025 no spark - coil bad?

[AlbionWood]

My 025 used to start fine and run good, and if I shut it off while running it would restart fine, but if it died while idling it absolutely would not restart until it completely cooled off. (I usually heated up at that point) Now it won't start at all - no spark. I suspect a bad coil. Local dealer (only game in town) wants $93 for a new ignition module!! He also suggested that sometimes the problem is actually in the wires, not the ignition module, so I'll try continuity testing before ordering a new part.

The Husky dealer (only decent repair shop in town) says they have a lifetime warranty on the coils... too bad Stihl doesn't.

So, two questions: Is this likely a bad module, and if so, do I really have to pay $93 for a new one?

 

[Lloyd H]

lifetime coil warranty

My local hardware store says Echo has lifetime coil warranty as well, sure makes Stihl look bad especially considering the incredible high coil prices Stihl asks for coils they don't consider long lived.

 

[Rookie1]

If you want to figure it out yourself you will get plenty of help from these guys here on AS. If I were you I would disconnect wire from coil and try to start. If you have spark then wiring bad. If no spark coil bad. I cant remember the thread but do a search,there was a good one about getting your wife to hold wire while you pulled rope. If wife screams you got spark some other helpful hints too......:monkey:

 

[Dan Forsh]

I believe Stihl has had a lifetime warrenty on their ignition units (for the original owner) for a long time. Others will verify this for you.

 

[AlbionWood]

Dan, if they do, they sure keep quiet about it. The dealer couldn't find anything about it, and the warranty information on the Stihl Web page says nothing about ignition modules. I'll keep digging though...

 

[g.moore]

When I built my 025 the wire leading from the coil had been rubbing on the flywheel and was worn completely through grounding it out. I also had my plug wire pull about 1/8" out of the boot which killed the spark.

 

[Lakeside53]

Saws before about 2001 (maybe later... Too late at night for me to look up... had lifetime warranty on electronic igntions. Later saws have 5 years.
tell your dealer to look in his Dealer support manual for the info, or call Stihl.

If all else fails, get a used coil for $25-35

 

[AlbionWood]

Couldn't get plug wire out

Tried to remove coil and check ignition cable, Followed directions in the repair manual, which say to turn the ignition cable to unscrew it from the contact pin. Well, that did not work - the cable was stuck fast and would not turn. Ended up twisting the wire off. :censored: So now I have a useless ignition module, since there is no way to remove the stub of wire.

Guess I will call Stihl on the off chance they have a warranty on this thing, which I bought in 2000 I think, but the chances of having any proof of purchase from 8 years ago seem slim. Otherwise I'll get an aftermarket coil for $35 instead of a Stihl coil for $95...

 

[Lakeside53]

your dealer should have regisitered it... but... hard to prove a bad coil if you twisted the end off!

You can get that wire out.. carefully dig it out piece by piece. Don't break off the center point from the coil though.

 

[AlbionWood]

Well this is turning into quite the little adventure. After posting the above message I tried calling the local Stihl dealer, who said he would find out if the ignition module was covered by warranty. Then I called Stihl customer service, and was informed that chainsaws sold between July 1995 and March 1993 had a lifetime warranty on the ignition module - hurray! This morning the dealer called me back, and said Stihl told him the warranty was 2 years for saws before 2003 - ??

He further informed me that Stihl makes decisions about warranty service pretty much case-by-case: bring the saw in, the dealer contacts Stihl, who then either decides one way or the other, or asks for the defective part so they can test it before deciding whether it's covered or not. Sounds kind of bogus to me, but what do I know... I also strongly suspect that the fact I tried to remove the ignition wire from the coil is going to void whatever warranty Stihl might have been inclined to offer... but apparently there is no way to tell without bringing the saw in.

So it looks like I will continue to be without this saw for a while. I doubt they will get a decision in less than a week, but maybe they will surprise me. If it's not covered, I'm getting an aftermarket module. Anyone know if those GOLF modules are reliable?

 

[Lakeside53]

Your dealer is full of it. If a coil has failed it's either covered or it's not... based on date of sale - not "case by case" or any such crap.

99% of the time Stihl takes our word for any claims - now and then we have to send a defective part in, but that has no effect on the claim.

Removing the coil yourself and busting the wire off - yes, that's a problem... Hopefully your dealer will "overlook" that - they can...

 

[AlbionWood]

This is a new dealership, or rather a new branch from an established dealership, and so far I'm not real impressed with their knowledge level. The guys are nice and as helpful as they can be, but they don't seem to know anything - every time I ask a question it's "let me look that up and call you back" or some such. You'd think a Stihl dealership would at least know something about Stihl warranties.

Anyway, I'm expecting them to reject the warranty because I futzed with it myself. Just hope it doesn't take them too long to make up their minds... I'll have to order a new coil, which will probably take at least a week to get here, and meanwhile there's a whole lot of wood waiting around to be cut up. And now my little red saw is getting temperamental, too.

 

[AlbionWood]

As expected, no warranty

Well, I just called the dealer, and Stihl is refusing the warranty because the wire has been pulled off the coil so there is no way to test it. Dealer not only did not attempt to make a warranty claim AFAICT, they didn't bother to call back to tell me (wonder how long they intended to sit on my saw). I'm steamed at them anyway because it was their suggestion that I try to disconnect that wire to test it.:censored:

So, I'm in the market for a used or aftermarket coil. Anything in particular I should look for, or avoid?

 

[Lakeside53]

Call stihl and tell them about the warranty refusal and that your dealer suggested you pull the wire off...


Coil - cheapstihlsawparts on ebay...


http://cgi.ebay.com/STIHL-021-023-0...20538QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

 

[AlbionWood]

Just ordered one of those coils. I see that guy has a lot of Homie parts too, but no XL flywheel... too bad. Well, maybe tomorrow I can get the Bandit running again.

As for Stihl, I guess I could try calling them if I want to go through all that irritation again. See how I feel in the morning. Today was not a good day for IC engine repairs here on the farm.

 

[AlbionWood]

Update

Cheapstihlsawparts took forever to get me that coil. Not very responsive to inquiries, either. Finally got it after about three weeks... put it in yesterday and the saw starts right up, runs great, restarts whenever I want it to. Problem solved!

Next issue is crooked cut and chain binding up in cut. Need to check if bar is bent (possible, been pinched a few times) or if the landings are skewed (likely).

 

[AlbionWood]

Problem UNsolved. This saw was running fine after the coil replacement, for about 2-3 hours, then it died while idling and wouldn't re-start... and now it won't start at all. Even tried starting fluid and got nary a cough, so I suspect no spark. Hard to tell though, no way to touch the spark plug to the block with all the damn plastic in the way.

Took off the recoil, all the wires appear to be fine. Can the coil I got from cheapstihlparts have died already? How the hell do I figure out if this thing is sparking? Do I have to buy a spark tester thingumabob?

When this thing runs it's great, but that's been pretty rare lately.

 

[Fish]

Remove the muffler and look at the piston.

It is extremely rare for a coil to go bad, but I sell a bunch of them anyway.

 

[Rookie1]

I would buy an inline spark tester. It looks like a testlight but has a sparkplug boot on one end and a male end that looks like the tip of a sparkplug. You can hook it up to the saw and try it plus you could run it,although the cover wont go back on,until it gets hot and you would see if spark goes away. This may be a longshot but did you replace the sparkplug. I had a snowblower that acted up ,took me a while to figure out it was the plug.