Requesting Advice / Suggestions for Stihl 021

[hotajax]

Morning, gents. Saw will start 3 or 4 pulls. Seems to have plenty of power to cut a nice fat log. Sounds good right? Nope. If you turn off the power to refuel, it won't start. Even if it was just running 3 minutes ago, it won't start. The only way to get it started is to let the saw cool off for a few hours and then go through the whole malarkey all over again.

My plan, for now, is to get a cheap aftermarket carb and give that a shot. Or, could this be an ignition problem? FWIW, I had an Echo weed whacker that would shutdown for no reason after it warmed up, and the only thing that fixed it was a new coil. For $60 ( ouch ) I was able to avoid having to buy a new weed whacker. The coil I needed did not have an aftermarket replacement.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gmctyphoon]

What position is the lever in when you try to restart the saw warm?

 

[hotajax]

What position is the lever in when you try to restart the saw warm?

It is in the normal run position -- the step just below off. The engine is hot.

 

[gmctyphoon]

It is in the normal run position -- the step just below off. The engine is hot.

Then I would start by checking for spark when the saw doesn’t restart.

 

[hotajax]

Ok, GMC, thanks for the tip and I'll go get a spark tester.

 

[gmctyphoon]

No spark tester needed, just pull the plug out. Then hook it up to the ignition wire and lay the plug on the cylinder. (Plug needs to ground on the cylinder to complete the circuit.) Put the saw in run position and pull away. If there’s spark then the coil is ok.

Might just need a new plug too. Spark plugs can sometimes spark without any compression but not spark when they’re actually in the saw.

 

[hotajax]

Spark plug is just about the cheapest fix there is, too.

 

[banjobart]

Squeeze the throttle to full when you pull the cord. Try it.

 

[gmctyphoon]

The OP started another thread. He says the problem was fixed with a new carb.

 

[hotajax]

Thanks for helping out.