Hi from New Zealand

[stihlalivekicking]

Greetings all, what a great forum! Only found it just now when I started looking online for a 2020-ish Stihl MS 180 service manual.
I'm an elderly guy who chops up surplus wooden pallets to save buying firewood, but it now looks like I need to become a chainsaw mechanic.
I'd be grateful if some kind person would point me to the manual request area. Thank you.

 

[Brushwacker]

Welcome.
I never used the manual request thread but if u do a search for it I expect it would surface.
MS 180 is a good little saw. They can be pretty versatile. I have a couple currently and about 10 more bigger saws to 95cc. Use them all according to the task. My Dad was able to use his180 until he was bout 90 years and had a disabling fall. He worked up some sizeable logs to firewood size and my brother still has and uses it as his primary saw.
What's your problem with yours?

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Hi Brushwacker. Yes, I like the 180, it's light, easy to handle and cuts effectively. I'm an ex-builder and happy with power tools, but I'm now 82 and don't have the strength I once had.
Problem with the saw is I used it for an hour, it worked fine and I turned it off. Next day, after the usual fuel and oil check, I tried to start it but it was totally dead. No coughs, splutters, hiccups - nothing.
I changed the fuel, let it sit for a while, then tried again - using, as before, the usual choke setting then switching to the run setting after a few pulls, by which time it had usually coughed politely. But again nothing. Tried for an hour, on and off - no joy.
So I thought I'd check it out more thoroughly and make sure it's basic innards and settings were correct. But I don't want to pull it down and not be able to reassemble it.
I'm probably wrong, but I have a feeling that the black choke\run\stop lever isn't activating the electrical circuit, so the spark plug no longer sparks.
Any suggestions?

 

[sb47]

Hi Brushwacker. Yes, I like the 180, it's light, easy to handle and cuts effectively. I'm an ex-builder and happy with power tools, but I'm now 82 and don't have the strength I once had.
Problem with the saw is I used it for an hour, it worked fine and I turned it off. Next day, after the usual fuel and oil check, I tried to start it but it was totally dead. No coughs, splutters, hiccups - nothing.
I changed the fuel, let it sit for a while, then tried again - using, as before, the usual choke setting then switching to the run setting after a few pulls, by which time it had usually coughed politely. But again nothing. Tried for an hour, on and off - no joy.
So I thought I'd check it out more thoroughly and make sure it's basic innards and settings were correct. But I don't want to pull it down and not be able to reassemble it.
I'm probably wrong, but I have a feeling that the black choke\run\stop lever isn't activating the electrical circuit, so the spark plug no longer sparks.
Any suggestions?

Stihl saws are notorious for flooding if the starting procedure is not done correctly. Sounds like you are doing it correctly. Are you giving it a good hardy pull? If it was running fine the day before it should still work normally. Did you leave any fuel in it over night? I always run them dry or dump the fuel then run it dry before I put them to bed for the night. Maybe it had some fuel in it and some how got into the crank case over night causing it to be flooded. How did you put it to bed the day before?

 

[Brushwacker]

Pour a little fuel mix in the carb throat or spark plug hole and try to get it to fire. If it does I would expect the impulse hose broke or come off or a fuel delivery issue. If you still need to check for spark, do it in the dark. Check the plug for spark and if there is a short somewhere else, often it is easy to spot when u crank it over in the dark.
If you have spark, the fuel line is the most common fuel delivery issue, after that the carb. Make sure the spark plug gap is .020 " while your at it. Problem could be something else, but i think most likely u do all that u will find the problem sooner or later or have a much better lead on it. Probably the next thing I would do if nothing significant came up yet, pull the muffler and examine the piston and rings through the exhaust port for damage. U don't want to dig in to deep without doing the easier, less expensive checks first.
And sometimes the switch or wire from the coil gets displaced and grounds out the spark. .

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Guys, thanks again for your tips, I'll try those today.
There's a little more to the story that I kept back so as not to confuse the main issue. I bought the saw around 18 months ago from a Stihl shop, mainly because it was on special - $NZ280 instead of $NZ380. It's run pretty much faultlessly since then, but a couple of weeks back I asked the vendor if they had an old chain bar lying around that I could use to vice-mount chains for sharpening. They said they did. When I went to pick it up, I felt kinda obliged to give them some business, so I asked them to check the spark plug and maybe the idle speed.
Cut a long story short - the charge turned out to be near $NZ200. That's another issue, we're arguing over it now.
The relevance of this event to the saw's run-reluctance is that I used the saw just once for an hour or so after this gold-plated service, and on the following day it refused to start. Which is why I suspect some part of the service operation may have caused the problem.
Anyway, I'll try starting it again today and report back.

 

[Brushwacker]

I suppose I would start by making sure the spark plug wire didn't come off the plug and check in the boot the end that attaches to the tip is connected to the wire.
Did u ever pinch the saw and pull hard to get it out ?

 

[stihlalivekicking]

As part of the 'service' that I didn't ask for, the dealer replaced the spark plug. When I couldn't start the saw, I took off the cover and checked the plug lead but it seemed to be properly attached. Actually, I probably wouldn't have bothered going anywhere near the dealer in the first place if I'd been able to remove the plug myself, but I couldn't detach the plug cable. I'll try again today, along with refueling and trying a regular start. Is there any secret about detaching the plug connection? Also, if the machine ever gets flooded, what's the best action to take? Remembering back to the days of flooded car engines, it was full choke and full accelerator. Thankfully that's no longer necessary on cars. Probably won't need gas at all soon

 

[Syncop8r]

Hi mate.

Whereabouts in NZ are you (your profile says Australia )

A lot of manuals now have their own threads. Here's the MS 180 ones: https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/stihl-ms180-all-manuals.355489/
And here's the Beg for Manuals thread if you ever need it in the future: https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/the-beg-for-manuals-thread.68615/page-1782

Check for spark first.

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Hi Syncop8r. LOL, aussie grandkid did my site details cos I couldn't find glasses . I'm in Otautau - deepest, darkest Southland.
Thanks for the links. There's definitely something weird going on with my poor little MS-180 since it was 'tuned' by the local Stihl guy. I used it for about 30 minutes and it stopped although it wasn't out of gas. After that I couldn't start it nohow. Next day it started again, ran for about 40 minutes cos I wasn't racing it, then it stopped abruptly and wouldn't start. Same as before. I tried to start it just now and it coughed a bit then ran for about 10 secs, then wouldn't run again. Weird.

 

[cookies]

There is a single air/fuel adjustment screw on that carb with a access hole through the handle, if they tinkered with that jet it will throw it off rich or lean. I would take it back and say I have 500 into a 300 dollar saw with you that does not work as it should, repair it as I wait or replace it.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

There is a single air/fuel adjustment screw on that carb with a access hole through the handle, if they tinkered with that jet it will throw it off rich or lean. I would take it back and say I have 500 into a 300 dollar saw with you that does not work as it should, repair it as I wait or replace it.

What he said.

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Thanks, guys. Only problem with the adjustment screw: the hole in the handle doesn't line up with the one in the body, so if I were to poke a screwdriver in the handle hole it'll just fetch up against the gray plastic body. The handle hole would have to be about 10mm (3\8") lower to get a screwdriver through it and into the body hole. Kinda weird. Am I looking in the right place? Guess I must be, the LD arc diagram showing rich and lean is definitely where it should be.

 

[Syncop8r]

I just checked on a dead one of these I have acquired, the hole in the body of mine is about 5mm lower than the hole in the handle.

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Syncop8r: Yep, you got it - same as mine. According to local Stihl guy that sold me the saw, the NZ saws are made in China, "in a Chinese Stihl factory", so he said. Perhaps other MS-180s are made in the US or Germany and have slightly different parts? See the attached pic where I've red-arrowed the location of my handle-hole. Gawd knows how my Stihl guy adjusted the idle speed, unless he made a tiny cranked screwdriver.

 

[Syncop8r]

Wouldn't it be the one above the one you have pointed to, like it is with mine?
This is what I have:

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Sorry, I could have put that better. In my diagram, I'm pointing to the location of the carb adjustment hole which is on the grey plastic body behind the handle. So there's no hole in the handle where I'm pointing, but there should be. I'm mystified as to how my Stihl guy could have adjusted the mixture.

Edit: Just now poked a small blade screwdriver in the hole (at an angle, of course) and it seemed to connect ok with a blade screw. It seemed to respond to being rotated, so I wound it fully in counter clockwise then out again two full clockwise turns. Is the screw pointing up at a slight angle, rather than at 90 degrees to the carb body? I can't think why they'd offset the angle of a screwdriver like that.

 

[Syncop8r]

Can you show a photo similar to my one?
Sorry I'm not familiar with these saws.

 

[Captain Bruce]

Thanks, guys. Only problem with the adjustment screw: the hole in the handle doesn't line up with the one in the body, so if I were to poke a screwdriver in the handle hole it'll just fetch up against the gray plastic body. The handle hole would have to be about 10mm (3\8") lower to get a screwdriver through it and into the body hole. Kinda weird. Am I looking in the right place? Guess I must be, the LD arc diagram showing rich and lean is definitely where it should be.

None of them do...the mini-screwdriver needs to be angled into the grommet, to engage the single carb screw. Your 180 is normal.

There are several threads re: altering the cheesy air filter, so it actaully seals. Many a small Stihl has inhaled dirt, and the carb gets plugged. I speak from experience here in Michigan....Good Luck!

 

[stihlalivekicking]

Can you show a photo similar to my one?
Sorry I'm not familiar with these saws.

Sorry, Syncop8r, didn't see your post. I don't have a camera ATM but my saw is pretty much like the one you pictured. Except mine hasn't been in the tide, ! Not yet anyway, but if it keeps misbehaving it might and up there.
But I still don't understand why the manufacturer didn't put the handle hole adjacent to the carb screw hole. Anyway, I managed to poke in a skinny screwdriver on the angle and adjusted the idle speed to a bit faster. It seems to be OK now, fingers crossed.
Captain Bruce, thanks also for your helpful comments.