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Mine has decided it absolutely does not want to start this year and I’m running out of patience with it now. Pulled the cord about 500 times today and nearly lost the will to live.
Fresh fuel in it, spark plug looks alright, chain moves freely, but it just refuses to fire properly. Sometimes sounds like it wants to start for a second then dies straight away.
Starting to become a problem because the hedge and garden are growing like crazy now summer’s here and I really need to get it sorted.
Any common things I should check before I give up and throw the thing into orbit? 😂
Sounds daft, but have you checked the carb? Mine did exactly the same thing last summer. Fresh fuel, good spark, sounded like it wanted to start, then immediately died. Turned out the carb jets were partially blocked after sitting all winter.
I'd also have a look at the fuel filter and make sure the fuel lines haven't gone hard or cracked. If it's a two-stroke, double-check the fuel mix as well, even if it's fresh.
Another thing to check is the spark plug. If it's wet when you remove it, that's usually a sign the engine is flooding. If that's the case, leave the plug out for a while, open the throttle, and let it clear before trying again.
If it has adjustable carb mixture screws, a rough starting point is to gently screw them all the way in (don't force them), then back them out about 2½ turns anti-clockwise. Set half choke and try again. It won't be perfectly tuned, but it should usually be close enough to get it running if the carb is the issue.
Also worth checking that the carb butterfly is actually opening when you squeeze the throttle. I've seen linkages come loose before, and the throttle trigger was moving but the carb wasn't.
One quick test is to put a tiny splash of fuel (or carb cleaner) into the intake and see if it fires briefly. If it does, you've probably got a fuel delivery issue rather than an ignition problem.
That said, after 500 pulls I'd be very close to launching it into low Earth orbit too.