Poulan 2050 !

[MakitaDcs400]

I have a Poulan 2050 33 cc chain saw..    I can't get it to restart it ran great up until the other day when I started it and it backfired and shut off !   I have cut about 6 cord of wood with it.   Its only a month old (still has warranty).   Im just wondering what could be wrong with it incase they try to say it was abused and they wont repair the saw under warranty..
I had the exhaust off and the piston and cylinder look fine.  It is getting spark and fuel.   It feels to have good compresson when I put my finger over the spark plug hole.   What do you all think could be wrong ?  Thanks for any help !

[Minnesota_boy]

This is probably not the answer, but one possibility is a sheared or missing flywheel key.  The electronic ignition doesn't care where the piston is when it fires and if the flywheel has turned a bit on the shaft, it will fire just fine, but on an empty cylinder.  

[Lewis Brander]

Hello. I would say that if your getting fuel, the saw piston and cylinder look OK and you have spark, I'd be worried about the timing since it backfired and stopped. Remove the rewind housing, remove the flywheel nut ( checking to see if it was tight) and check to see if the flywheel key isn't partially sheared or completely sheared. That's what I would start with first. JMO. Lewis.

[MakitaDcs400]

Thanks for the advice guys looks like the warranty might not be fixing my saw after all.  Poulan only puts the Serial numbers on the saw with a sticker, and the sticker has fallen off mine so I don't think I am going to get it repaired under warranty.  I think it is a pretty bad way to put the serial number on a saw but thats just me !   The place that does Poulans servicing is trying to get me warranty but I don't think they're gonna be successful.

[Chris J]

Hi, Makita.  I'm certainly no saw expert (rarely have truer words been written), but the serial # sticker only doesn't sound right.  From what I've read re the smaller Poulans, they're usually just replaced, i.e. they give you a new saw.  Your description of the situation was brief, but it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong.

Y'all be careful.

[MakitaDcs400]

Well they finally looked at the saw ! I phoned Poulan after and they told me the saw would be covered under warranty even without the serial number due to me having the sales slip.  They say the engine is burned out from running too Lean !   Obviously the carb wasnt set up proper !  The idiot mechanic was trying to say we put water in the oil tank.  This dealer has given me one long run around trying to claim that poulan wouldnt let them fix the saw due to no serial number.   And now they will probably void my warranty by saying they found water in the saw.  They must think im pretty stupid if they think I put water in the saw !  If the place don't want to fix these saws they should'nt have accepted the contract to do so !  I personally feel the mechanic is incompetent.  (I have been told this about this particular service center before)  
I'll keep you all updated !

[maple flats]

If in fact it was water in the fuel it can get in naturally as well. Condensation in the gas can, rain or snow on the pump nozzle at the gas station or from the tank of the gas station where they didn't periodically pump the bottom of their tank often enough to remove water, or even fueling at the pump while the gas station was getting a load or very soon after so that any condensation in the tank may not have settled (water is heavier than gas and is always in all tanks that are not entirely new) There is possibly many other ways water could get in the gas. This is not saying water was the problem but is always a possibility. To avoid water buy gas from a reputable dealer who has high traffic sales and never within a half hour of when they got a delivery pumped into their tank. Another good practice is to use a gas can that is small enough so that you only mix no more than a week or two worth of fuel at a time and if you have some left over just dump it into a vehicle while it is fresh (the small amount in your truck won't be noticed and will not hurt a thing)and next time start with new. ??? :'( smiley_fused_bomb

[rebocardo]

re:water

See where the Shell station in FL, a while back, had only about 200 people with water in their gas and had to pay for 100s of claims. It was pretty easy to track back to that one station since about 100 cars died in short order. Guess we will start dip sticking our tanks again. Oops.

[Lobo]

Water in gas from condensation is a common occurence in climates where there is cold and warm seasons. Metal tanks located in the ground condensate from the change in ground temperatures around it and water forms in the tank.

Not good for injectors and even worse for small power equipment carbs and engines.

Purchase gas from reputable oil companies that have large volume stations that gas in rotated every 2-3-4- days you will have less chance of picking up water and crap.

[sawguy21]

Running too lean because of water in the oil tank? Hmmm, something don't smell right here. We do a lot of Poulan warranty and have not had issues with them being picky, unlike Stihl. Sounds like the tech, if I can call him one, really does not know what he is doing or the boss is too lazy to fill out the warranty claim. Either way, find another service centre if possible.

[MakitaDcs400]

Figured id drop in and let you guys know the saw has been fixed.  The dealer was very hard to deal with.  Any other repairs on the saw will be done by me I wont bother bringing it in for any more warranty work..   
Thanks