Husqvarna 545 autotune starting trouble

[lovemysan]

I've had similar issues with my 550xp. Not as hard to start as yours but finicky and very cold blooded. Not wanting to rev off idle. I'm sending mine to tk to be checked out. The local dealer claimed everything was "in spec"

Question for the group...

I bought a husqvarna 545 a couple months ago as my first saw, so I'm a bit new to the whole thing and trying to get a feel for what's "normal".

When I first got it, I had some trouble getting it started, finally got it going, rev'd it up a bit, everything seemed great, so I shut it down and headed over to the tree (up a steep bank/cliff, so didn't want a running saw...). When I restarted it, I simply couldn't get it to rev up at all. Every time I'd give it any throttle, it would just die. Let it warm up a bit, no luck. Fortunately, I had brought a saw from work as a spare, so I set it aside for a bit and worked with that. Tried again several times over the next 2 hours with the same result every time. Took it back to the dealer and they got it going the next day and told me everything was fine but that I really needed to start it and quickly get it into some wood to make a couple solid cuts because that's the way the "autotune" tunes the saw, so that was probably my problem. Ok, I'll give that a try.

I tried that the next day and still had the same trouble once I started it - just didn't want to rev. As soon as I give it enough throttle to even think about turning the chain, it would die. I was finally able to get it going after ~5min of letting it warm up and trying to gently give it a little gas. Once I did, I immediately made some cuts and everything seemed good to go. I worked for a couple more hours that day and once it was warm, I could shut it down and restart no problem.

Unfortunately, I've continued to have the same problem every time I've used it since then. It's hard to start in the first place (pull several times w/ choke until it goes a touch, then choke off and pull a lot more until it actually starts). Then, I have to sit there and baby it, let it warm up and try to coax it into reving for 5min until I can actually start cutting. Once I get it going, it runs great.

Any thoughts? Somehow it doesn't seem like I should have this much trouble getting a brand new saw to run!

A few notes on what I've been doing so far in case any of it makes a difference...

1) I've run probably 12 or so tanks through it so far.

2) I've been using premium gas (with ethonol, unfortunately) with the husqvarna oil. I have a 1 gal. can and have been using the small, pre measured oil can for 1 gal to make sure I have the right mix ratio. I've also been using an additive to counteract the ethonol that also has a stabalizer in it (can't remember the name off the top of my heat) that was recommended by the dealer.

3) To start, I put the choke on and pull until it starts to catch, then take the choke off by squeezing and releasing the throttle then pull until it goes (total, that's probably 20-30 pulls). I haven't been using the decompression button at all - it's easy enough to pull without it on a saw this small.

Any thoughts/help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[huskydude]

Unfortunately, life got in the way last night and I didn't even have a chance to go start the saw let alone go cut wood. I'll try to make sure I at least have a chance to start it up tonight and see if using the correct procedure helps.

I hate when life gets in the way of what you actually want to be doing :msp_thumbdn:

 

[CAJ]

Good stories Zogger! I'm sure we've all been there at one time or another. Sometimes the obvious things are the easiest to miss!

Huskydude - agreed! Fortunately in this case it was one thing that I wanted to do getting in the way of another. Putting in some garden beds at the new house and just got an e-mail letting me know my raspberry plants had shipped and should be here today. So suddenly the clock's ticking! So I had to work on that.

The real misadventure came last night when I borrowed the dump trailer from work to get some topsoil & mulch for the raspberry bed. Had 2 yd of dirt in the trailer and a yard of mulch in the bed of the truck. Found out 2 things in quick succession: 1) My yard is still a lot softer/wetter than I thought from walking on it. 2) The 4WD on my truck seems to be broken (transfer case won't engage). Got everything done that needed to be done eventually, but hadn't planned on spending the evening that way. Got to meet a neighbor who I hadn't met yet who saw our difficulties and was nice enough to come over and use his truck (with working 4WD) to finish backing the trailer where it needed to go so I didn't have to just dump it where it was and finish the job with a wheelbarrow (that would have taken awhile!). Of course now I get to fix a bunch of nice ruts in the lawn and have to figure out what's going on with the truck. The fun never ends...

But, I did take the time to at least fire up the saw. No surprise that it started much easier this time. It was still pretty hesitant to take any throttle at first, but that was also less of an issue than it's been in the past. When it first started, it went into high idle for a bit and then just died. Restarted a couple times to get it to be willing to really take off & rev. So, not 100%, but still much better than I've seen before. That's good news.

Thanks again to everyone for pointing me in the right direction!

 

[wanoyee]

... But, I did take the time to at least fire up the saw. No surprise that it started much easier this time. It was still pretty hesitant to take any throttle at first, but that was also less of an issue than it's been in the past. When it first started, it went into high idle for a bit and then just died. Restarted a couple times to get it to be willing to really take off & rev. So, not 100%, but still much better than I've seen before. That's good news.

Thanks again to everyone for pointing me in the right direction!

CAJ... How is the saw starting now? Any more problems? How is it performing?

 

[Karl Robbers]

3) To start, I put the choke on and pull until it starts to catch, then take the choke off by squeezing and releasing the throttle then pull until it goes (total, that's probably 20-30 pulls). I haven't been using the decompression button at all - it's easy enough to pull without it on a saw this small.

There's at least part of your problem. You don't remove the choke that way. Choke is removed by pushing down on the control until it clicks. This leaves the saw set on high idle, but with the choke off.
I suggest you read your instruction book again.

 

[bcaarms]

Read The Manual

The X Torq saws and XP saws are unbelievably easy to flood. Tried to explain to a Stihl friend of mine how to start my XT. He has never started a ported saw, yet didn’t let a little thing like that get in the way. Tried to tell him to not touch the throttle once the choke had been set. He didn’t have time for that BS and picked it up and proceeded to drop start the saw. When the cord didn’t budge he pulled again. Somewhere during the display of machismo the throttle was pulled. It then became very tough to explain anything because now the reason it won’t start is because it’s a Husky.
I pulled out the 385 and set the choke, pulled once and it popped. Pulled again and it started and immediately went to fast idle. Released brake and blipped throttle. I put the saws up for the night. Next morning before leaving to cut some wood I started the 371 the same way. The procedure outlined in the manual works every time.:msp_thumbup:

 

[KenJax Tree]

To start the new saws: pull the choke out and all the way up and pull until it "pops" (2-4 pulls) push the choke down until it clicks its now on fast idle pull until it starts (1-3 pulls) let it run fast for a few second and blip the throttle and it will drop down to idle normally. If you miss the "pop" and keep pulling its gonna flood and it will never start.

 

[CAJ]

CAJ... How is the saw starting now? Any more problems? How is it performing?

Thanks for checking in.

I've been out a couple times in the past few weeks and it's generally starting a lot better, but is still pretty hesitant to rev up and really get going after it's started. So I find that even using proper starting procedure (choke on, pull until there's a "pop", choke off and into high idle position - using choke lever, not throttle, pull to start, let it run for a bit), it'll start pretty well but sometimes dies just with the high idle and still takes some coaxing and a few min of running to be able to give it any throttle without it just quitting.

It's generally pretty good once it's warmed up, but even then I've still had periodic troubles - especially if I've run it a bit and then let it sit for 10-15min while I do something else and pick it up again. In that case I'll usually just click the choke on and off to set the high idle but don't pull it at all with the choke on. I'll still sometimes have a good bit of trouble getting it to rev and get going.

So, overall a lot better, but still takes a lot more babying than I'd really expect from a brand new saw. I just haven't had the time to really give it much more thought recently as life in general has been crazy busy.

 

[wanoyee]

Appreciate the update... I was at the dealer yesterday. He tried to fire up a 545 and had trouble! ... a dealer! I'm kinda wondering if I should purchase one or not.

How is it in wood?

 

[CAJ]

Appreciate the update... I was at the dealer yesterday. He tried to fire up a 545 and had trouble! ... a dealer! I'm kinda wondering if I should purchase one or not.

How is it in wood?

Once it's running & cutting, it's great!

Keep in mind that I don't have a ton of experience and the only other saw I've run is a 455 that we have at work, but relative to that, my 545 seems to cut a bit better/faster and is a lot lighter. It does definitely seem to favor keeping a light touch, keeping the revs up and letting the saw do the work (i.e. don't let it bog down), but as long as I do that, I've been very happy with it.

Now if I could only get it to start and run quickly/reliably....

 

[Philip Wheelock]

...I find that even using proper starting procedure (choke on, pull until there's a "pop", choke off and into high idle position - using choke lever, not throttle, pull to start, let it run for a bit), it'll start pretty well but sometimes dies just with the high idle and still takes some coaxing and a few min of running to be able to give it any throttle without it just quitting.

It's generally pretty good once it's warmed up, but even then I've still had periodic troubles - especially if I've run it a bit and then let it sit for 10-15min while I do something else and pick it up again. In that case I'll usually just click the choke on and off to set the high idle but don't pull it at all with the choke on. I'll still sometimes have a good bit of trouble getting it to rev and get going.

So, overall a lot better, but still takes a lot more babying than I'd really expect from a brand new saw...

Sounds like a lemon to me. I'd take it back to the dealer again and insist that they either make it work right or have them ship it back to Husqvarna and give you a another model that does work, maybe this time with a standard carb that they might know how to repair. Or contact Husqvarna directly and tell them that they've got dealers who can't repair the new technology and ask them to make things right. Or put the thing on CL... Sheesh.

 

[KenJax Tree]

Sounds like a lemon to me. I'd take it back to the dealer again and insist that they either make it work right or have them ship it back to Husqvarna and give you a another model that does work, maybe this time with a standard carb that they might know how to repair. Or contact Husqvarna directly and tell them that they've got dealers who can't repair the new technology and ask them to make things right. Or put the thing on CL... Sheesh.

Maybe the dealer don't even know the starting procedure,you'd be suprised what the dealers don't know.

 

[Philip Wheelock]

Maybe the dealer don't even know the starting procedure,you'd be suprised what the dealers don't know.

The Husky and Stihl dealers in my town are pretty good; I feel lucky for that. Seems, though, that the hot potatoes for both are the auto-tune and m-tronic technologies. The Stihl tech says he won't offer an opinion on the m-tronic saws until they've been in the field for another five years. Husky dealer says that the pro's stick to the 346's, 372's and 390's. They're both old school and the hints are unmistakeable: there's more chance of bugs and reliability issues with the new designs. But at least you're given the heads-up about that and can then decide whether to be a first-adopter.

 

[zogger]

Once it's running & cutting, it's great!

Keep in mind that I don't have a ton of experience and the only other saw I've run is a 455 that we have at work, but relative to that, my 545 seems to cut a bit better/faster and is a lot lighter. It does definitely seem to favor keeping a light touch, keeping the revs up and letting the saw do the work (i.e. don't let it bog down), but as long as I do that, I've been very happy with it.

Now if I could only get it to start and run quickly/reliably....

OK, official weirdness. they are gonna string you along until warranty expires or you get sick of it. Perhaps it needs recalibration or something else. Doesn't matter anymore, their lookout, you want to work, not commute back and forth to the shop. If you are strictly following proper starting technique now, and it still sucks and doesn't work correctly like a regular plain carb saw..take it back, get another , different non autotune saw. Some things just ain't worth messing with over and over and over again..

 

[TK]

The more they get used, the easier it gets. If you're still having problems after a half dozen tanks of fuel then it's time to look a little deeper.

99% of the time I fire up mine I let it run the high idle for 30 seconds or so before kicking it down. Even with as much time on it as I have now I don't think I can nail full RPM immediately on a cold start, nor do I want to. After kicking down the high idle I typically let the saw idle on the ground for a couple minutes before starting work.

Granted I have adjusted the carburetors on these saws, which may be your problem if that has not been done.

 

[wanoyee]

Granted I have adjusted the carburetors on these saws, which may be your problem if that has not been done.

Is it possible for the end user to tune the saw without the software and cables?

 

[TK]

Is it possible for the end user to tune the saw without the software and cables?

It's not even possible for a dealer to "tune" the saw persay

But you can pop the air filter bracket off and give this little guy a 1/4 turn counterclockwise, that should help. I went about 3/8 with mine, somewhere in that range will be fine.
Left hand side, little spot above where the carb screw goes through.

 

[sgrizz]

It's not even possible for a dealer to "tune" the saw persay

But you can pop the air filter bracket off and give this little guy a 1/4 turn counterclockwise, that should help. I went about 3/8 with mine, somewhere in that range will be fine.
Left hand side, little spot above where the carb screw goes through.

Tk is the 555 have this screw also ? I have had issues with my 555 (6 tanks thru so far) some days runs good and others it has the hesitates off idle issue. Out of warranty now so its on me to pay to fix it.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

But you can pop the air filter bracket off and give this little guy a 1/4 turn counterclockwise, that should help. I went about 3/8 with mine, somewhere in that range will be fine. Left hand side, little spot above where the carb screw goes through.

And exactly what is that and what does adjusting it do?

 

[TK]

Tk is the 555 have this screw also ? I have had issues with my 555 (6 tanks thru so far) some days runs good and others it has the hesitates off idle issue. Out of warranty now so its on me to pay to fix it.

555/562 does not have it. 555 should carry a 2 year warranty you must have bought a real early one?