Poulan 2150 Wont Start

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Michael Kent

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Hello all my Poulan 2150 16” just died tonight.
It was always a finicky saw to get started as you had to go through the startup routine to a Tee. Brought the saw over to my fathers, it appeared the chain wasnt as sharp as I hoped. I stuggled to get through a 10” limb. The saw always seemed sluggish as if it wasnt getting emough gas and would frequently die off trigger, as well as bog until rpm was up enough. The saw seemed to loose power and rpm as I finally got through the limb. Now it wont start at all. I checked the plug assuming it would be flooded after all the pulls on full choke. The plug was dry and flat black in color. I cleaned plug and gapped to .025. It shows spark when pulled. However I cannot even get a pop from it even after a squirt of eather in cylinder!
I’m very surprised, not even a pop with ether? Come on now, even if no gas is getting to cylinder, why not even a pop and brief run? Have not ran a compression test, however it feels normal to the pull. Any ideas people?
Thanks
 
Your description of how it was running shows all the symptoms of a saw that is running too lean and the piston and cylinder are now probably badly scoured. Most of these box store saws come set too lean and end up this way if no one adjusts the carb to run right. Good new is, a new PC combo for these saws is cheap on ebay and easy to replace.
 
Thanks for the advice, still blows my mind that not even a pop with ether, pops my finger good with compression. However I’m sure this doesn’t mean much. If I was to run a compression check for ***** and giggles, what psi range could I expect with good piston, rings, cylinder etc? T.I.A.
 
Assuming you have a gauge that is meant for small engines and is known to be accurate when used on a chainsaw, if it reads below 60 to 80psi, the saw won't start. 100 to 110psi would be low but should still start. New saw readings for that saw should be over 140psi. Don't be mislead by compression readings, the important thing is to inspect the piston and cylinder for serious scouring. Just removing the muffler and viewing the piston through the exhaust port can give a good indication of the damage. With saws that have had a lean-run failure, most of the damage is on the exhaust side of the piston.
 
Thanks for the reply and wise advise, I believe what you say to be true. I will pull muffler and take a look. This is a saw that I only use maybe once or twice a year at most around the home.
Dispite what others might say about this saw, I would be willing to put a little money into it, so I can have a working chainsaw again.
Best Wishes!
 
It does sound lean, and all the Poulans I've worked on are always set too lean - for some reason they like to run best at H = 2 - 2 1/2 out and are always set around 1 to 1 1/2. That said a flat black plug usually indicates a rich a:f mixture. Definitely pull the plug but I'd inspect other things too; the carburetor internals, your filters. That kind of thing - also look at the spark arrester screen if it's equipped with one.
 
It does sound lean, and all the Poulans I've worked on are always set too lean - for some reason they like to run best at H = 2 - 2 1/2 out and are always set around 1 to 1 1/2. That said a flat black plug usually indicates a rich a:f mixture. Definitely pull the plug but I'd inspect other things too; the carburetor internals, your filters. That kind of thing - also look at the spark arrester screen if it's equipped with one.
Thanks for the reply,
Yes I agree about the plug. Strange thing also is I must not be getting gas. After choking fully and primming and primming, I expected a wet plug, but was bone dry? When I shut the saw off last the head seemed to be smoking like it was quite hot. Saw was clean howerever for flywheel to head air-cooling. After shutting down the saw I put it on its side and changed the chain. I believe gas leaked out of fillet cap as usual. Then hours later tried to start saw....NOTHING! And not even one pop with starting fluid spray directly in cylinder. This surprised the hell out of me, I’ve never witnessed a plug that sparks when pulled and grounded, and when reinstalled doesnt even pop with starting fluid. Even with almost no compression I would assume it should still pop a few times? Could the plug not be sparking only when installed?
 
The primer doesn't work exactly like that. It just circulates fuel in the carb chambers, not directly into the cylinder.
Definitely got an interesting case on your hands. What are you doing to test spark? If it's that black and dirty or if the gap is too far it might be a weak spark. It's functionality could be a little different under compression of the motor vs. Atmospheric pressure.
Try a new plug.
If It's dry though you're not getting fuel where it needs. I'd look for a major air leak somewhere or a fault inside the carb. Could be as simple as it being too lean as some have pointed out.
I'd do as has been suggested first and pull the muffler off it, look at the p&c and snap us a few pictures. If your top end is toast then everything else comes after you decide whether to rebuild it.
 
Have you replaced the fuel lines yet? Those are usually the first thing to go on those saws.
Hello and thanks for your kind reply!
I haven’t looked at them since I was given the saw from my father. He always had a hatd time with starting it. Looks like I have some detective work to do.
I’ll keep you all posted on my findings.
Thanks again.

Mike
 
The primer doesn't work exactly like that. It just circulates fuel in the carb chambers, not directly into the cylinder.
Definitely got an interesting case on your hands. What are you doing to test spark? If it's that black and dirty or if the gap is too far it might be a weak spark. It's functionality could be a little different under compression of the motor vs. Atmospheric pressure.
Try a new plug.
If It's dry though you're not getting fuel where it needs. I'd look for a major air leak somewhere or a fault inside the carb. Could be as simple as it being too lean as some have pointed out.
I'd do as has been suggested first and pull the muffler off it, look at the p&c and snap us a few pictures. If your top end is toast then everything else comes after you decide whether to rebuild it.

Thanks for your suggestions,
I will post some picts and share what I find.
Thanks again my friend!

Mike
 
I just skimmed so I may have missed it. You mentioned over and over that you hit it with ether. Never prime a two stroke with either, it will flush all of the oil off the cylinder, fast. I'll use ether to spray oil off my hands. I bought a beautiful Homelite XL700 a few years back. The guy said it was running great. I got it and the piston and cylinder were shot. Contacted the seller and he said he had been running it on ether. As stated above, pull the muffler and check for scoring. Save the starting fluid for the 4 strokes.
 
I just skimmed so I may have missed it. You mentioned over and over that you hit it with ether. Never prime a two stroke with either, it will flush all of the oil off the cylinder, fast. I'll use ether to spray oil off my hands. I bought a beautiful Homelite XL700 a few years back. The guy said it was running great. I got it and the piston and cylinder were shot. Contacted the seller and he said he had been running it on ether. As stated above, pull the muffler and check for scoring. Save the starting fluid for the 4 strokes.

Thanks for the reply,
I never thought about that cause Im so used to 4 cycle engines. However it never even popped or ran with ether in the cylinder. I will definitely remember not to do this again. I will check the piston and rings. Thanks for the heads up.

Mike
 
I suppose this is what is meant by scoring of the piston, rings and probably cylinder. I can definitely see how this scoring of the rings and or cylinder could cause a massive compression leak & no starting. Another though I had was if this engine uses a reed valve like motorcycle 2 stroke engines, perhaps beacause of the lack of ring sealing there wasn’t enough vacuum to pull reeds to let in gas to wet the plug when it should have been flooded from full choke and all my pulling on the starter? So maybe my problem with no gas getting up to cylinder is all related to the scoring issue and not another issue with fuel lines, carb, etc? Your thoughts please.
 

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