Over revved 350

Basica Guru · Apr 29, 2008

Hello All,

Got to pick a chainsaw out for a buddy the other day. He had a very strict budget and would not succumb to CAD. I even let him run my 7900 to get those lust juices flowing before we went saw shopping. I have to say he has more will power than I ever will. He had just smoked his 142, so maybe it was to much to hope he would go a lot bigger

Anyway, we went to a Husky/Jred shop that I have dealt with to pick up a Husky 350 w/ 18in 325 bar and chain. 2150's were sold out or I would have talked him into Red and black. Same saw but prettier to me. A few accessories and we were on our way. Fresh gas, Husky syn mix and bar oil, fire the saw up and 2 cuts later it dies. After checking this and that I determine it does not have spark.

He took the saw back the next day and the dealer found the coil was out. New coil and the saw was back running. The benefit of buying from a saw shop showed that day.

We have been cutting fence rows around his house. I drop the tree's and we drag the whole thing to his backyard to cut up. We cut and drug for a day and I left him with a large pile to cut.

When I came back the next day he was hard at work cutting things up. But, the saw sure sounded like it was really revving to me. I checked it with my tach and found it was turning 13,980 RPM. I tried to turn it down, but hit the limit tab at 13,850 RPM. Brand new saw, so I was not going to cut the tab.

Now, here are the questions. I am not a "saw tech" by any means, but I have fiddled with them all my life. I know the RPM is set a little under max at the factory and the limit tabs are then installed. Would a faulty coil cause the reading to be that far off (almost 1,000 RPM I am guessing) from the new one? Never had an issue with a coil on a newer saw so I do not know if this would be normal with a replacement.

Next, he ran about 6 tankfuls thru the saw before I checked it. I think if it was me I would be wanting a new saw. The dealer told us the saw would need to be "tuned" after 5 tanks because the factory sets the RPM 500 lower for break in. So this saw was cutting almost 1000 RPM over from brand new. My simple mind comes up with, over revving new saw= bad things happen.

Before I make an ass of myself, what do you guys think? Would that be enough to cause an issue? I would pull the muffler, but this saw is 5 days old. I do not want to give any excuse to reject a claim.

Thanks for the input,

Roger

Nitroman · Apr 29, 2008

It isn't your property, but you were a major factor in your friend deciding to purchase the saw. I think you should very strongly advise him to take the saw back in for a thorough check-up. Maybe the thing was assembled on a Friday payday at 4:50 p.m. and the factory tuners wanted to get out of there. You never know, so have it gone through by the dealer to see if there will be any more little issues.

SawTroll · Apr 29, 2008

That souns like way too lean - do as the man above said!

Basica Guru · Apr 29, 2008

It will go back to the dealer for a check up. My friend is very new to saws and is not very mechanically inclined. So if the dealer just feeds him a line, he will not know if it is true or not. He is also the passive sort when dealing with people. I am rather uummmm "firm" when I think I am not taken seriously.

I tend to be rather cautious when I tune mine. I try to keep 100-150 below max rpm just in case it is hotter than when I tuned it or something happens when I buy the gas. I have bought gas in the past that was supposed to be 91 octane and the mix valve was not working, so I ended up with 87.

I am also the type that will not accept equipment that performs outside of manufacturer parameters when it is new. I can understand a defective part like a coil, but I think if I took it back for warranty and they found that I had it leaned out to overrev it, I would be out of luck for warranty.

So, if it was yours. Would you accept it back tuned correctly and hope nothing was wrong with it or insist on a new saw or at least an extended warranty? For you professionals, is 500 over limit on a new saw a big deal?

Thanks for the help,

Roger

stevethekiwi · Apr 29, 2008

I have had the same issue on a 350 before. Took me a bit of work to figure out what was going on. This is probably not be the case with your saw, but Ill tell you what happened to this 350 anyway...

When they are factory assembled, they are tuned to meet emmission standards, not entirely rpm specific. They then put the limiter caps on and set it to the richest setting. I had a 350 that would scream its head off from new, and no amount of H jet tuning got it right. pressure checked case, no leaks. Swapped coil from another 350, did not fix. Swapped carb, no go. Ended up that the flywheel timing was out by SFA (was not assembled correctly) but it was enough to cause the saw to over-rev, while still meeting the emmission standards at the factory pre tune.

Unusual case. But anyway, take the saw back to the dealer and get them to sort it. Ask them to do a compression test while they are at it. Hopefully if the saw has been buried in wood all day, and the compression might still be ok.

Cheers

STK

SawTroll · Apr 29, 2008

stevethekiwi said:
I have had the same issue on a 350 before. Took me a bit of work to figure out what was going on. This is probably not be the case with your saw, but Ill tell you what happened to this 350 anyway...

When they are factory assembled, they are tuned to meet emmission standards, not entirely rpm specific. They then put the limiter caps on and set it to the richest setting. I had a 350 that would scream its head off from new, and no amount of H jet tuning got it right. pressure checked case, no leaks. Swapped coil from another 350, did not fix. Swapped carb, no go. Ended up that the flywheel timing was out by SFA (was not assembled correctly) but it was enough to cause the saw to over-rev, while still meeting the emmission standards at the factory pre tune.

Unusual case. But anyway, take the saw back to the dealer and get them to sort it. Ask them to do a compression test while they are at it. Hopefully if the saw has been buried in wood all day, and the compression might still be ok.

Cheers

STK