The Forestry Forum

First time poster but have been on another chainsaw forum for 20+ years. Problem has me stumped.  Saw failed to start one  day. No spark. Everything imaginable has been replaced.  Spark plug, plug wire, kill switch wire. flywheel, points, condenser, coil. Even a Stihl mechanic is stumped.  What could we be missing? This posting didn't get any love on that other forum. Guessing not many over there up on Stihls. I'll pay $25 for the person that has the solution.  Getting desperate here in KY.

Not interested in the reward for a solution, but I hope the forum can help you fix your 044 Stihl.  If I was working on this saw I would try to pinpoint if it is a secondary or primary ignition failure.  Secondary is high voltage like spark plug, wire and coil.  The coil is both primary and secondary. Primary low voltage (trigger) so flywheel, condenser, points kill switch and primary wiring.  Do you have a volt ohm meter accessible?  Just because there are new parts installed does not mean the new parts are functional.

You mentioned kill switch wire was replaced, but did you eliminate the the kill switch itself as the problem. Disconnect it and see if you have spark. That is the first thing I check when a good running suddenly looses spark.

Remove the kill wire, test for spark using the coil base for ground side, don't use the engine for ground. If you have spark then a bad engine ground is the problem.  Believe it or not, on certain engines I've seen the muffler become the ground circuit for the spark.

Quote from: Ben Cut-wright on May 01, 2024, 11:39:43 PMRemove the kill wire, test for spark using the coil base for ground side, don't use the engine for ground. If you have spark then a bad engine ground is the problem.  Believe it or not, on certain engines I've seen the muffler become the ground circuit for the spark.

You may have given me an idea.  Spark plug grounds to engine but I think the ground most continue to the coil.