Petrol strimmer won't start
Discussion
Last year, I was given a petrol strimmer (a Ryobi RLT30CES) that my old chap had been using for a few years, but it had given up on life. In my inexperienced mind, everything pointed towards a dodgy carb not allowing fuel through so I've replaced that but it's still not firing at all.
Looking at the carb now (the new one), when I prime it, fuel fills the bulb so the lines are fine, but it's then is pushed back out into the fuel tank and nothing goes into the carb itself. The bulb doesn't lose any fuel if I leave it alone for a day, so again, no leaks there. I've put it all back together and pulled the starter cord which I would have thought should pull fuel through the carb and into the pot, but the piston is dry as a bone and there's no fuel odour at all.
There's spark at the plug and vacuum when I take the plug out and put my thumb over the hole, so that's me out of ideas!
Any thoughts on what else could be causing the lack of 'go'?!!
Looking at the carb now (the new one), when I prime it, fuel fills the bulb so the lines are fine, but it's then is pushed back out into the fuel tank and nothing goes into the carb itself. The bulb doesn't lose any fuel if I leave it alone for a day, so again, no leaks there. I've put it all back together and pulled the starter cord which I would have thought should pull fuel through the carb and into the pot, but the piston is dry as a bone and there's no fuel odour at all.
There's spark at the plug and vacuum when I take the plug out and put my thumb over the hole, so that's me out of ideas!
Any thoughts on what else could be causing the lack of 'go'?!!
Jonboy_t said:
Last year, I was given a petrol strimmer (a Ryobi RLT30CES) that my old chap had been using for a few years, but it had given up on life. In my inexperienced mind, everything pointed towards a dodgy carb not allowing fuel through so I've replaced that but it's still not firing at all.
Looking at the carb now (the new one), when I prime it, fuel fills the bulb so the lines are fine, but it's then is pushed back out into the fuel tank and nothing goes into the carb itself. The bulb doesn't lose any fuel if I leave it alone for a day, so again, no leaks there. I've put it all back together and pulled the starter cord which I would have thought should pull fuel through the carb and into the pot, but the piston is dry as a bone and there's no fuel odour at all.
There's spark at the plug and vacuum when I take the plug out and put my thumb over the hole, so that's me out of ideas!
Any thoughts on what else could be causing the lack of 'go'?!!
Try spraying carb cleaner into the carb. Fuel might have varnished in the jets preventing it from getting through, very small holes.Looking at the carb now (the new one), when I prime it, fuel fills the bulb so the lines are fine, but it's then is pushed back out into the fuel tank and nothing goes into the carb itself. The bulb doesn't lose any fuel if I leave it alone for a day, so again, no leaks there. I've put it all back together and pulled the starter cord which I would have thought should pull fuel through the carb and into the pot, but the piston is dry as a bone and there's no fuel odour at all.
There's spark at the plug and vacuum when I take the plug out and put my thumb over the hole, so that's me out of ideas!
Any thoughts on what else could be causing the lack of 'go'?!!
I'm not sure how the transfer valves on these two-strokes work, but in my model aircraft flying days some two-stroke (diesels, but no matter in this case) had reed valves and some rotary valves. Perhaps a valve is leaking and the charge is not getting transferred to the upper part of the cylinder?
Spraying a bit of fuel into the carburetor mouth might help it start. Fuel hoses can perish. The vacuum hose which goes to the carburetor (if it has one) can perish and collapse, preventing the diaphragm from pumping fuel.
Constantly battling with this kind of thing is why I ditched petrol chainsaws for an electric one. 2 stroked don't like only being used every 6 months.
Constantly battling with this kind of thing is why I ditched petrol chainsaws for an electric one. 2 stroked don't like only being used every 6 months.
I’m 99% positive that it’s not related to the lines as fuel is getting to the bulb perfectly fine. It’s also coming back out of the breather hose into the tank when the bulb is pressed repeatedly. The place it’s not getting to seemingly is the important bit!
I’d rather not ditch it and get a different make or an electric one just yet. It was a freebie to me so a few quid on a carb is more in my price range than a new one! Plus, and this is the stubborn bit in me, I SHOULD be able to fix it so I don’t want to give up on it until it’s diagnosed as terminal!!!
I’d rather not ditch it and get a different make or an electric one just yet. It was a freebie to me so a few quid on a carb is more in my price range than a new one! Plus, and this is the stubborn bit in me, I SHOULD be able to fix it so I don’t want to give up on it until it’s diagnosed as terminal!!!
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Before I opened the thread I knew it would be a Ryobi.
Been there done that.
They are junk. I spent too much money and time trying to revive mine when it randomly died one season.
Throw it away and buy something better.....
I thought a similiar thing- I’ve got one and it’s a tortuous start routine (I sent it back at first as I thought it was broken) but now I know the routine it starts every time.Been there done that.
They are junk. I spent too much money and time trying to revive mine when it randomly died one season.
Throw it away and buy something better.....
I have a Ryobi hedge trimmer and in 10 years it has never failed to start. Still on same plug and I never drain the tank over winter- so they aren’t all crap!
cbmotorsport said:
Will take a look at the gaps, cheers. Got a gapping tool somewhere that my grandad left me when he died 15-odd years ago that I thought I’d never got to use!!!wolfracesonic said:
Great machines.............Great machines..............Great machines.............
peterperkins said:
Does it fire/run a bit with easystart/petrol squirted into the air intake?.
If yes then you know spark is good and it's a fuel/carb problem..
It does sound like it wants to go with some fuel dropped straight in. I’ve had the plug out and it sparks to a screwdriver perfectly too so definitely power to the plug. If yes then you know spark is good and it's a fuel/carb problem..
I have had similar problems before and it turned out to be a faulty fuel tank cap. Not letting any air in, so it builds up a vacuum and sucks the fuel back out of the carb. Take the fuel line off the carb and suck the fuel out, make sure it keeps on coming. If not then that could be your problem.
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