stihl 261 and 362 crank problems

[Paragon Builder]

they keep running them after that solenoid goes bad. For how long....that varies by if they have the parts to fix it and when they get irritated enough to stop and fix it. might be a couple hours all the way to a few days. The ones i have seen that needed the solenoid still had a good piston/cylinder. they were dropped off to repair the throttle linkage and while its here go ahead and put in a new solenoid. I got a little information on the software but still on the fence whether it is worth the money. last year when i asked the dealer about it he quoted me over $400 for it IIRC.

bearings on these saws are greased. im sure they dont grease them when they pull them out of the box new though.


i have watched them on a few occasions. its abusive for sure and allot of the work that is done is not what a chainsaw was designed to do. cutting brush, sticks, brambles are not on the list of things that a chainsaw was designed to cut

So when the solenoid goes bad does it just not operate. If that's the case it could land lean one time and rich the next. No?

 

[lone wolf]

they keep running them after that solenoid goes bad. For how long....that varies by if they have the parts to fix it and when they get irritated enough to stop and fix it. might be a couple hours all the way to a few days. The ones i have seen that needed the solenoid still had a good piston/cylinder. they were dropped off to repair the throttle linkage and while its here go ahead and put in a new solenoid. I got a little information on the software but still on the fence whether it is worth the money. last year when i asked the dealer about it he quoted me over $400 for it IIRC.

bearings on these saws are greased. im sure they dont grease them when they pull them out of the box new though.


i have watched them on a few occasions. its abusive for sure and allot of the work that is done is not what a chainsaw was designed to do. cutting brush, sticks, brambles are not on the list of things that a chainsaw was designed to cut

I have a standard 261.

 

[fordf150]

So when the solenoid goes bad does it just not operate. If that's the case it could land lean one time and rich the next. No?

wont idle

 

[Paragon Builder]

wont idle

Right. But is it still adjusting in the cut?

 

[fordf150]

Right. But is it still adjusting in the cut?

idk. ive asked and nobody has chimed in with an answer. does it default lean or fat when it fails? unfortunately i havent had enough experience with them to figure that out yet on my own and quite honestly havent used the search function of this site or google to try and find the answer either.

 

[Paragon Builder]

idk. ive asked and nobody has chimed in with an answer. does it default lean or fat when it fails? unfortunately i havent had enough experience with them to figure that out yet on my own and quite honestly havent used the search function of this site or google to try and find the answer either.

Gotcha.

 

[big t double]

idk. ive asked and nobody has chimed in with an answer. does it default lean or fat when it fails? unfortunately i havent had enough experience with them to figure that out yet on my own and quite honestly havent used the search function of this site or google to try and find the answer either.

we had a 362cm come back in for warranty work that had a solenoid failure...it failed fat, the saw would just flood itself out.

 

[Paragon Builder]

we had a 362cm come back in for warranty work that had a solenoid failure...it failed fat, the saw would just flood itself out.

I guess what I'm wondering is, is it a motorized solenoid that can stop anywhere, or is it spring loaded so that when it fails it's wide open (fat) or shut (lean).

 

[nitehawk55]

My understanding is they are supposed to go rich , it's built into that solonoid somehow .

 

[missedbass]

My understanding is they are supposed to go rich , it's built into that solonoid somehow .

If it fails to lean or rich I would think its spring return , if it fails in a certain position and stays there then its not. just a guess though

 

[Paragon Builder]

My understanding is they are supposed to go rich , it's built into that solonoid somehow .

Do you know of any documentation on that?

 

[treesmith]

I'd rather it failed rich and flooded than leaned out and burnt up

Unless of course I was selling the spares

 

[nitehawk55]

Do you know of any documentation on that?

I can check with Stihl Canada but I'm pretty sure if you go to the Stihl website it gives an explanation on how the M-tronic works .
I'm pretty certain that it goes to a rich cycle if the system fails which makes sense . I know I read it or it could be I was told this not long ago by someone who knows how this system works .
I'm sure most knowledgable Stihl dealers know this , it's just that I haven't been with the company for some time now and am not up to date on everything although I still have connections in the Tech Dept .
That's the best I can offer right now , no documentation in my possession

 

[nitehawk55]

If it fails to lean or rich I would think its spring return , if it fails in a certain position and stays there then its not. just a guess though

I think this could be how it works or something like that .
If the system failed in lean then Stihl would have a lot of explaining to do . Most car ECM's go into a limp mode too so no damage is caused if something in the loop throws a code .

 

[LegDeLimber]

So has anyone bothered to ohm out a failed solenoid vs a new one?
IF you're not finding a problem in the coil/winding, then does someone have a failed one, that still reads within (electrical) specs?
Then my next question is if the moving part (plunger) is still moving freely
or is it fouled ( by debris or other contaminants) or does it show any signs of undue wear or galling etc..?
and that (as yet unanswered) question of what type of return force is used against the plunger?
i.e. typical coil spring, maybe a "rubber" O-ring or bumper of some sort , in the bottom of the bore?
does accumulated fuel, in the system play a role of hydraulic stroke limiter and needed to prevent hammering the piston and mushrooming it to the point of hanging up in the bore?

I'm just kind semi spittballing some things ( from my desk chair) in hopes of you guys in the field (with your hands on them) maybe see something as a result.
So hope no one gets ticked off, on account of me.

 

[Storm56]

This thread had me re-thinking my recent 261-C purchase. However some encouragement from members stating that for my uses I should be good and my recent experience while using the new addition has me thinking I should be fine! It does not feel as good in the hands as the 346 XP but seems to cut and work just fine. They must have made some improvement to the flippy caps as they work noticeably better than the ones on my 360 Pro and pole saw. I may just hang on to it...

 

[fordf150]

This thread had me re-thinking my recent 261-C purchase. However some encouragement from members stating that for my uses I should be good and my recent experience while using the new addition has me thinking I should be fine! It does not feel as good in the hands as the 346 XP but seems to cut and work just fine. They must have made some improvement to the flippy caps as they work noticeably better than the ones on my 360 Pro and pole saw. I may just hang on to it...

I have said it before and i will say it again. I dont think anyone should be scared of the 261/362 mtronic/autotune because of what is in this thread or any other autotune bashing thread. there are problems but they are miniscule compared to the number of saws out there. I would however advise any purchaser of used 261's to check the crank and new saws need the clutch bearing greased. As far as the caps working better give it some time for gas to swell/distort the tank a bit and they may work the way everyone is accustomed too.

 

[Storm56]

I did grease the clutch bearing because of this thread, in fact I went through all of my saws and did em all..

Hope the caps do not go to crap with time...

 

[bwalker]

32:1...........

 

[Philip Wheelock]

I did grease the clutch bearing because of this thread, in fact I went through all of my saws and did em all..
Hope the caps do not go to crap with time...

My standard carb MS261 has been trouble-free for the past three years, other than a leaking fuel flippy. 16" bar bucking 20"ø oak for a couple of hours in 90º+ heat last year; I figure if there was gonna be a bearing/piston problem it would happen then. Just keep the rpm's in the power zone. My experience is that flippy caps do start to leak earlier than I would expect, but they're cheap and I just keep an extra around; not gonna throw the baby out with the bath water. Amen on greasing the clutch bearing early and often.