The Forestry Forum

Hey everybody, my first post but one I consider very serious. I have a number of Stihl chainsaws and a MS 170 in particular which I bought for light work and has been used occasionally but is now just out of warranty. Recently after use I went to the kill switch but the engine would not stop. After searching YouTube it became obvious that the matter could be resolved by ad hoc modifications to the manufacturer designed choke/on/off system used in millions of Stihl petrol chainsaws. If this had happened in the auto industry there would have been a wholesale product recall. This appears to be a serious safety issue as a result of poor design. Anyone here experienced the same problems and give some ideas to resolve the matter.

Quick and dirty, set it to full choke. Correctly, fix the switch.

The 170 is the saw I use the most, and have been using it for 15 years and never had this problem.

I'm not currently a Stihl owner but surely it's not that overwhelming of a job to go in and check to see if it's grounding out the ignition for properly  shutting off the engine. Either it's the multi function switch or a bad connection somewhere. Go back to your basic electrical workings and just remember that a basic continuity meter is your friend in doing so.

Those stihl switches get out of whack sometimes. Usually you can easily adjust the grounding contact on the switch and fix the issue. 

Can't recalled the saw I had a similar issue with but I'm now in the habit of cleaning debris on my saws with compressed air. It solved the shut off switch issue.