Brand new MS261 woes.

[young]

dano = rustyb

 

[Officer's Match]

This thread makes me want to go give my M-Tronic a hug.

 

[missedbass]

Therein lies the problem. I don't have any wood available to me right now to cut. If I were to commence cutting on the trees on my property, I think my wife would have issues.

And....if the saw won't start, you won't cut much wood.

Sandy left us with plenty of wood to cut. send the saw to me and i will put it in some wood. If there is a problem with the saw i will send it back:msp_smile:

 

[Uncle John]

Simplified:

If the plug is wet its flooded!
You choked it too much!

 

[russhd1997]

Therein lies the problem. I don't have any wood available to me right now to cut. If I were to commence cutting on the trees on my property, I think my wife would have issues.

And....if the saw won't start, you won't cut much wood.

This was going to be the first question that I was going to ask this morning. I hadn't seen where you cut any wood with it yet. With ?? as your location it is hard for other members to see if they are close enough to you to have you come over and cut some wood with them. For all I know you could be in the next town over and could come over here and cut some wood. I could use the help and I am cutting today.

A saw needs to be worked to properly break it in and to heat it up enough to burn off any excess fuel. I ran 5 tanks through my MS290 the first day that I had it. I could feel a difference in power by the time I was through the 5th tank. Don't start the saw anymore until you can cut with it. I am sure you will be smiling when you do. That MS261 is a nice saw.

 

[B Harrison]

Try this. From cold, engage choke, pull 3 times, disengage choke (even if you didn't hear a "pop") pull again - should start within a few pulls. If this doesn't work, I would go back to the dealer.

I experienced this after having and older saw retuned and new rubber installed. It pops quietly the first time and you can easily miss it. Also this saw which was very hard to start has the low end a little lean now so it starts quite well (easily) some times 2 pulls with choke engaged then disengage choke and 3rd pull is the winner.

It was new to me because for this particular saw my routine was always lock throttle half open, and choke, 5 pulls, fire, off choke, 3 pulls to start the first time then another pull to get it running for good.


That being said I would take it back and let them pop the limiters and readjust.

 

[Walt41]

If you are starting it and running it, throttle blipping, idling and so on and then shutting it off and repeating, the saw will get 'loaded' up. I agree, its fun to play with your new toy but get some wood to cut, it will make you much happier and avoid the loading up issue it now sounds like you may be having. Saws are meant to be run WOT under load.

Exactly right, I don't want to get into abbreviated heat cycles, lack of load and cylinder washing on a new engine but, it is safe to say it is slightly better than a good idea to cut for twenty minutes or so before declaring a problem worth a trip back to the dealer. I purchased a new 261 a few weeks back and have cut only about a half cord with it and other than actually cutting wood it has not been started.

 

[VTWoodchuck]

I agree that its either operator error or something very strange with the saw. Mine starts VERY easily.
Sounds like you're flooding it to me.

 

[Trailtrimmer]

You will get it to fire up right away after you own it for a while, just gotta figure out the code, for me it's full choke 2 or 3 pulls choke off and it fires right up after 1 or 2 pulls, the key is not to pull too many times with a full choke or she will flood, I use the same procedure with all my saws.

Stihls don't seem to like lots of full choke waiting for a pop. I do no more than three pulls on full choke then flip to fast idle then pull again.

It does sound like that saw could use a tuning tweak.

 

[ford832]

Most here are missing the obvious,it's a pos Stihl.They're all like that-every last one-never seen one that wasn't.The solution is simple.
Head down to your friendly neighbourhood Jonsered dealer and trade it in.After you take possession of your new beauty,don't consistently start it without actually using it and having it fully up to temp(as other shave stated )as you will load it up with fuel and it will be harder to start and more likely to flood every time after.If for some reason you do this anyway,put in a new plug because you've now damaged the old one and it will be more likely to flood again or give you other running issues.
Once you follow these simple steps,you will eventually find yourself with a whole herd of cool red ones,and will never want a creamsickle again.:msp_smile:

Btw,as others have said,what you're doing tends to wash the cyl down and do damage-especially pre break in.
The 261 is a good saw,I'm sure you'll enjoy it once it's sorted out.

 

[lambs]

Most here are missing the obvious,it's a pos Stihl.They're all like that-every last one-never seen one that wasn't.The solution is simple.
Head down to your friendly neighbourhood Jonsered dealer and trade it in.After you take possession of your new beauty,don't consistently start it without actually using it and having it fully up to temp(as other shave stated )as you will load it up with fuel and it will be harder to start and more likely to flood every time after.If for some reason you do this anyway,put in a new plug because you've now damaged the old one and it will be more likely to flood again or give you other running issues.
Once you follow these simple steps,you will eventually find yourself with a whole herd of cool red ones,and will never want a creamsickle again.:msp_smile:

Btw,as others have said,what you're doing tends to wash the cyl down and do damage-especially pre break in.
The 261 is a good saw,I'm sure you'll enjoy it once it's sorted out.

I wonder how is it that it damages the plug?

 

[ford832]

When you flood anything you put a coating of fuel on the plug electrode and you won't clean it off by spraying it with anything,heating it with your lighter or anything else.It's days are numbered and it won't work correctly again.Sometimes worse than others.
The theory is that once fouled,the tip won't reach sufficient temp to properly burn off fuel,oil,carbon etc-especially when conditions are less than ideal-like on start up and it's far more likely to foul again.For the price of a plug,if you flood it,change it.


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[SawTroll]

Cold saw..

Pull 2 to 3 pulls on full choke...... it will kick once (listen closely)

Set to half choke and pull once or twice till she fires up

You are pulling too long on full choke and flooding it

Yes, sounds like he just flooded it.

3 pulls max at choke, regardless if you hear a "pop" or not - they can be very hard to hear. At least it is that way with the 361, so why not with the 261?

If this it is, it really isn't an issue - just something that you need to get used to...

 

[SawTroll]

Each time I had to pull the plug, clean it, and I then dried out the combustion chamber before I tried to start it again.

Having done that, it fired right up on first pull.

If it was flooded severely, there may be enough mix in the engine to flood the plug again when the engine is pulled over, even if you dried the plug. Let the saw sit upside down for a while with the plug out (in a well ventilated place) before you replace the plug and try again.

 

[SawTroll]

dano = rustyb

So what?

 

[Guido Salvage]

Therein lies the problem. I don't have any wood available to me right now to cut. If I were to commence cutting on the trees on my property, I think my wife would have issues.

And....if the saw won't start, you won't cut much wood.

No wood to cut and you bought a "pro" saw that you are only going to start and then shut off????

 

[sony1998]

I would take that saw back to the dealer on Monday and see if you can recreate the problem there. I purchased a Sthil blower 2 years ago. Same problem you are having. And I knew how to start it because I had another one (same model two months older). Took it back to the dealer, carb adjustment, have not had a problem since.

This is why companies offer warranties.

 

[lone wolf]

I would take that saw back to the dealer on Monday and see if you can recreate the problem there. I purchased a Sthil blower 2 years ago. Same problem you are having. And I knew how to start it because I had another one (same model two months older). Took it back to the dealer, carb adjustment, have not had a problem since.

This is why companies offer warranties.

OP did you try a new spark plug out of the box yet?

 

[1Alpha1]

Just a quick update, and I won't bore any of you any longer with this.

I think I'm onto something here.

The dealer mentioned nothing about the need for a dead chicken, knowing an ancient Hindu prayer verse, and standing with your feet 30" apart, all the while crossing your eyes.......prior to giving the saw a yank or two on the ole pull cord.

Having done the above in the proper order / sequence, it has made a noticeable difference.

It now looks as if I may not need to return to the dealer tomorrow.

That is all.........:msp_biggrin:

 

[missedbass]

glad you have it figured out. good luck with the saw. there is plenty of wood to cut up here. you can still send it to me and i will gladly brake it in for you!