Full disclosure - I'm not a mechanic. I started the Black Diamond to finish off some dry ash. It started on the first pull. I shut the choke off and throttled up. Then as I was reaching for a round, it died. Pulled a few times and nothing. Checked fuel. There was plenty. I pulled it into the barn. I topped the oil and hydraulic fluid off, blew out the air filter and cleaned the spark plug. It probably needs to be replaced. I tried every combination of choke position, fuel on/off and throttle. It never fired. What do the experts say? Sent from my QTAXIA1 using Tapatalk
My lawn mower was doing the same last week. I drained the carb bowl then it was good to go after. Must have been some junk or water in there.
Check if you have a low oil sensor. Sometimes they go and you can just short the wire and bypass it if you are the type of person to be on top of making sure you have enough oil.
This ^ ^ ^ My guess is the carb was not drained of fuel during storage, and the float/needle is stuck in the closed position...so it ran on the fuel that was in the bowl and then died. You might get away with just tapping the side of the carb bowl with a screwdriver handle to get things loosened up...or you might need to take the bowl off and clean things up...on many splitters the carb bowl can be removed without taking much of anything else apart...sometimes just one main bolt in the center of the bottom of the carb bowl.
My guess it is fuel related ; most likely lack of. You did mention it did fire so at least at that time you had spark. What motor is it?
Hey now, I might have more experience with the mechanicals, but you can run circles around me when it comes to the financials!
So here's the update...I pumped fuel out of the tank and then drained fuel from the bowl. After using copious amounts of carb cleaner, I added fresh fuel and a fuel additive. Pulled the cord. No bueno. Rinse and repeat with same results. Made a trip to Mendards the next day and grabbed a spark plug. Changed out and started on the second pull. I ran it for almost 2 hours yesterday with no issues. Life is good again.
I always check for spark first. I have had a wet air filter keep an engine from starting. Carb problems are common after storage.
we had a similar situation with a power washer, could not get it started, mechanic showed up, said the plug was “fuel fouled” changed out the spark plug NO MORE PROBLEMS! Glad you got it running! Happy day/splitting!
Isn't that the truth! I hate looking at piles of rounds, thinking about getting even more wood and then realizing I can't split what I have without my splitter.
It's always the little things. I'm going to try to get through about a cord this weekend. Then I'll be able to relax...not!
I knew storage wasn't the problem (I split all year so the splitter never sits more than 2 weeks at most). However, I got caught in the rain one night and didn't get a chance to cover it. I figured with the driving rain, it might have gotten water in somewhere. At least it was a simple fix. Less than $2 at my local Menards. And I took the time to go through everything while I was at it so I should be good for the rest of the year.
