Am I right that these are notoriously unreliable? I think I only had the saw for a year when it quit working. I have to pull the choke to stop the saw.
I've run two Huskys for some time and have never had a problem with the start/stop switches. What model Husky are you running?
Yes, on both of the 372XPs I have the switches are bad. A friend who has a bunch of them the switches are always going bad. I installed a toggle switch on mine.
I have a 385xp and the toggle switch sounds like a good solution. Thanks for the idea. Now that you mention it I seem to remember seeing some saws with the toggle on them.
It,s a bit of a job getting one in there but once it is you shouldn't ever have to replace it. On a 372xp you need a switch with a small body so it does not hit the anti vibe spring. You also need to take a dremel tool to the switch opening to get it to fit.
Thats the one beef I have about Husqvarna is they put automotive type wire connectors on their start/stop switch, and the darn things pop off. My 372 is bad for that.
Looking at my Stihls they don't use these cheap connectors, for ages they have used that brass plug shaped like a pin and it never comes loose.
Willard.
The one on my 254xp just started acting up, as long as its lasted I'll probably just get another Husky switch.
Ed
Mine will break now for sure.I've had this 372 for 4-6 years and it gets used alot.All summer and winter. Same switch that came with it.
I had the problem Willard described on my 357XP: the connector that came loose. Cleaned the contact area and put it back on, and it's working.
I read this thread last night before bed so it was fresh in my mind today when the stop switch on my 395 did'nt stop the saw. I knew it was my fault for reading the thread :-\. Anyway I switched it on and off again and it worked and I had no more problems with it for the rest of the day. This is how it starts I presume ? or is it a dead stop thing and I dreamed it happened because I was waiting for that problem?
There are 2 small plastic tabs on the back side of the slide portion of the switch. When 1 of them brakes the switch stops working. You can reinstall the slide portion upside down with the 1 good tab still intact and the switch will work ( until the other tab brakes ).
Well it looks like I better purchase a couple extra switches on hand just in case.
Quote from: bill m on March 24, 2011, 09:19:06 PM
There are 2 small plastic tabs on the back side of the slide portion of the switch. When 1 of them brakes the switch stops working. You can reinstall the slide portion upside down with the 1 good tab still intact and the switch will work ( until the other tab brakes ).
Thanks for the tip, I cleaned her up a bit this evening, serviced all the usual suspects
and ran her dry because she has next week off. If that happens again ( no problems today) I will do what you said.
Had an interesting thing happen today. Since I had the saw torn down to change the fuel line I really blew the switch off with compressed air and noticed that the wire connectors seemed kind of loose on the tabs. So I grabbed the needle nose pliers and closed up the connectors. Today the saw stop switch actually worked. I am wondering if the issue is that the voltage is low enough going through the switch that when the connection loosens a little the switch doesn't work.??
Quote from: bill m on March 22, 2011, 08:37:04 PM
Yes, on both of the 372XPs I have the switches are bad. A friend who has a bunch of them the switches are always going bad. I installed a toggle switch on mine.
Why are the Dolmar guys putting 372xp switches on the 7900s then...... 8) 8)
I'm not sure why they are using the husky switches all I know is a lot of people around here have always had problems with those switches.
Quote from: 9shooter on March 25, 2011, 09:25:45 PM
Had an interesting thing happen today. Since I had the saw torn down to change the fuel line I really blew the switch off with compressed air and noticed that the wire connectors seemed kind of loose on the tabs. So I grabbed the needle nose pliers and closed up the connectors. Today the saw stop switch actually worked. I am wondering if the issue is that the voltage is low enough going through the switch that when the connection loosens a little the switch doesn't work.??
I was wondering the same thing. I definitely think a loose connection could cause the switch to not work properly.
When I bought my 372xp the dealer told me that the switch is lifetime warrantied.
Why not just solder the wires to the switch?
Quote from: Yoopersaw on March 27, 2011, 09:45:40 AM
Why not just solder the wires to the switch?
Seems like a simple enough fix, I am going to have to solder mine up this weekend I think just for added security.
Most kill switchs use "quick connect" terminals .After a certain amount of vibration they loosen up .
Because the switch controls the low voltage side of the ignition system it doesn't take much resistance to render it ineffective .The needle nose option would seem a better approach than soldering the terminals .You know you just might need to change that switch some time and wouldn't that be neat trying to unsolder the terminals .It would hard enough soldering it in the first place and not melting the switch, plastic you know .
Yeah like everything else must have a turn over . Have a few Old Pioneers and a Solo all have metal switches and have not became inoperative within 30 + Yrs. Those were the Days. Both my New Husky's have the Plastic Switches , so far all ok within a little over a yrs use. I will have to check with my Son's 460 and see if he indicates any problems. I did not hear of any lifetime warrant on the Ignition switches . I will have to follow up on that one , unless Spike can quantify ?
Huskies have start/stop switches???
I wish I had known. I always have to pull the cord.
I just took a look at my Husqvarna 576XP AT and can see Husqvarna has fixed the old switch problems.
This saw no longer has the one piece enclosed switch, now the design is similar to Stihls switch. Up and down toggle that contacts 2 brass contacts. The improvement over the Stihl I see is there is no long plastic shaft from the toggle going across the width of the saw.
Willard.
Use a heat sink above the point your soldering or unsoldering. A small pair of needle nose holding the connector above your point of heat will protect the switch by absorbing the heat you generate from your soldering pencil. You need a pencil sized to the task, not a gun or hugh pencil.