stihl ms250 trouble

[yachatian]

Hello-

I bought a Stihl MS250 this spring on the advice of local shop. I am not a pro logger but have 8 acres with streams and the beavers knock down lots of trees I have to cut up. I admit I am new to chainsaws in general, but am in otherwise fairly competant and handy. I can rebuild (at least old) motorcycle engines, I am in good physical shape, and other than never having owned a chainsaw, feel like its not unreasonable to start.

So I put myself at the mercy of the shop; they treated me well when selecting a chipper and a brush mower a few weeks earlier. I explained my relatively modest needs: to clear fallen trees, occasionally take one down, and maybe cut a cord or 2 each season on forest service land (most people around here get permits to clear logging debris, seemed a good deal to me).

So they suggested this saw. Its been nothing but a hassle from day one.

I first took it in, since I couldn't start it. It seemed to flood every time. I follow the directions precisely: put it on choke, try pulling the cord gently 2-3 times, put it on "warm", and keep pulling. When it does start, quickly blip it to "on". 1/20 times this works. Most of the time nothing happens, and it gets increasingly hard to pull the starter cord. I had a neighbor look at it, he claimed it was a "lemon". So I took it in, they said the plug was bad and put in a new one. It started fine, so I took it home. It wouldnt start again.

So I take it back, the guy clears it, just like I have been doing (take out the plug, set it to off, pull the starter 20 times, replace plug) and it started right up. He gave me a lecture about how old people always come into his shop and he has to start their weedeaters for them, and implied I don't know what I am doing, but not to feel bad about it. I started it, showed him how I always tried, and he said it should work from now on.

So since then it has worked about 1/10th of the time. Usually I have to clear it, let it sit for a day, and then MAYBE it will start the next day. Well I got tired of this, and took it in again.

They claimed the ignition module was bad. So a week later, they called and said the saw is ready, but nothing was wrong with it. So I insisted they look again, and explained the problem is intermittant, and that I was told the ignition tested faulty.

So today I pick it up, $150 of repairs had been done, ignition module replaced. It started outside of the shop, so I came home.

It won't start. I cleared it again. Start it on warm. Won't start.

I am at wit's end. I think it is obvious that this is not a great shop. But I don't know what to do, it is the only saw vendor within 30 miles. There is anohter 60 miles away that might be worth it.

Can I sell this thing back to the shop? Should I get a "better" saw? Am I just a loser idiot like the shop guy seems to think? I would take a class or something if it would work, but this Stihl "EZ 2 START" is not very easy.

I really don't know what to do other than buy a different brand, would welcome any advice.

rob in coastal oregon:

 

[Fish]

Sounds like you need to call the area dist. and he will handle it quickly.

Sounds like a leaky Zama carb. You should have not had this much hassle.

I am kindof a Stihl dealer, in a real twisted way, but if what you are saying is true, I am ashamed to be affiliated with them.

We have several techs here that are up in your area, if they do not chime in with real help, I will post the dist. phone number.

 

[yachatian]

Thanks. I would love to talk to a distributor or another repair place. Will anyone honor my warantee? I don't want to put another dime into this thing until I know its a decent saw. I am pretty tempted to just buy a different brand and chalk this up to naive learning. There is a shop in Florence, to my south, which is slightly farther away than the unnamed shop I have been using up the Alsea Bay (clue for anyone local).

Thanks for the support though, and indeed in a week or two if I don't have more answers I would like to know how to carry forward. I _need_ a saw this month, and will get a different one if I have to.

thanks,

Sawless in Yachats

 

[andrethegiant70]

I've had a good experience with my 025s, the same saw, a little older. I will definitely say that this saw is very idle-mixture sensitive on start. It took me more effort than I was happy with to get it to start from cold consistently unitl I really figured out the idle mixture setting. The problem came down to the fact that once the saw was warm, it was very easy to start. Because of this, there is a great temptation to then screw around with the idle mixture to "fine tune" how it runs at idle. This ended up being my mistake... most saws can take these kinds of small adjustments and still start from cold just fine. Not so much the 025/MS250. Once your idle mixture is set to start from a cold condition, LEAVE IT ALONE. If you want it to idle a little faster or slower once you get it started, use the idle speed adjustment.

I don't really know if this explanantion is going to make folks that happy, all I know is that BOTH my 025s act exactly the same.

My process was this:

1) Unflood the saw. ( I take the plug out, turn the saw sideways, and pull 10 times or so. I leave the plug out and walk away for a spell)

2) Reinstall plug, set idle mixture at ONE TURN OUT. Put the saw on choke and pull until your hear ANY attempt to start. Take it off choke. Start the saw. If it does not start, make a SMALL adjustment in the idle mixture (your choice, leaner or richer, you're experimenting now)

3) Repeat the process starting at step one (yes, walk away for a bit).

When you get a start, you're beginning to be in deep cotton. Go cut something, stand there and annoy the neightbors for a while, revel in your success, whatever.

NOW, shut it off, make sure you know exactly where the idle mixture is set, and walk away to let the saw get cold. Try it again later to make sure you've got it.


If this sounds like a pain, it was. Once I figured out how to adjust this carb, this saw has proven to be dead reliable and with a muffler mod, strong enough to put a smile on my face.

Once I got this start process down, both saws start brilliantly, every time.

There is just NO way in you-know-where that a shop has the luxury to fart with a saw this much. My guess is that they make the same mistake I did, given the time alloted to work on the saw. They unflooded it, got it started, then continued to tune it while the saw was running. They then shut it down and started it again (warm) four more times to make sure it would start everytime for you. This just doesn't work well with the 025.

You might need to do a little messing around with this saw. The advertised "one turn out" on the idle mixture adjustment screw was VERY close to being spot on. It's a little leaner in my neck of the woods because I'm at 7,000 altitude.


Keep us posted!

 

[stihl86]

Call 1-800-go-stihl. It's their nationwide customer service line. They WILL try their best to help.

 

[yachatian]

andrethegiant70, thanks. That is exactly the kind of stuff I am looking for. I am very happy to read manuals and follow the directions, and wish that mine had this kind of thing in it. Sadly, its troubleshooting is minimal.

I have to go out of town this weekend but I will try this next week and let you guys know what happens. I am also happy to hear that you think Stihl should have good support and this is worth pursuing.

Thanks again, and please post any more troubleshooting strategies for me to try or for other people searching for this stuff in the future.

 

[Jacob J.]

but this Stihl "EZ 2 START" is not very easy.

It's usually pretty easy to flood those EZ-2-start models of Stihls. I used to work at a dealership and as a technician, I'd see problems with those constantly. I even bought the ez-2-start MS-210 for my mom and she floods it on a regular basis.

I don't think your dealer is a very good one. I'm not familiar with the dealer in Yachats but I do know the regional sales rep for our area well, and he's a good guy who will bend over backwards to see a customer satisfied. He works out of Chehalis, Wa. via Eugene, Or.

You won't be able to set the idle mixture screw on your MS-250 to "one turn out" because it's set up differently than the older 025s. You'll need to have it set at a shop or by someone who has a tachometer to around 26-2800 rpm and leave it at that. If I lived closed I'd come over and set it up for you.

 

[andrethegiant70]

I even bought the ez-2-start MS-210 for my mom and she floods it on a regular basis.

That just doesn't sound right.

 

[TreePointer]

Maybe not a permanent fix, but whenever my new MS290 floods (not very often), I just flip the switch to the "on" position (I) and pull 2-3 times to burn the fuel in the flood. Then it starts right up using the regular startup routine. Much easier than taking it apart, and it works for me.

Another thing, when attempting a "cold start," I usually pull 4-5 times (rarely more) on full choke (cold start position) before attempting the initial pull in the "warm start" position.

 

[yachatian]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I will try it out tomorrow morning before heading out for the weekend.

If you wouldn't find, how does the start "feel"? From what I gather, this isn't like starting a lawnmower, you are just assisting an electrical start of some sort. My saw has a couple distinct clicks or engine cycles. It seems that the cord wants to do one or two "chugs" with a slow pull. Pulling hard and long does the one/two and then after a lot more cord 3 or 4. The manual is vague but insists it is a "gentle" pull. The guys at the saw shop do the forbidden "drop" thing where they hold the cord handle in one hand and push the saw down with the other, but the Stihl manual implores you to step on the handle and pull, or hold it between legs and pull. I don't really care, as long as it starts. I just want to know what I am doing wrong, and I am pretty sure it is not a mater of not pulling hard enough or long enough.