEY21Z]

Has it ever been apart? Like the clutch or flywheel?

[@patrickmichael8749]

Oh come on - it's obviously a nearly brand new chain saw - you shouldn't need to be taking the carburetor apart.

[@SHONEY21Z]

It’s hard to find a new ms250 these days. If you see the bar, it’s heavily used. We bought this saw for my dad on Father’s Day about 10 years ago. He kept it in pretty good shape. Thanks for commenting! Cheers!

[@johnmaxwell3165]

It's never the air filter

[@SHONEY21Z]

Nope. Not on lawnmowers that are never serviced