Ok so I have a question. Yesterday I was working up a large maple tree and had been running my saw for about 2 hours straight. I shut it down for a lunch break and came back about 30 minutes later and it would not start at all. It is a great saw with lots of power. But for some reason just would not start. It wouldn't even offer to start. I got up today and it started just fine. I don't think I flooded it but maybe I did somehow. Has anyone ever had this issue? Any ideas would be great.
Is this the 362C-M (Mtronic) or the standard Carb model of the 362? This makes a difference on how to troubleshoot because the are different.
It could have vapor locked. Happened a lot on some models. It was that or the coil was cutting out from being heat soaked.
So are you saying that the coil just got overheated? I'm assuming that the only way to avoid that is to slow down?
Those are usually the reason a saw won't start after running. If it does it again pop the fuel tank open and see if it hisses. The tank vent could be getting dirty and clogged. I doubt it's the coil and would look towards the tank vent more.
Yes very easy. Remove screws and disconnect the wiring harness. Install new one in reverse order and set the air gap to .010.
Add to that the 10 thou easy to set with business card. Sure sounds like the coil is fine and vapor lock likely.
Did you start it using the choke? Or warm start? After 2 hours of run time, and only a 30 minute rest. I would have tried just putting it on high idle and pulling. Can you replicate the situation?
I tried to work start it. And I haven't tried to replicate it. I have only used it once since then and it worked fine. I used it for an hour and let it set for about 10 minutes and it started fine.
Definitely make sure you restart in "run" first if the saw is warm at all, especially m-tronics (even though you said your's is standard carb). You can always go to warm start or cold start position (or start if it's m-tronic) if it doesn't fire up. However, if you start in warm or cold you can flood a warm/hot saw. I learned this on my MS261CM.
I agree with trying the high idle position. Most of the time this is a procedural error, especially if the saw runs great right up until the point that it's chit down and restarted. Usually with a clogged vent or a failing ignition, there is a noticeable loss of performance before a failure to restart.
Do the pre-m-tronic 362's have the 4 position master control switch, or the newer 2 position one? I'm getting used to the 2 position on my newer saws, where I can just pick up the saw and pull on the cord when it's warm. So sometimes I'll forget to switch the MS460 to "run" and I'll yank on the cord a few times before I figure it out... Can't forget Step 1: "turn master control switch to 'run' position".
That's one thing Stihl never seems to make up their mind about. The switch is different on so many saws. The MS241 is a diff switch than the 261, which is a different switch than my 441. And so on and so forth.
