Your Leaf Blower Won’t Start - How do You Fix It?
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If you're looking forward to a day of yard work the last thing that you want to find is that your leaf blower won't start, not only can it be frustrating but it can completely throw off your plans for the day. But before you rush to take your leaf blower to a repair shop, it's worth taking some time to try and troubleshoot the problem and see if you can fix it yourself.
There can be several reasons why your leaf blower refuses to start, these can include issues with the fuel, spark plug, or air filter. By understanding these potential problems and following some simple steps, you may be able to get your leaf blower up and running again without having to spend and money for repairs.
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In this guide, we'll walk through the steps needed for you to diagnose and fix the problem yourself. With a little bit of know-how and some patience, you can become a pro at fixing your leaf blower, save yourself time and money. Ready to get started, lets go.
Your Leaf Blower Won’t Start : How do You Fix It?
What do you do if your Leaf Blower won’t start? What’s the issue? Can you diagnose the problem and would you be able to fix it or do you have to take it to a service center. We anticipate that our devices should work and when they don’t, it can be the start of a difficult day.
A leaf blower that neglects to fire up can be frustrating and a disappointment, no doubt. This article should help simplify of the entirety of that. I will walk you through all the areas you need to know about in diagnosing and fixing starting issues for your leaf blower.
The most common reasons that a leaf blower will not start are either stale or incorrectly mixed fuel, failing or clogged spark plug, clogged air filter not allowing air into the engine. Failing these common problems gummed up carburetor and fuel lines or a lack of compression would be the likely reason.
Leaf Blower Won’t Start : Now What?
If your leaf blower won’t start, you want to take a step back and collect your thoughts. Continuously pulling on a starter cord, when the engine is needless to say no longer firing up, is going to make the situation worse. You’ll most possibly end up flooding the engine with fuel.
Before you follow the checklist of what to do when a leaf blower won’t start,
- let the machine rest for a while.
- Calmly go through all the starting procedures.
- Is the starter switch in the on position?
- Is the gasoline tap turned to the on position? Have you primed the gasoline line?
- Is the choke on (in cold weather)?
- Is their gasoline in the tank and has it been correctly mixed with 2-stroke oil?
- If you’re leaf blower is a 4-stroke leaf blower, then you don’t need to use 2-stroke oil.
Often, we have neglected a simple step in starting the leaf blower. We start panicking, questioning there’s a problem with the machine. It helps to take a look at the fundamentals earlier than searching for greater problems.
If you’ve answered yes to all the above questions, tug on the turn away starter two -3 times. You may additionally be lucky and the failure to start may have been a small oversight in the ordinary procedure. If not, don’t be alarmed, we’ll now go through all the steps you’ll want to take that will help you get your leaf blower started.
There are three simple necessities for any gasoline engine to begin and run properly. These are fuel, air, and spark. So, it’s fantastic to take a look at through these basics engine features methodically. In most cases, a failure in one of these aspects, are the reason for a non-starting engine.
Leaf Blower No Fuel
Stale fuel is the most common cause why a leaf blower won’t start. If your leaf blower hasn’t been used for while, old gasoline may additionally have degraded in the carburetor. It will deposit a sticky residue which prevents the engine from starting.
You’ll need to drain all the gasoline from the system. This requires you to empty the fuel tank and flush new gasoline through the fuel pipes. Once you have uncontaminated gasoline in the tank, you will need to clean the carburetor.
Using carburetor cleaner from a can is the best way to do this. Follow the guidelines on the can and take note that it may additionally take a while for the engine to fire up immediately after using this type of carburetor cleaner.
Other faults referring to old gasoline can be a blockage in the gas pipes. Replacing or cleaning the gas pipes would be the satisfactory course of action. If your leaf blower has a 2-stroke engine, make certain that you always combine the gasoline and oil at the right ratio.
Any mistaken gasoline to oil ratio may additionally stop the engine from starting and could additionally result in long term damage to your engine.
Leaf Blower No Spark
Ignition of the gas and air combination requires a spark. The ignition on your leaf blower consists of a spark plug, ignition coil and spark plug (HT) wire. All of these elements need to be checked and any troubles rectified.
Start by un plugging the wire from your spark plug. Check that the wire and boot are in right condition, cracks, rips or holes in the insulation are an indication that it needs replacing. Blow into the boot, as dust can cause the electric circuit to be damaged and prevent the current from reaching the spark plug.
Now using your plug spanner un screw and remove the spark plug and visually inspect. Any signs of wear or damage mean that the spark plug may need to be replaced. A common cause of spark plug failure is a crack in the ceramic insulation, so carefully inspect the sparkplug for this and substitute with a new spark plug if necessary.
If the spark plug is black and sooty, carbon on the electrodes can also result in a weak spark or no spark at all. You can clean the black carbon residue from the electrodes with the aid of a small piece of sandpaper.
If the spark plug is wet and smells heavily of gas, the engine has been flooded. This means that the gas that has entered the combustion chamber has not been burnt during the ignition cycle and is building up in the cylinder. In other words, unburnt gasoline is stopping the leaf blower from starting. If you notice flooding, tilt the engine so that the gasoline in the chamber can drain out of the spark plug opening. Cycle the engine a few times to help exhaust any unburnt gas and allow the spark plug to dry before refitting it.
If a visual inspection reveals no apparent motive why there is no spark, you’ll want to check the spark plug. I advise the use of a spark plug tester. This is tons safer than placing the spark plug against the engine head and pulling on the starter cord, which may result in a nasty shock if you are unfortunately happen to touch the engine whilst doing this.
A faulty, or broken spark plug will need to be replaced. When installing a new spark plug, make sure that the spark plugs electrode gap is correct according the manufacturer specifications. Also make certain that you tighten the spark plug with correct amount of torque.
You must also test the wiring from the ignition “on/off” switch and that the switch makes a complete circuit when in the on position. If, after checking all the items listed above, you nonetheless have no spark, you may have a faulty ignition coil that may need replacing. You may need to contact your local service agent to make sure that you install the right coil; or have them install a new coil for you.
Setting Your Leaf Blowers Spark Plug Gap
Even if you can see a spark when you check your spark plug or if you are replacing your old spark plug with a new one to get the maximum performance out of your leaf blower you should make sure that the spark plug gap is set to the correct distance. Regardless if your changing a spark plug in a car, mover or leaf blower setting the gap is exactly the same process. With the aid of some simple tools you can set the gap required for your equipment.
- The first thing you need to do is consult your user manual to get the correct spark plug gap.
- The gap between the center and side electrodes of a spark plug must be set to the exact distance specified
- Select the proper number on your feeler gauge, and run the gauge between the electrodes to check the gap.
- If the gap is to small and the gauge doesn’t go through you will need to carefully pull on the top electrode very gently to widen the gap.
- If the gap is to wide and it goes through too easily without touching the electrodes, you will need to adjust the distance between the electrodes till the gauge is a snug fit.
Leaf Blower Has Spark and Fuel But Won’t Start
Gasoline and air are combined in the carburetor in order for it to ignite. Air flow to the carburetor is, therefore, as necessary as fuel. Insufficient air flow into an engine is typically a result of a clogged or blocked air filter.
Leaves and other garden particles are continuously being sucked into the air filter, a good filter removes all material that could damage to your engine by stopping it from entering the engine internals. Cleaning your air filter often with plenty of warm soapy water is recommended. If you use your leaf blower on a regular basis then a once a month cleaning of the air filter would be recommended.
If your air filter is o a cardboard or material that would be hard to wash then you can can try a vacuum cleaner to remove dust from the air filter, or even an air compressor to lightly blow compressed air through the filter. When removing and refitting the air filter, test for obstructions in the air inlet pipe. Leaves, and larger debris may want to be obstructing the air glide to the filter.
Leaf Blower No Compression
Once you’ve determined that your leaf blower has gas, air, and spark, it should have everything needed to start. However, if it still won’t start, you may additionally want to consider that there may be a more serious mechanical issue. If you have little mechanical knowledge, you should contact a licensed service agent.
Alternatively, you can begin by checking if the engine has adequate compression, remove the spark plug and place your finger over the spark plug hole to form a seal. If you don’t experience a lot resistance when you pull the starter cord, this is likely due to the fact of low compression in the engine. You might also additionally sense air blowing from the engine, or air being sucked in round the engine.
If the engine is working properly, air should only be drawn into the intake manifold by using the air filter housing. Air only exits the engine through the exhaust manifold which leads to the muffler. Any other leaks would be an indication of bad compression.
A common cause of terrible compression is an incorrectly tightening of the spark plug. If the spark plug is not correct tightened, air will enter the combustion chamber via the spark plug opening. Check that the spark plug is correctly tightened.
Whilst doing this, be cautious that you do not over-tighten the spark plug as this can cause damage to the spark plug or the thread in the engine head. A greater serious motive of low compression can be a damaged engine head gasket or damaged valves. Repairs of this nature need a high level of mechanical skill. If you’re limited in your mechanical ability, I’d advocate taking your leaf blower to a licensed service agent for this type of repair.
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