394 that will not start when hot

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
My 394 is a bear to start when it is hot too. I use the choke to stop it instead of the on/off switch and it will re-start on one pull. Pull the choke, it stops, push the choke back in. Not ideal by any means but it does work for me. It also seems to do better since I switched to non-ethanol gas.

If your saying the non e gas is helping it leads me to believe it is more vapor lock related. I will give the choke stop a shot
 
My 394 is a bear to start when it is hot too. I use the choke to stop it instead of the on/off switch and it will re-start on one pull. Pull the choke, it stops, push the choke back in. Not ideal by any means but it does work for me.

That's what I do on an almost daily basis. Works fine imo
 
I have gone over many 394's with this same problem. i have found many with cracked intake blocks and sometimes they are not easily visible. most with this problem have had a crack going right into the impulse passage. the crack swells when hot making it bigger so runs fine until shut down. then a hot start is impossible. i have replaced the intake block on many and never had the problem again. there was one exception where it happened twice on the same saw. each time a new intake block fixed it though. a weird thing is i have also had some with perfect looking intake blocks and just replaced the fuel filter only to never have that problem again. i swear those 394's have been the biggest pain in the ass ever when it comes to this issue. i still like them though. i will not be held responsible for anyone buying an intake block for nothing. inspect yours thoroughly before replacing.
 
Clearly this is a complicated problem as I have heard the fix to be any of the following:

new coil
new spark plug
Carb tune
intake block
fuel filter
ethanol gas
tank vent

and a few I may have forgotten.
 
Sorry for dragging a 10 year old thread back up, but I still have a 394XP being difficult.

Apart from the hot start problem, I am having the fuel coming out and running down my hand at times when using the saw is on its side.

Because the saw is running fine at the same time, I guess it is the fuel tank being pressuring up and coming thru the vent. Take it back home and no matter how violently I shake it no fuel ever comes out.

Was there any fixes released by Husky to fix the 394xp?
 
Sorry for dragging a 10 year old thread back up, but I still have a 394XP being difficult.

Apart from the hot start problem, I am having the fuel coming out and running down my hand at times when using the saw is on its side.

Because the saw is running fine at the same time, I guess it is the fuel tank being pressuring up and coming thru the vent. Take it back home and no matter how violently I shake it no fuel ever comes out.

Was there any fixes released by Husky to fix the 394xp?

The 394 has a tank vent straw that is pressed in from the right side of the tank. If you fill the fuel all the way up and it's sitting on it's right side you'll have some fuel coming out because the fuel level is over the vent straw. Maybe yours is cracked or broken causing it to spill fuel early. You can pull them out with a screw after loosening up the two rear AV mounts and the 5th mount on the handle.

As for hot starts I've had problems with Bosch plugs causing hot start issues. I switched to Japan made NGK's and the problem went away.

You should also check the intake block, they are notorious for cracking and you may have a slight crack into the pulse channel which could cause hot start issues when the crack opens up with heat.
 
The 394 has a tank vent straw that is pressed in from the right side of the tank. If you fill the fuel all the way up and it's sitting on it's right side you'll have some fuel coming out because the fuel level is over the vent straw. Maybe yours is cracked or broken causing it to spill fuel early. You can pull them out with a screw after loosening up the two rear AV mounts and the 5th mount on the handle.

As for hot starts I've had problems with Bosch plugs causing hot start issues. I switched to Japan made NGK's and the problem went away.

You should also check the intake block, they are notorious for cracking and you may have a slight crack into the pulse channel which could cause hot start issues when the crack opens up with heat

Hi and thanks for the areas to look at. NGK plugs are what I use but was the first thing I replaced. After doing more reading here, I better get myself a mityvac.

In the video Donny Walker mentions a later model carby which was changed to a shorter needle length. Has anyone used those and seen any benefit. If they did solve any problems is there a different part number?

Thanks
 
Back
Top