Thread: starting problem on Echo chainsaw

A few months ago my dad bought an Echo Cs 3400 chainsaw.
That's there equivelant to the Stihl MS200. The problem is that it takes approximately 3 attempts to start and run it. This is our usuall starting procedure. Close the choke and prime it 10 times per Echo instructions,then crank it over. After it dies open the choke and crank it over. On this step it does start ,but it dies as soon as it starts. It takes about 3 times following the normal start-up procedure,before it finally stays running. We have taken it to the dealer,but it did'nt act up at all.Maybe this is normal for it,but I don't think so.Isay this becuse I have a Stihl MS 660 that all I have to do to it is close the choke,and in two pulls it starts. From there open the choke half way and again in two pulls it starts.From there blip the trigger and it goes to idle,and it's ready to work. Any advise on this problem would be appreciated. Thanks in advane Mike.

Once it fires withthe choke on, turn the choke off and make sure the high idle is set.
The half choke you talked about on the 066, is really just a high idle.

try pumpig the primer only two or three times and not the amount of times that it says on the saw as it could be flooding it. homelite have a bad habit of saying to prime 8 times even on thier saws and they will always be a ????? to start so I have only ever given two to three pumps on the primer for my homelite weed trimmer instead of 8 times and it always starts with no trouble

All good recommendations above...summerizing:
1) Dump the old gas/oil mixtlure and replace with fresh 50:1 using the new Echo, etc. 2-cycle oil
2) Replace the plug with a new one per owners manual (this is important)
3) Forget the primer bulb just this time and give it full choke and lock in the high idle
4) Give it sharp pulls until l you hear it try to start
5) Insert the choke halfway...leave at half throttle
6) It should start and run in two or three pulls...let it run for a second...insert choke fully...blip throttle and let 'er warm up a bit.

OHHH!!! New first step...check the air filter...blow clean, remove, wash and dry.

7) Once you have done all this you can re-adjust the carb as needed.

Good Luck

It doesn't matter how many time you pump the primer it will never flood the the engine, the fuel pumps into the crab and back into the fuel tank. Stihlfan it sounds like your starting procedure needs to be refined a bit, or your saw needs a tuneup.

[QUOTE=Andyshine77]It doesn't matter how many time you pump the primer it will never flood the the engine, the fuel pumps into the crab and back into the fuel tank
Hey my saw does not have a crab

Only two crabs on my saws. Both are older saws with manual oilers. They are not my favorites but I prefer them to the ones with head lice and hemmoroids.

I have the same saw. Mine behaves almost exactly like you describe. I don't really consider it a issue, sometimes it will start a little easier.
I only push the bulb if there isn't fuel visable in it. Full choke until it fires, and then something like 1/2 choke. This is with high idle set, or my finger on the throttle.

Re-starting when hot can be interesting. It seems that the little guy likes to vaporlock a bit. Choke it, crank it, and once started run it with choke about half on until liquid fuel replaces the vapor. After that it is good to go.

Don't get mad at it, the 3400 is respectable for a little machine.
-Pat

Originally Posted by Andyshine77

It doesn't matter how many time you pump the primer it will never flood the the engine, the fuel pumps into the crab and back into the fuel tank. Stihlfan it sounds like your starting procedure needs to be refined a bit, or your saw needs a tuneup.

hmmm last time I pulled a saw apart which was a husky 50 I do not recall seeing a return line feeding back into the tank.

I believe the 3400 is like the Echo weed eaters. The priming bulb is just to get the air out of the fuel line. On the weed eaters I believe it says to pumped until the air is out of the return line (visible on weed eater) which is usually about 2-3 times. Usually if the bulb is mostly full of gas you should be cool.

I don't believe the primer bulb on the Echos is like the primer on the 4 cycle lawn mower engines where the primer bulb squirts gas into the carb venturi instead of having a choke.


Don

crab.

I say run it with a little choke until it warms up.
lucky

Originally Posted by lucky001

I say run it with a little choke until it warms up.
lucky

If you need half choke, the carburetor is out of adjustment, or it needs the air filter blown out.
The primer bulb does not shoot gas into the carb, you can pump it 100 times if you want. If you pump it a few times when the saw is cold, or when it's sat for a few weeks, or right after you ran out of fuel, it'll reduce the number of pulls it takes to get her started again because it flushes the fuel around a bit and gets the air out.

"the fuel pumps into the crab"

Isn't there an antibiotic to fix that?