Weed Eater xt260 no start

mikey11

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xt260 trimmer, has not run in many years, tried to start it and it will start and run for about 5 seconds then die no matter what i try (different throttle positions, choke on/off) etc etc,

i removed the carb, diassembled it and cleaned it all, everything looks fine,

i removed the fuel tank and noticed fuel lines cracking a bit so i replaced them with brand new lines, primer bulb is fine and pumping gas, now after all this work it will not fire at all no matter what i do,

checked for spark and it is fine,

played around with the jets, still not any sign of life, nothing at all,

i screwed both jets in till stop, then backed them out one full turn, then i try backing them out a quarter turn at a time, still no luck,

i have a lot of experience working on carbs and engines from motorcycles, dirt bikes and outboard motors, this is driving me nuts,

the only thing i have tinkered with it the carb so i am assuming it must be the problem?
 

shiftsuper175607

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xt260 trimmer, has not run in many years, tried to start it and it will start and run for about 5 seconds then die no matter what i try (different throttle positions, choke on/off) etc etc,

i removed the carb, diassembled it and cleaned it all, everything looks fine,

i removed the fuel tank and noticed fuel lines cracking a bit so i replaced them with brand new lines, primer bulb is fine and pumping gas, now after all this work it will not fire at all no matter what i do,

checked for spark and it is fine,

played around with the jets, still not any sign of life, nothing at all,

i screwed both jets in till stop, then backed them out one full turn, then i try backing them out a quarter turn at a time, still no luck,

i have a lot of experience working on carbs and engines from motorcycles, dirt bikes and outboard motors, this is driving me nuts,

the only thing i have tinkered with it the carb so i am assuming it must be the problem?


No fire?
Kill switch on
spark plug wire bad.not on correctly
bad coil, but you said it ran a few seconds

did you put a kit in the carb?
 

bertsmobile1

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Pull the carb off but leave the fuel lines connected.
Blow through the carb.
I use one of those old vacuum cleaner type spray painters.
You are looking for volume rather than speed .
Check the output side choke closed * choke open for fuel droples ( Hint , don't smoke while you do this and point the outlet away from anything likely to cause fire.
If it is dispensing fuel put it back.
Take the muffler off and try blowing through the muffler, it should be almost no resistance.
While it is off check the bore & piston rings through the exhaust port.
If all looks good, try starting it without muffler.
No joy then try again with a new spark plug and some starer fluid down the carb
If the rings & bore were clean and you dont at least get a fart with the muffler removed the coil is bad or the flywheel has sheared the timing key.
 

mikey11

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thanks for the advice,

i have been pulling this so many times i now have gas coming out and leaking out of the exhaust,

i removed the plug and pulled it about 20 times to try to shoot all of the built up gas out,

i am now going to let it sit for a few days and clean the plug,

i have a feeling this is a jet adjustment issue, i have been turning the jets with plastic tubing which i dont think is working too well, so i have ordered the proper tool off ebay and will wait till that arrives,
 

motoman

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I don't think anyone mentioned the small fuel filter in the tank on the end of the fuel pick up, did they? Hard to see and will plug up.
 

mikey11

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got my carb tool today,

screwed both jets in all the way till stop, then backed them out one full turn, as i understand this is a good starting point,

primed it and choked it, and no change, doesn't even fire once, zero signs of life,

i removed the spark plug, it is soaked in gas, pulled it a few times with spark plug removed and gas comes spraying out, it is getting flooded but i cant understand why??

connected the spark plug to the coil and grounded it, pulled it and it is sparking fine outside the chamber,
 

motoman

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Does the carb have a float needle shut off? With the volume of gas you are getting it doesn't seem jet problem. My Sears weed whacker does not like rich starting . It has the 1,2,3 choke lever. After 5 squeezes of the primer bulb it usually takes about two pulls to get initial engine reaction on "1." If continuing on 1 the little motor is flooded. For mine immediately changing to "2" after reaction on "1" is the key. Pretty finicky and I found this on my prior Ryobi. Usually, removing plug and replacing it with no other action will clear the flood. Just some personal experience.

Edit. Sorry, full choke position is "1"
 
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mikey11

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just after i posted this i tried starting it with no choke, after about 20 pulls it started,

after a bit of fine tuning of the jets it is running like new,

just thought i would update, and thank everybody for the suggestions :smile:

im going to let it cool now and see how well it will start cold
 

mikey11

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seems to be running very well, however now i have another unrelated issue,

while attempting all these repairs and starts i had the spool that holds the line removed,

while revving the engine with it removed the large spring came flying off and is now bent a bit out of shape, is it okay to just bend it back myself?

also are there any instructions on how to put new line on the spool?
 
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