Fixing A Husqvarna Trimmer That Won't Stay Running

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Thanks for watching. I ended up fixing this trimmer somewhat by just tuning the carb.

[marshallcollins]

Full service. A happy neighbor is a good neighbor.

[Wannabearborist]

To be honest, if my equipment runs rough or doesn’t run I want it serviced in a way that the problem is solved instead of hidden. I don’t have anything against this option, if it works it works but I’d pay whatever it costs to fix it unless it comes to close to the price of buying a new one.

[hickorystx]

Full service for customer benefit and maintain your reputation. The customer should make the final decision after you explained the situation to them like you do for your youtube viewers. Clearly you are a man of integrity which is most admirable. 🙂

[MrsSunshine]

I use a Featherlite also, I got it new in ‘99. I’ve put one carb kit in it. It’s light weight and performs excellent!🌱

[keitha.]

I've had a Husqvarna 128LD for about 8 years. It has been very reliable. I've always used ethanol-free gas and mix my own 50:1 fuel. On thing people should know is that if you change the spark plug be sure to use an RCJ8Y spark plug. (If one uses an ordinary CJ8Y, which doesn't have the internal resistor, the trimmer will run for a few seconds and stop. You can simply restart it, but it will stop when you apply the throttle.)

[paulmall]

Yes. Tuning is a necessary task that most people don't know how to do or look past. Most of these machines are set so lean out of the box to meet emissions that they barley run as is. I have the same whip. Brand new out of the box I tuned it richer as it wouldn't accelerate smoothly. My chainsaws I tune multiple times every season to meet the temperature and altitude changes. If someone tells you that you don't need to tune any engine at all, and that your fuel system needs work, they are totally wrong (as long as your carb is working properly). All engines need tuned after broke in, and/or temperature/altitude changes.

[SilvasSmallMining]

Great video! I have that same Husqvarna trimmer powerhead. It’s one of the best ones I ever owned. It runs like a top ever since I serviced it. I love the quick attachment feature. I use it mostly with a tiller attachment and sometimes the pole saw attachment.
I prefer this machine over a Stihl even! I’ve had Stihl breakdown and get air leaks from hoses and gaskets way more than other name brands I’ve worked on.

Keep up the good work!
Take care.

[watermanone]

I get some in my shop after winter that bog or won't run right, sometimes you can count the turns on the H and L screws when closing them gently and it seems to break up the varnish or debris in the jets. Reset them to the original position and retry. May need to fine tune after that. Also new fuel is usually needed. I usually change the plug and air filter also. Thanks for a nice video.

[wdavidson]

Love that you share this and clearly say doing something is way better than doing nothing ….. I love your clear explanations and that you discuss the upsides and downsides of each choice. I’m a practical engineer and agree with you 1000% that every decision has tradeoffs and moving in a positive direction for more function in any power equipment is way better than doing nothing

To those who say full-rebuild I say ‘maybe the neighbor doesn’t have the $ but has a super nice neighbor willing to help him some”. Great job sir

[vulcanxh]

Hi, I have the same s trimmer, they are straight forward to rebuild the carb, which looks to be the issue (£8.00 for two kits from ebay or Ali, one for next time) the only hard to find fault was the magneto key is cast in and had sheared putting the timing out .Walbro, the flywheel makers should have fitted a proper Woodruff key 😒, but I found a new flywheel on ebay for £17.00 and its as good as new . 😊 Good luck, its easy and satisfying work 😊😊😊😊

[Turningwrenches]

Nice work getting this Husqvarna going, i have no problem with this option if that is what they wanted done just to get it running

[markparker]

Great video! This was most helpful! I will try your techniques on my 128b leaf blower, which runs well for three minutes at high idle and then stalls. Moving to half throttle, the engine races and then the rpms drop, and soon the engine stalls. It won't idle without immediately stalling.

[norbertobetances]

Full service. Always service your equipment people.

[billsmith]

the instructions for my trimmer say to empty any remaining fuel after 30 days . i only use non ethanol gas in my mix and usually don't dump remaining fuel, but on occasion i have found it necessary to dump fuel before it'd run right . i refill trimmer with same fuel, from same batch as last time (most years one gallon lasts me all season), but for some reason it makes trimmer run fine again .

[RussellBooth]

Just test it by trimming some grass with it before giving it back to your neighbour.

A lot of the Ryobi line trimmer repairs I did under warranty over 20 years ago was just carburettor adjustment, they weren't tuned from the factory.

There was one stubborn customer in 2002 who put too much 2 stroke oil in the fuel so no adjustment was required but he was adamant that it was my fault that the line trimmer wasn't fixed properly when other workshops in that City said the same thing because I put our workshops known good 2 stroke mix in the fuel tank !

[gearhead]

Depends on the situation. If it's mine, and it hasn't been used in a while, and I was able to get it to run with a carb adjustment, I'd just use it for a while. The diaphragms might soften up and start working correctly with no extra effort. If the diaphragms DID soften up, it would, of course, need another carb adjustment. This is still less effort than a full service. If I'm working on a customer unit, I'd ask the customer what they wanted, as I wouldn't be willing to run the thing for hours to get it running right. Many owners would junk the trimmer instead of paying for a full service.

[shaffersmallengineshop]

Have that same trimmer in shop now. Tuned and it runs great, but kinda heavy.

[QbutNotTheQ]

It’s a tool you can find online. That’s so helpful. Narrows it right down.

[mickeykim]

I have this weed eaters, two actually. 128ld is one of few if not only weed eater where you have to use resistor spark plug. Champion R sparkplug or NGK resistor work extremely well. I have bag full of chinese knock off spark plug, which will bog down even at correct gap but soon as you swap will resistor plug, runs beautifully (this is with new filter, new fuel line, carb cleaned or brand new carb with new fuel, on both 128LD). Other Husqvarna small engine tools doesn't care but 128LD is you have to.

[Visilicious]

I hope you see this question soon. I have that exact same weedeater here and it's been doing exactly what you just showed in the video. Your video helped ease my anxiety a little bit but I still don't know where to start. I put what I thought was good fuel in it before trying to start it and it doesn't stay running. What do I do first? Replace the fuel with brand new fuel (mixed with two-cycle engine oil)? Or do I take apart the carburetor and see if it's gunked up and causing the engine to not stay running? I'm confused.