Husky L65

[Robertmac]

Hi all, I'm new here and will discover the site as I go along. I looked for a post on my problem but no luck.
I have taken a L65 Husky out of storage, 25 years ago when I last used her and I started her up with fresh mix after having it turning a few times without the sparkplug so get it all lubed up inside.

No problem, it started up on third pull and I left it just to idle for a good while. Got it running no problem, chain sharp and off I went.

I almost got through an entire tank of fuel, carb was running perfectly, rev's and power on tap and cutting like new.

About 15 mins in it started to suddenly die on revs, at first I thought, points had shut, but I know I last fitted them so this was not a problem, removed the flywheel, and points are perfect.
Then I thought i'll remove and rebuild the carb as the gaskets have sat 25 years dry, as an air leak or lack of fuel could cause the problem.

Rebuilt carb, but it was perfect, as were all filters and diaphrams, but have spare carb kits from back then.

All I can think of is maybe the condenser has started to break down, giving the impression it is being starved of fuel, when in fact the electrical side is probably causing my troubles.

The problem is now consistent, on any rev's.  As if it was only firing on say every fourth stroke, when she is a two-stroke, so loss of power and a funny sort of constant spitting sound.

I notice a contactless ignition module that is made for this saw, as I cannot find a new condenser, so will this hopefully cure my problem, or just steer me towards another problem?

[Jack S]

You didn't mention if you checked the gas line or not. might wanta check it

[mike_belben]

Look at piston through muffler port for scoring first, verify compression second.  Ensure fuel tank is venting and lines arent gellied.   I have had fuel pickup filters clog without being visible.  

[Robertmac]

You didn't mention if you checked the gas line or not. might wanta check it

Petrol lines are all fine, I even fitted a new fuel pipe from tank to carb while I was at it and breather pipe is not clogged and I also emptied and flushed the saw before I put it in storage.

[Robertmac]

Look at piston through muffler port for scoring first, verify compression second.  Ensure fuel tank is venting and lines arent gellied.   I have had fuel pickup filters clog without being visible.  

I do not know compression reading for this saw, but if you do it would help me 100% or if anyone else reading this knows the compression level of these saws.  I also have extreme compression, from the day I stored it to present day when I restarted it.  It will  take some force to pull this chainsaw on compression so I do not suspect broken rings, or stuck rings.
There is no scoring on the barrel.
How do I check the condenser please?

[sawguy21]

I have one, they are a regular beast to start without a compression release. You say you were almost through a tank of fuel before it started to act up.It does not sound like an ignition problem. I suspect you have picked up some mung from the bottom of the tank, replace the in tank filter again, they are cheap, and thoroughly clean the carburetor using an ultrasonic cleaner if available.

[mike_belben]

If its got a good solid pump-pump to the rope then i wouldnt even worry.  Ive had saws run okay that barely offered any resistance. 

[Robertmac]

I have one, they are a regular beast to start without a compression release. You say you were almost through a tank of fuel before it started to act up.It does not sound like an ignition problem. I suspect you have picked up some mung from the bottom of the tank, replace the in tank filter again, they are cheap, and thoroughly clean the carburetor using an ultrasonic cleaner if available.

To pull the chord on these beasts is to know you have a powerful saw when you feel the compression compared to present day saws. A child up to the age of 14 will struggle to pull this beast of a starter as you need a hell of a strong consistent pull to get her to turn over.  It even fires up before you have finished the pull.
Thinking back I also remember it started with me in a tree trunk on full load and power when she suddenly started to spit at half throttle and give me no more.  I could remove it, shake it while revving it and sometimes it would give full throttle.  Then I thought maybe the H screw had moved, so checked and re-set to no avail, as it had not moved. This is why I started to think this could be electronic break-down like the condenser in cars with points as this is the exact same problem the car gives, leading mechanics to think the carb is faulty.
It was only at first happening under full load, but now even with the saw on the ground and not under power she will spit and only reach half power and die if you touch a tree, it will spit and jump like a saw being starved of fuel.
I had a look around on the net for ultra-sonic systems and found a unit at $80 to my door, then some fluid, or even water can actually work under ultrasonic waves.
I like the idea and will follow up on it soon, but at present I have only one set left of the carb re-build kit, and knowing how old this saw is I suspect I will never find any more easily. Points and condenser are now obsolete, hence a new unit is available to replace these.
It made me immediately think of fuel starvation when it started happening, as in it will idle and tick over perfectly, and will go up the revs, say this saw goes up to 7k RPM, (Just a pure guess for comparison purposes only at this stage), it will let me take her up to 3-4K RPM before it starts holding back, as if it is screaming at me for more fuel.
You also know when the carb L and H are being set-up, as in I can tune them to ear and cutting power, then set the mix ratios for lean or rich as opposed to revving beautifully, but dieing when you hit any resistance with the bar and chain, or the saw is running to hot or to lean etc. as the carb is not properly adjusted for fuel mix and performance.
What you say and describe about gunk in the carb sounds the best possible cause for my troubles.
Only electrical or carburation are the cause, so I'll go down the route of buying a spare saw or carb on ebay that runs and swap out the carb and take it from there.  While I do this I will also swap out the points for the newer contactless electronic ignition system specifically made for this very saw.
The parts for these saws are hard to find, but a complete one for spares is a great option and I can sell on the spares to recover the initial cost of me buying it.
The ultra-sonic cleaner will also come into play my end and I can use it for various other items I have, including my other chainsaws if they ever start to gel up.

[Robertmac]

I noticed on ebay in the UK a condenser/capacitor for £6 something, and me believing I would struggle to ever find one for such an old saw.
Just as I uploaded the last post.
Condenser, Capacitor, Husqvarna 65, 65L, L65, 77, 77L, L77, 501 43 63-01, 1-059, which is perfect for me.
Let me be lucky again and find a carb.

[mike_belben]

This saw is way too old for my experience, but check the ignition rotor shaft for play.  Any looseness will make the point gap go from big to small and burn breaker points.  As will a bad condensor.

[LeeB]

Fuel vent possibly? 

[Jack S]

Now your problem sounds more like the high speed orifice is plugged or restricted. most likely where it exits into the venturi.   did you remove the welch plugs and blow out the the orifices? I feel a lot of carburetors are junked because of this problem. I hardly ever see this discussed. I have had this issue several times over the years on my own equipment. Think about this. really what can wear out in a carb other than gaskets seals and diaphragms.  Those discharge holes are really small real near the butterfly valve. 

[BradMarks]

Just curious reading this, seems a lot of work for an old saw. Does the L stand for lightweight ??? as I remember the 65 being a heavy, low rev but powerful, vibrating son of a gun. Always picked up the 61 first.

[HolmenTree]

Now your problem sounds more like the high speed orifice is plugged or restricted. most likely where it exits into the venturi.   did you remove the welch plugs and blow out the the orifices? I feel a lot of carburetors are junked because of this problem. I hardly ever see this discussed. I have had this issue several times over the years on my own equipment. Think about this. really what can wear out in a carb other than gaskets seals and diaphragms.  Those discharge holes are really small real near the butterfly valve.

Yes times have changed.
Over 40 years ago in the logging camps I lived and worked out of we had a company store that basically had enough parts to build a complete Jonsereds or Husqvarna chainsaw.
After 6 months working a brand new Jonsereds us fallers would after supper change the points and condensor, rebuild the carb with a complete carb kit and have the saw ready to go for the next day.
And still had enough time to play a couple games of pool, late coffee with dessert and watch the late news before going to bed.
Only time we went to the saw dealer was to see what was new on the market.
1979 I remember when the Jonsereds 910E came out . Very impressive looking lightweight 90cc saw. Told him to charge it to the company store....then there was the 920, 630.... ;D

[bushmechanic]

Robertmac you said that the saw was in storage for years, is there any chance that the crankshaft oil seals are dry rotted? I think it would be a good idea check to see if you might have an air leak before you waste too money in it. Just my two cents ;)   

[Robertmac]

did you remove the welch plugs and blow out the the orifices?

Hi there, thanks for this advice and well said for others to remember also.  I removed all caps and screens and was able to blow through all little holes with no blockages.

I am also about 99% sure this is only a carb problem.

[Robertmac]

Just curious reading this, seems a lot of work for an old saw. Does the L stand for lightweight ??? as I remember the 65 being a heavy, low rev but powerful, vibrating son of a gun. Always picked up the 61 first.

I am even too young to have used these saws legally. I'm only in my 50's this end.  We used them as stand-byes and for firewood cutting as they could chew through any tree trunk effortlessly.  Laws prevented us from using any chainsaw on clear-fell with-out a chain-break even when I was a wood-cutter. My saws back then were the XP ranges, 266 and 268, and little 50cc ones for light work or snedding out, plus a few others.
I refuse to swear in here by saying a word I refuse to acknowledge as a chainsaw beginning with the letter S(tihl) :embarassed:(Each to there own and no malice meant, just forestry joking)
The 61 was easier to man-handle with-out a doubt as simply it is smaller and lighter.  Again too old and outdated even back then.
The forestry commission back then used many L65's and my father was a plough-man since 1947 and came through with every new saw ever made back then.  I always had one as an emergency saw, especially in wind-blown stuff as it could fall and not break compared to plastic made units of today.
The L65 was a work-horse that chews trunks for break-fast compared to most other saws back then.

[Robertmac]

Robertmac you said that the saw was in storage for years, is there any chance that the crankshaft oil seals are dry rotted? I think it would be a good idea check to see if you might have an air leak before you waste too money in it. Just my two cents ;)  

Well said and yes I have checked this also.  It is all pointing to the carb and soon I will know as I have found a running unit, so i'll swap over the carbs and then take it from there.
The cost of all this is pennies compared to buying a modern newer saw of same power, hence I can afford to mess around with these old L65 heads as now the market is beginning to flood with them.
The spitting of her on rev's feels like a serious air leak, but I still think the carb is the trouble and replacing the electrics is now only pennies also, which will then keep her running for the rest of my days.
I have had her in storage for just over 25 years and it brought back a flood of memories from back then when I opened up the big crate.
So thanks but as you see it will become a hobby as well as a mission to get her back running as good as new again.  So a few quid to get her going is not going to be a problem.

[LeeB]

You should fill out your profile Robert. I suspect you're from the UK, especially after you mentioning "a few quid". 

[Robertmac]

You should fill out your profile Robert. I suspect you're from the UK, especially after you mentioning "a few quid".

I have serious network issues this end and it can take me three attempts to get a single comment on these notice boards.
I have the slowest connection in the UK, I'm in the Cambrian mountains in Wales but was born in the highlands of Scotland. I have a connection speed of 0.06 Mb's per second, so images are out and I cannot stream any media. I will try to fill out the profile page but the site here is very confusing to be honest on some things to get too easily, or maybe the site tries to load too much ads and bumff it just will load the page my end.  Even this post I may have to retype to get posted as the connection times out and the server this website is hosted on cuts me off.

[HolmenTree]

Welcome to Forestry Forum Robertmac. It's great to hear from other woodcutters from other parts of the world.

[thecfarm]

Jeff does a great job to help out members that has slow connections. I use to have dial up,no idea how slow,but slow,and he thinks about us with slow connections. Mine is not the best now, but it's all we can get.
Use the Copy and Paste as you post. Some members will type a long post and than lose it.  And I think they have fast internet.

[HolmenTree]

Yes I lost many long half written posts. No auto save here.

[Chaser357]

Had similar problem a while back.   Cleaned carb, new fuel filter, the works.   Still wouldn't rev properly.   Replaced spark plug and it ran perfectly.   Didn't see where you tried a new plug.   Sometimes I overlook the simplest things.   

[Robertmac]

Had similar problem a while back.   Cleaned carb, new fuel filter, the works.   Still wouldn't rev properly.   Replaced spark plug and it ran perfectly.   Didn't see where you tried a new plug.   Sometimes I overlook the simplest things.

new plug is the first thing I did for her.

[Robertmac]

Yes I lost many long half written posts. No auto save here.

Easy sorted out the problem, do my posts in word, then copy and paste.
Losing written posts is a server issue with the server direct to the person as the system works on the fly and has a built in timer to refresh after a certain while.
This is a common problem with pre-written scripts on forums which over the years I learnt to just copy and paste so as not to invoke the timers set-up on a lot of forums.
I notice the coding on this website does not let the poster enter paragraphs or line spaces for easier reading as it groups all text to lines and removes spaces when it uploads text to save space on the server.
Text on a forum takes up no room on a server, so no reason to group all text into lines with-out a space between paragraphs, only images, ads and media files use space and time on a server.

[Robertmac]

Jeff does a great job to help out members that has slow connections. I use to have dial up,no idea how slow,but slow,and he thinks about us with slow connections. Mine is not the best now, but it's all we can get.
Use the Copy and Paste as you post. Some members will type a long post and than lose it. And I think they have fast internet.

I knew when I moved here I was going to suffer a bad connection speed as I knew the phone line to this house covers some miles away from the main junction box, which it turns out is 16 miles away from me.
My house is at the end of a no through road and is well of the beaten track and isolated in the hills here. (The welsh people here call them mountains) I have a phone lifeline this end as I am severely disabled and fall over a lot, where the system monitors my medication and falls as I have a pendant and armband which is also part of the phone system.  I fall a lot owing to  nerve damage and a bit of a wonky body these days. A couple of times the falls were bad as I have came to in an ambulance wore than once since my accident. (read my profile, it will explain a bit better than here.)
I have the same as the old dial-up speed, which in the days were .056 mb's per second, (56 KB's per second in those days), so I am back to dial up speed here.
Fibre optic is in progress in my area but my house is out of the reach they are covering and I have no intensions of paying £60 a month for a satellite connection.
I have a constant speed of 0.06 to 0.07 mb's per second which never drops so it may be slow but at least I can leave it on download for days and it will eventually give me the media file I want.
I cannot stream any media, but I download everything to watch in my own time so not a problem.  Even on youtube I still have to download videos and they have different file sizes for different speeds, but the low speed file is severely stripped out (compressed) and not worth watching as it is all blocky and poor quality.

[Robertmac]

Welcome to Forestry Forum Robertmac. It's great to hear from other woodcutters from other parts of the world.

Thank-you for the warm welcome and also for me it is great to speak to other cutters in different parts of the world.  I was in the US a few times, Michigan, flint, Rochester hills.  My friend moved there in the 90's and it gave me a great place to visit for many a year before my accident.

[Robertmac]

I still have not cured this old L65.
It is electrical break-down, where now I only have a spark intermittent, nice and blue but this means nothing. Changed the points and condenser, still the same so need a coil.
Now comes the question, where can I find a coil for this saw?

swapped over the carb from a running saw and still nothing.  It will not even run now. held the spark-plug to the body and pulled her a good few times and only saw a spark once in all the pulls.
I will change the spark-plug lead but this is 99% positive to be the coil itself which started breaking down giving me the impression it was carb related.
Hence when I had her cutting under load is when it started spitting at full rev's and now she will not even fire anymore.

[sawguy21]

Check the wire to the switch for bare spots that may be touching metal and the switch itself. It is likely worn and may be closing intermittently from vibration.

[Robertmac]

Check the wire to the switch for bare spots that may be touching metal and the switch itself. It is likely worn and may be closing intermittently from vibration.

I wish it was that simple, but the coil itself is cooked. put it on top of the log-burner for a few hours and tried it and it worked perfectly till it cooled down again and bingo, no spark.
Found another one on eBay that is still attached to the saw, so will buy the saw and then just keep my one for spares.

[Robertmac]

I started a thread for help on this old saw but I was waffling a bit.
I have done a few tests now and hopefully worked out how to restore her back to 100% condition.

The image will let you see the saw is near mint condition, which will be 26 years old to me and however many years before me the Forestry Commission of Scotland owned it.

I have used a coil and plug tester to determine the spark is weak and intermitted.  The spark is only a faint yellow/orange and very dim.

Bought a new contactless ignition coil system, not exclusive to this one saw so still have to fit it into the saws wiring system and a new coil which are as rare as hens teeth to find now anywhere in the UK. (Tried new condenser but still faint spark)

Paid £20 delivered for the ignition module from the US to UK and paid £44 for coil delivered from Germany to the UK.
Small price when you think a new pro saw of this cutting power and daily running of flawless effort will set you back between £400-£700 per saw. (Second hand £200-£400)

I am retired now due to RTA so I can run these on my own property and any farmers or land owners around me on there land as I am cutting for firewood/beams and planks for myself and not as a job.

I'll document the rebuild with photos for all to see, as this will work with almost any powersaw or small engine using a points system for the spark.
Husky, stihl etc.

[HolmenTree]

Looking forward to your rebuild Robert.
I hope the new electronic module works out for you.
For decades there has been after market modules sold to replace the old point and condensor systems.
Atom was one brand I remember .

I have a 066 that I acquired for free a couple of years ago. The owner rebuilt it with new main bearings and new ignition module but still wouldn't run for him.
It turned out when the crank bearings got bad the flywheel started rubbing on the module as the gap is so close at .008"-.010"

The magnets on the flywheel were blue and from putting a wrench on them they were very weak in magnetic pull. So I need a new 066 poly blade flywheel  which I don't have. Something else I just learned.

[Robertmac]

Thanks Holmen Tree,

Started the swap over and very easy to do.  Just do not allow yourselves to use the stupid twist cap to join two wires together.
I have done all wires with new terminals to fit into the original system instead of the poor quality and down right dangerous stupidity of a cap wire twister to join two wires together, on something that has a flywheel turning at upto 7,000 revs per min with-in millimetres of said twist cap!!.

I have gone for a safe and industry standard of mechanics and electronics to make sure this unit itself is not poorly fitted when down the road it vibrates itself lose as will happen if you use the parts in these kits as they are the nastiest, cheapest crap from a third world country I have seen for a while, then sold in the west as outstanding and superior.  Like everything nowadays which is deliberately made to break down to keep feeding the hunger of greed and consumerism.

First forum I have seen where your images are not part of your post so how do others looking in see the images?

If I can't see then in front of me when reading a post then I leave the post, so moderators how is this happening in this forum?
Why are peoples images in a folder that is not viewable to the general public reading the posts?
But plenty of advertising images plastered into every single space with-in your forum pages!!!!

[Robertmac]

Thanks everyone for all the help and advice on this problem I had.

I have fixed the L65 now and she runs sweet as the day she was first put in storage some 26 years ago by me.

It was electrical that was the entire problem, nothing to do with carb or blocked jets or pipes.
The coil had starting breaking down, only giving a spark about every 1 out 4 engine revolutions.
Hence she started spitting under load at first, but progressively got worse, as the spark was intermittent, the more revs I gave her the worse it became and at idle she seemed as if nothing was wrong.
Stripped out the points and went for an electronic ignition module and what an actual difference in performance.
It revs quicker and sounds as if she was only taken out of her box yesterday.

Look at the pictures as somehow me are not allowed them in our posts.

Forums are for help and advice and being able to communicate to others who share the same interests so why is forestry forum NOT allowing images attached to posts when every other forum in the world is coded to allow this.  this is an internal decision by the person who runs this forum, and nothing to do with the coding of said forum.
I cannot see a single image I uploaded to an album to explain what I did and how I did it, so how can others see them!!

[thecfarm]

[Jeff]

First forum I have seen where your images are not part of your post so how do others looking in see the images? If I can't see then in front of me when reading a post then I leave the post, so moderators how is this happening in this forum? Why are peoples images in a folder that is not viewable to the general public reading the posts? But plenty of advertising images plastered into every single space with-in your forum pages!!!!

Forums are for help and advice and being able to communicate to others who share the same interests so why is forestry forum NOT allowing images attached to posts when every other forum in the world is coded to allow this. this is an internal decision by the person who runs this forum, and nothing to do with the coding of said forum. I cannot see a single image I uploaded to an album to explain what I did and how I did it, so how can others see them!!

Boy have you proven yourself to be an idiot in this topic about this forum and me.  Next step ban?  Try me. Nah, never mind. I'm getting old and don't have the patience for dipsticks. G'bye dipstick you don't belong here.