Troubleshooting Problems With Starting Weed Eaters

When your Weed Eater goes down and won't start back up again, even knowing where to begin can be incredibly frustrating. With some quick troubleshooting, you can isolate the problem and determine the scope of the problem. Once you know what's going wrong, you can determine if you can fix it or if you'll need to take it down to the local small engine shop.

A bad or misfiring spark causes a lot of starting problems. Replace the appliance's plugs on a regular basis, usually every 50 hours of operation or every season, whichever comes first. Put the new plug into the rubber wire, and leave it disconnected from the engine. Set the Weed Eater on the ground, and hold the rubber boot at the base. Find a metal spot on the engine that touches the ground. Place your foot, or have someone help you hold it down, while you pull on the starter rope. You should see a blue spark jump across the point. If you get a good spark, you can rule out ignition as the source of your problem. If you don't see a spark or it's yellow, you'll need to start at the ignition wires and work back to the ignition module, testing each to find the source of your ignition problem.

Fuel flow problems cause a majority of all starting problems. If the carburetor can't get fuel when it's trying to start, the engine will have no fuel to ignite. To check if fuel is reaching the carburetor, seem that you've filled your tank with freshly mixed two-cycle fuel at a ratio of 40:1 gas to oil. Don't use any gas that's 30 days old or that has sat in the tank for more than two weeks. Disconnect the main fuel line at the carburetor, and tip the engine upside down. If you see fuel leaking out of the hose, you can rule out the tank, filter and hose as your likely problem. If no fuel comes out of the hose, your tank, tank vent, fuel filter or fuel lines are dirty and choking the system. Replace these parts and check again.

The carburetor can be a source of many starting problems. To test the carburetor, fill the tank with freshly mixed fuel, connect all fuel lines and take off the air filter cover and air filter. Move the choke into the half-open position. Try to start the trimmer, and, as soon as the engine pops, spray a little carburetor cleaner into the open choke hole. If the engine dies and you can't get it started again, your carburetor is dirty and needs cleaning. If it starts up and then begins smoking, let the smoke clear away. The smoke means the carburetor is starting to get dirty and will need to be cleaned and serviced soon.

Compression problems are difficult to troubleshoot as you'll be looking for an air leak somewhere in the internal engine. You can attach a pressure gauge to the empty spark plug hole on the cylinder. You should get a consistent pressure reading. If the pressure drops off quickly, you know air is coming into the system. You'll need to find the air leak to get your engine running again.