Homelite 350 that won't start

[olddave]

Just found this forum and registered this morning. I bought this Homelite 350 about 3 weeks ago from a neighbor that was having a garage sale. It belonged to her father that passed away earlier this spring and he used it on the farm. The only fuel that I had was some 50:1 that I use with my Stihl trimmer and blower. I added about 4 or 5 oz. and it started on the 3rd pull and seemed to run OK but smoked pretty bad. I have since found out this saw takes a 16:1 mix so I hope I didn't ruin it by running it for 5 min. with the wrong mix. I cannot get it started now. The motor is free when you pull the starter rope but I don't think I have any spark. This has the coil that is attached to the spark plug and is held on with two screws. I have never seen a saw with a setup like this one and it makes it difficult to check for spark. I took my meter and checked for continutiy on the the two metal tabs of the coil and it was good, but that only tells me the primary of the coil is good and not the high voltage secondary. Tried a new spark plug with a shot of ether down the carburator and it still won't even fire. Is it possible to use two short jumper leads with alligator clips to connect the coil to the two mating terminals where the coil is supposed to attach and check for spark with the plug held onto the attaching nut for the on off switch ? This saw is in really good shape and I would like to get it started so I can use it. If anyone can help I would certaintly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Dave

[olddave]

The new plug was installed yesterday in desperation and hopefully a $1.75 fix, but it still didn't start. I have always gotten a 2 stroke engine to fire with a shot of ether, if it has spark. Maybe someone else will chime in and see if my idea of checking the coil is valid or BS. Where in SW Missouri are you from? I'm just south of KC on the Kansas side.

[lesorubcheek]

Hi Dave,
First of all, compliments to ya for owning a 350. Very nice saws. My Dad's 350 is the reason (well, excuse anyways) for my Homelite fixation. As you're probabaly aware, the 350 has a 2 piece ignition system. Trigger module mounted next to the flywheel and the transformer mounted outside the covers the spark plug. Here's some pics of resistance values on a known good transformer.







Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to test the trigger module, short of replacing with a known good one. You can ensure proper gap with the flywheel and make sure no wires feel broken. There's a few other little tidbits that might help.

First of all, make sure those flat springs on the transformer are actually contacting on the base of the receptacle it bolts to. I've had corosion that prevented a good contact in this area cause problems. Eric has mentioned before about making sure the receptacle end is properly grounded. One side of the receptacle goes to ground and the other is the lead from the trigger module. If the side that's supposed to be grounded isn't, no spark.Also, inside the transformer where it contacts the spark plug head, there's a coiled spring. Make usre it isn't broken, and not pressed in or coroded. Another quick and easy thing to eliminate is the kill switch. It can be shorted in the "off" position, so a quick test is to just unplug it and make sure the wire is insulated and not shorting anywhere.

Hopefully you'll find its a little problem and can get her fixed up quick. The trigger modules and transformers are still out there, but can be a bit pricey.

Best of luck,
Dan

[lesorubcheek]

Oct 26, 2008 8:49:14 GMT -5 olddave said:

Is it possible to use two short jumper leads with alligator clips to connect the coil to the two mating terminals where the coil is supposed to attach and check for spark with the plug held onto the attaching nut for the on off switch ?

Oh, and the answer to this is YES. In fact, the Homelite repair manual uses this procedure for testing spark. Connect wires from the base receptacle to the transformer leads (2 of 'em), put a plug in the transformer so its touching the internal contact, and run a ground wire from the body of the plug to a grounded location on the saw.

Dan

[olddave]

Thank you Dan for taking the time to post the pictures. That's exactly what I was looking for. BTW, I have a Fluke 73 without the yellow protective case. I'll check it out some more probably tomorrow night and post back with my findings. This saw is in really good shape and I would like to get it running so I could use it. It's heavy and has a 24" bar on it and an almost new chain, but if I get it running I would like to get a 16" bar and shorten the existing chain. Thanks again.

Dave

[sugarcreeksaws]

Hi Dave,
Glad to know there is someone else close in the Kansas City area....I am over on the Missouri side in Sugar Creek.

As for the 350, neat saw,...quick question....can you get it to kick over with the choke fully on? I have a suspicion that it may have had a brittle boot and it ran ok when you first tried it, however, once you soaked the old boot, it may have come apart. These saws were "blessed" with a rubber boot that is located under the carb. It is what connected the carb to the crankcase. The old ones were known for splitting or becoming brittle, which would cause all sorts of cussing before you just broke it down and changed the boot. There is a technical help thread that RBW did on changing a 330 boot,...the 350 is a little different, however, somewhat similar.

I picked up a 350 from a local guy about 3 months ago....looked great, wouldn't start. Knowing it had sat in a shed for about the last 10 years, the first thing I did was take the carb out, put in new gaskets, and check the boot. Sure enough, it was in two pieces. A new boot, put it all back together, and it runs like a top!

By the way, there are several places you can get boots for these saws. Fortunately, most of them are recently manufactured, so, they are made from a better grade of rubber. If Calvin doesn't have one, I know where you can get one.

Hope that helps!

Joe

[lesorubcheek]

You're wecome Dave. Yea, 24" is probably pushing it a bit. 16"-20" is on our 350/360 saws. Like Joe said, the boots can be a problem. Good thing is there seems to be plenty of 'em out there. If you're shooting ether and not getting a pop though, it sounds like you have a spark prob. Again, hopefully it will end up being a simple contact issue and not a failed component. Yes, please let us know what you find. By the way, how do you like your Fluke? I like the features on the 79, but the LCDs on the display are kinda faded and hard to see in the sun.

Dan

[olddave]

I forgot I drive my truck today and the saw was in the toolbox. I went out at lunch and removed the transformer (coil) and ohmed it out and the primary is good, contacts are clean and bright, secondary checked good at 2.7K which is close to what yours read and the spring looked OK. I didn't have any tools to check the kill switch and the contacts inside the motor case where the transformer attaches. I just remembered before the no start problem started, the only way I could get it to run was with the choke closed, it would start and run wide open for about 2-3 sec. and then die. This happened about 3-4 times and then it wouldn't even fire and that's where I'm at now. It may have blown the rubber boot as Joe suggested. Dan, I like the Fluke 73 fine and have had it about 20 years. It would be nice to have one that beeps for continutiy checks, but the price was right on his one.

[lawnmowertech37]

that sounds like its sucking air somewhere that sudden surge in power then slows down that is air escaping somewhere check your intake area for cracks or wear let us know what you find

another area of concern check to make sure the muffler is clean inside no plugged up screen or anything thanks
calvin