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General Product Question

    John Thomasson
    My Husqvarna 128LD string trimmer keeps dying on me. I...Answeredescalated
    General Product Question posted June 11, 2011 by John Thomasson, last edited May 19, 2012 
    63709 Views, 22 Comments
    Question:
    My Husqvarna 128LD string trimmer keeps dying on me. I bought it recently, and I could never get it running right the first time I used it. Then, I carefully reread the starting instructions, and the second time I used it, after warming it up, it seemed to run fine. However, the third time I used it, I let it warm up, and it began to die after about 20 minutes. Every restart gave me only another 30 seconds of operation, so I got frustrated and put it down. Am I going to have a continuing problem with this?
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    Scott W.

    Thank you for contacting AnswerARMY.

    This sounds like a tank vent restriction, this allows the unit to run and as fuel is taken from the tank if the cap is not vented correctly a vacuum builds in the tank.

    Also 20 minutes is pretty close to the time the unit will start to run out of fuel.

    You can find your local dealers using the link provided by typing in your city or zip code in the search box.

    /images/us/dealer-locator

    The type of issue you have will likely need to be looked at by a servicing dealer please use the link above to locate a Husqvarna service center.

    For warranty consideration you should present the unit and your original dated sales receipt to the servicing dealer as well as the problem must be of a warrantable nature (a defect in materials or workmanship), incorrect or old fuel, impact damage, incorrect storage are examples of non warranty. All warranty service must be completed by servicing dealer.

    Your local dealer is your best and fastest source of information.

     

    Answer

    • Scott W.

      Thank you for contacting AnswerARMY.

      This sounds like a tank vent restriction, this allows the unit to run and as fuel is taken from the tank if the cap is not vented correctly a vacuum builds in the tank.

      Also 20 minutes is pretty close to the time the unit will start to run out of fuel.

      You can find your local dealers using the link provided by typing in your city or zip code in the search box.

      /images/us/dealer-locator

      The type of issue you have will likely need to be looked at by a servicing dealer please use the link above to locate a Husqvarna service center.

      For warranty consideration you should present the unit and your original dated sales receipt to the servicing dealer as well as the problem must be of a warrantable nature (a defect in materials or workmanship), incorrect or old fuel, impact damage, incorrect storage are examples of non warranty. All warranty service must be completed by servicing dealer.

      Your local dealer is your best and fastest source of information.

       

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    • John Thomasson

      Thanks, but my closest dealer is over 40 miles away.  Since I just bought this trimmer about a month ago (along with a chainsaw and blower from Husqvarna), I was hoping for an easier solution.

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    • Jimmy Mize

      John,

      I just bought a 128CD Trimmer. It will not run, keeps dying. I'm taking it back tomorrow. Also looking at all these problems people are having with Husqvarna tools I think I'll never buy another one. I have a new (couple months old) 455 Rancher chainsaw that runs like crap too. I think they must be making them in China now.

      Good luck with yours,

      Jimmy Mize

       

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    • Ray Heffner

      I have serviced countless brands of OPE over the years and just discovered a problem with a few 128LD trimmers that make it almost impossible to run right.  We removed the covers at the shop and discovered the engine ran FINE when the spark plug wire was removed from it's normal routing by the bolt hole.  When you placed the spark plug wire back into it's proper place, the engine would bog down and die.  This was attempted with a new ignition module with the same results.  There  are only two wires in the area, the spark plug wire and the grounding wire for the ignition module.  Flexing the wire did not affect performance but when the wire was placed back into it's proper place around the bolt hole, the engine quickly died.  No sharp edges or burrs were found.  Both the new and old ignition module had the same results.  If the shop were darker, I would check for leaking electricity like with wet car spark plug wires.  Other new spark plugs were swapped in the test with the same result.  In both cases, the spark plug wires were very clean, one was brand new.  Any ideas would be appreciated.  Dielectric grease?

      128LD.doc (252KB)
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      • Robert Latimer

        I have rerouted the coil wire on my trimmer. The wire is now under the coil connector instead of on top as it was from the factory. The wire was stretched tight across the cooling fin on the head. Now there is some slack at the fin. I also put high temp silicone gasket sealer at all the contact points where the wire was touching. I just finished test running the trimmer and all is well.

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      • Norm Eby

        Ray,

        I am having the same problem with my 128LD.  It started with a broken spark plug (never had that happen on a piece of equipment).  I was cutting along and the unit suddenly died.  I soon discovered the broken ceramic insulator and replaced the spark plug.  The unit fired right up, but only ran maybe 15 sec, then died.  It started right back on the first pull, ran about 15 sec, and died.  Repeat , repeat, repeat....  I assumed the carb was at fault and was starved for fuel.  Disassembled the carb and everything looked normal.  Unit started normally, ran 15 sec, died.  I finally gave up and ordered a new carb- same scenario.  I read your thread about re-routing the plug wire, but didn't want to have a running engine loose on the bench without a good handhold.  I did cut some plastic spacers and placed them between the case and the HV wire and re-assembled.  The unit ran a lot longer this time maybe a minute, but it did die.  I thought I had fixed it for a fleeting moment, but no.  Have you had any success? I'm really getting tired of this.  I'd love to talk shop with you about this machine.  MIne is only 2 seasons old and was working flawlessly until this happened, and of course it was out of warranty.  Any thoughts?

         

        Norm

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      • Ron Albright

        I have worked on many of these. When you put the spark tester on and it runs fine? Try a NGK resistor plug and set the plug gap at 0.70 it sounds crazy but another shop told be and they been doing it for years. I have changed coils, carb, flywheels if needed. This works

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    • david mullins

      Hopfully this can help you with your problem. I bought the "128ld" trimmer and I had running issues for the first 3-4 tanks of gas then it run better than I expected.I ran it at 32-1 to make sure that my new unit had more than enough oil during the break-in period as I do to all of my products. it ran bad at first with the bogging issue as you discribed with no power after the 1st tank at 32-1 and 50-1 after that I had no problem and had great power from all of my products from husqvarna. I had a problem with the head and took it back to the store and traded it in and got a new one it did the same thing. These units must have to break in for a few tanks of fuel and they will work as expected if not better. I own everything husqvarna for my landscaping business needs and they are one of the best that I have used. 

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    • Norm Eby

      Ray, et.al,

      My posting dated August 18, never got addressed.  Ray, your post was the closest symptom to mine- did you ever get a resolution?  Did re-routing the plug wire fix the problem?

      Thanks,

      Norm

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      • Ray Heffner

        The answer Husqvarna gave us was that the ignition module might have shellac on it, when used to seal the module.  They suggested we remove the module and clean the metal to metal contact points.  We noted no shellac but cleaned them anyhow.  Same problem.  My real passion is electronics, having attended college for electrical engineering.  I hold an FCC license too and repair electronic equipment as a hobby.  OPE repair is fun and I am pretty good at it. I did it for years and still help my old boss when the tough ones come in.  I have an idea that possibly the high voltage spike generated in the coil (for the spark plug) may be causing it's own problem.  Since the wire is routed so close to the ignition module, it is easily possible for it to induce a spike in the coil that could adversly affect the coil's performance.  Causing a voltage that is out of phase with the coil.  I tried slipping a piece of coax shielding over the plug wire in that area and got better performance.  Not perfect but better.  This supports my idea of the induced voltage causing problems.  The problem is the coax shield was too thick to fit nicely back into the confined space of the housing.  I never got around to experimenting past that point but my next option would have been to place a thin aluminum tube or shield in the area of the coil.  Aluminum, being a soft metal, greatly attenuates induced voltages, it is often called a farad shield when installed in transmitters.  Thin aluminum is thinnner than the coax shield I used, but you might have to get creative to install it to isolate the spark plug wire and the ignition module without shorting stuff out.  I feel it may fix some problems. 

         

        For those that want some money saving info, most modern 2 cycle OPE is designed for a 50 : 1 fuel ratio.  Did you know it was the EPA that mandated that?  Years ago in the mid 90's, the EPA was trying to make sense of the small engine, non highway engines and discovered just about every manufacturer had it's own standards.  Remember the old "good, better, best equipment?"  The EPA has developed some standards that help you in that regards.  Look at the stickers on the equipment, there are 3 categories:  50 hours, 125 hours and 300 hours.  Good, better, best.  The idea is that in that hour rating, 50% of those models are now in the trash pile.  After 50 hours of operation, 50% of that particular model are trashed.  The 50 hours stuff is fine for most home owners for some stuff.  125 hours is intermediate duty and 300 is more considered commercial duty.  The EPA has even made it harder for you to buy the tools needed to tune your own carbs.  I tried to put some logic into this.  They will let my neighbor run his gas guzzler, stinky car without a descent muffler or catalytic converter but they are worried your little 23cc engine might cause some smoke.  If your want your 2 cycle gear to last a little longer, raise the gas oil ratio to something like 40 to 1 or 32 to 1.  It will lubricate your cyclinder better and help it last longer.  You MIGHT have to change the plug once a year or clean the muffler spark arrester screen but that's a lot cheaper than a new chain saw or weed trimmer.  I doubt the EPA will pay to replace your equipment when it fails because of that dumb idea.  I see too many engines destroyed by insufficient lubrication, scored cylinders and pistons. 

        Should you bother to fix that saw or mower?  Here is the idea we use, check the compression.  On a 2 cycle engine, if it doesn't have at least 90 psi, don't waste your time on it.  It's not just about compression but the vacuum in the engine, the vacuum that sucks in the fuel.  It will still run but it's life is limited.  It will be harder to start especially in the cold when the rings and piston are a few thousandths smaller.  Four cycle engines?  60 psi is our criteria.  Be careful here because some engines have a compression release that makes it easier for you to start and gives a lower reading than you would expect on a compression test.  The compression release is really the exhaust valve staying open a little longer because of a centrifical lever on the cam shaft.  You can't tell by looking at it but a general idea is that most 6 hp rope start engines probably use some sort of compression release.  The easiest way to tell is to look at the exhaust vavle and determine if it is opening for a longer duration than normal.  If you remove the cyclinder head to do that, it's also a great time to wire brush the vavle seats and look for oil in the cylinder. 

        Compression readings are like an EKG for your heart.  If you plan on buying used OPE at a flea market, take a few tools and check the compression.  The vendors often prestart that chainsaw and warm it up, making it seem easier to start when YOU look at it.  If you pull the rope and don't get the chug chug chug, maybe you should look at another engine.  Check the cylinder with a small flash light and look for scoring.  You can't fix that without a new cylder and pistion.  If it's a 4 cycle engine, check for fuel in the engine oil.  That is usually caused by a bad needle and seat in the carb.  It allows the gas to drain into the engine.  Install a fuel shut off valve and a new needle and seaat set. I hate those engines with an electronic solenoid under the carb, designed to shut the fuel off at the closest point to the engine and prevent back firing when shut off.  This causes more poor running engines than mostthings I've seen.  The tolerances are pretty tight in that small area and we're talking about a tiny device bouncing around your yard every weekend.  It will fail eventually. 

        Have a twin cyclinder engine on that yard monster of yours?  make sure both cyclinders are working.  Compare compression ratings between cylinders and check the plugs.  That might sound silly, surely you would know if one cylinder was dead, right?  Those engines have gotten so big it WILL run on one cylinder.  I discovered one dead cylinder simply because the spark plug was cold after running for a few minutes.  Popped the head and discovered one valve rod had fallen off the loose lifter and the bottom exhaust rod was missing, inside the engine I assume.  So if you are taking your equipment in for service or doing it yourself, check that compression and make sure the whole engine is working.  Oh, how did I suspect something was wrong with that bad boy?  When I engaged the PTO, the engine bogged down more than I thought it should have.  I checked the plug and went looking from there.  I have no idea how long it was bad.  The customer brought in the mower because the PTO wouldn't engage.  The battery was almost dead which prevents the PTO from working and the charging system was dead.   The deck lift hardware was broken and I still can't figure out how he bent the deck hardware.  How hard do you have to hit something to cause that kind of damage?  This man shouldn't own a mower. 

         

        Most of the fuel line sold for small OPE is not compatable with E85 fuel.  If that is the fuel you have, expect to change it yearly. 

         

         

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    • Norm Eby

      Ray,

      I too have an FCC license and have worked in the electronics field.  Thanks for your long post, it was very informative, especially concerning the oil mix ratio.  I would like to talk to you directly sometime.  If you use EchoLink, that might be a good way to reach me temporarily as neither of us would probably want to publish our e-mails on this public site.

      73

      Norm

      K4EBY

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    • Ray Heffner

      The type of 2 cycle oil you use is important too.  Most stores sell you those little bottles for easy premixing.  It works but I prefer the oil for snow mobiles better.  These usually come in 1 quart bottles and you can refill those smaller bottles for a whole season (or two) of use from that one bottle.  Use it in your chainsaw, leaf blowers and other stuff like post hole diggers too. 

      The use of the engine is the issue here.  Most 2 cycle engines are designed to run at WOT wide open throttle so they can use a different blend of oil.  A 2 cycle snow mobile is designed for varying throttle positions.  The smaller engines have a hard time of burning the oil additives causing the ash problems they say they prevent.  I think they are referring to the spark arrester screen getting clogged by unburned oil and causing the engine to bog down.  Remove the screen, hold it in a pair of hemostats and hold the screen in front of a propane torch until it glows red, burning off the oil deposits.  Wire brush, reinstall.  Back to my last post, I would rather clean the screen and replace the plug every year or two than replace the entire weed trimmer or chain saw.  I have a Stihl concrete saw that suggests a higher oil ratio mix for the first 3 fuel tanks then going back to the leaner mix.  The saw is almost $400, I'll stick to the higher oil blend.  The E85 fuel is getting some bad hits for causing engine problems.  I mentioned the fuel line problem before and can see premature cylinder wear in 2 cycle engines.  They don't have the oil lubrication like a 4 cycle so any thing they do to cheapen the stuff can't be good for your gear.  It's well known that E85 isn't as good as the normal unleaded gas in your big car, I doubt it helps that poor little engine at all.  It sounds stupid but look at the cylinder head, the outside of the head.  Remember what that head looked like brand new?  A head that got too hot has a darker color, a blue black look.  Reminds me of the exhaust pipes on a motorcycle. 

      I read a lot about people replacing the heads of their small 2 cycles.  Before going that way, check the compression.  Most manufacturers don't tell you the "correct' compression because there are many variables, including the local temperature.  They will tell you to check it after warming up the engine.  Generally values of 125 and 150 are good.  Let's be real, you don't have a problem after the engine is started.  You have a problem getting the engine started to begin with.  The compressions values I listed in my previous post are for a cold engine, when you first try starting it.  The values I gave are good indicators of it's future life expectancy.  The engine will probably start at those values, it may be hard to start but it should still start.  No shop is going to put rings in a $200 mower and certainly not a $100 trimmer. The labor costs are prohibitive.  A compression tester is pretty cheap and accuracy is not critical since the readings are relative anyway.  If your want to check it for accuracy, put it on your air compressor with a good digital tire gauge to verify the values.  The compression tester you buy aren't laboratory quality so their accuracy is fair at best. 

      Having a low compression on your mower and wonder what might help.  Take off the head.  Look at the cylinder for scoring or odd light reflections.  Over time, the movement of the piston will cause uneven wear on the cylinder and in a small way, makes it oval shaped, mostly pronounced at the bottom of the piston bore.  These are usually perpendicular to the engine shaft.  A few thousandths means a loose seal in the rings.  If you have the time and want to re ring the piston, take it apart and determine if you can use a new set of original sized rings or if you need oversized.  Does the top of the cylinder have a lip and you can't push the piston out the top of the cylinder.  You need a ring reamer to remove that lip.  More importantly, that mean the cylinder is worn and you will need over sized piston and rings.  If there is no lip, try installing a regular sized ring set and check the end gap before installing them on the piston.  I've seen old rings so badly worn the end gap was almost a quarter inch.  A new set should be about 5 or 7 thousandths.  Low compression rings are in the 20's or more.  Check the end gap at the top, middle and bottom on the cylinder.  You might have to do a light honing to round things out.  As you know, bad rings can cause high oil consumption and also cause more oil to fill the valve tappet area of the engine and (depending on the engine design) feeds back into the carb, clogging the oil filter or out the breather tube leaving a puddle of oil on the floor. 

      I guess I should mention the disclaimers.  No matter what you do, you are still fixing an old engine and they usually have one or more problems.  No matter what you do, you will still have an old engine.  Your hopes are to extract more life from your toy at minimal cost, because you certainly aren't going to get like new performance from an old engine.  Many times I would have liked to slap our customers that bring in a dead 10 year old machine and expect their $75 repair should give them like new performance.  Many places charge $50 an hour or more so that bill includes labor and a few parts. Prayers are free, miracles cost more.  If you take your toy to some repair shop and he advises you that it is wasted money, listen to him.  I know you can find some shop that will take your money and attempt repairs, but it's still an old machine.  If he advises against the repair, and you have some DIY skills, ask if he has a similar machine in his scrap pile he'll sell for the parts he thinks you need.  Many customers donate their old stuff to them for parts.  Some of the junk we got, it wasn't even cost effective to put needle valves in the carbs because the 1 hour labor cost alone exceeded 50% of the equipment cost.  Go to YouTube, watch a few videos, buy the parts and play around.  What's the worse you can do?  Lose a part or completely kill an engine that was at death's door anyway?  Sure beats spending $75 on a $100 dollar engine.  Shops don't want to lose money attempting to repair low priced stuff.  It seriously dips into their small profits. 

      An odd place to look for problems on the smaller 2 cycle stuff, seals and gaskets.  Ok, many cheap engines don't use seals and gaskets are rare too.  Many weed trimmers have plastic covers screwed directly to the engine and they become loose overtime.  The compression will be good but hard starting.  That's because that bad seal / gasket is not creating the vacuum in the crankcase to suck in the fuel mix.  Loose engine covers, carb plumbing with small holes, even loose cylinders cause those problems.  I once repaired a chainsaw that wouldn't start and made a clicking sound when you pulled the rope.  The cylinder head was loose.  The movement of the piston was pushing the cylinder up and down, making that clicking sound.  Many of the screws used on those cheap trimmers and saws are self tapping.  Add an external star washer if possible or thread locker. 

      I've got a few years fixing engines small and big.  From Poulons to Gravelys.  I'm sure I don't know it all and like getting advice from people.  My trophy wall includes everything form cheapo trimmers to front end loaders, small back hoes and a Ditch Witch or two.  A healthy mix of commercial and residential stuff. 

      I've had a ham radio license since the early 80's, KD8CCV.

      Ray

       

       

       

       

       

       

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    • paul wesson

      buy a troy built .5 years and no problems .get rid of that hasqvarna crap

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    • Ray Heffner

      Ron Albright had a good suggestion to replace the spark plug with a resister plug and widen the spark gap.  Sounds like a cheap fix that works.  I think the problem is with the coil producing too high a voltage / current and the plug wire acting as a small antenna.  Sitting so close to the coil, this is induced back into the coil and that upsets the normal transformer action of the coil.  I tried to make this comment on his reply but couldn't find it when I logged in.  But I want to give him credit for his perseverance. 

      I hear a lot of people bashing brands like Husqvarna, Stihl, etc.  I have no preference to a certain brand.  I have a Stihl chainsaw and for many years my cheapo Weedeater trimmer kept my yard nice and my sons lawn cutting jobs going.  If I were to comment on anything, I think I would throw some blame on the EPA for some of the rules these engineers and manufacturers have to work under.  It must be hell trying to produce a fair to good working small engine when you have to deal with tough EPA rules and cheaper gas.  Even the fuel lines used can't hold up to the E85 fuels.  Unlike your car, your poor little trimmer doesn't have 3 or 5 more pistons helping to push the load.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't see hundreds of trimmers or chain saws polluting the air with anything other than noise.  My neighbors poorly tuned vintage car spews out more crap than all the trimmers I l fixed last year.  But hey, it goes from 0 to 60 in micro seconds and he has a legal right to keep that 4 wheeled gas tank because it's a part of American history.  But the rest of us have to endure poor performance and short lived OPE because someone thinks your 26 cc weed monster may endanger a hamster somewhere in the tropical rain forests in a country where the people are still eating bugs off the ground.  They even made rules so the average Joe can't even buy the tools needed to adjust those carbs that power engines that run on drops of gasoline.  As we all know, a gas engine will only run properly in a very narrow range of gas / air mixture.  Just how much can a person adjust that carb and keep it running?  Is it even possible to miss adjust the carb so badly that it still runs but belches out pollution?  My neighbor burned his leaf pile last fall but nobody in uniform bashed his door down.  The wide fires scorched thousands of acres of land and you tossed another $100 trimmer into the land fill because it wouldn't run right.  Where's the logic ?  That one airplane, used to douse the fires, put out more pollution, than all the Husqvarnas manufactured last year combined.  It can't be easy trying to design this stuff, stay profitable and comply with laws. 

      I'm curious, is there some place you can take your dead OPE and recycle it?  If we have stuff that dies so early, where is the concern about tossing it into the landfill?  I don't remember the older trimmers and saws belching out smoke, but since they lasted a lot longer, there were less in the scrap pile.  Has one ideal over ridden logic?  I'm sorry, I'm just ranting on.  Some states have mandatory emission tests your car must pass before you can get plates.  Will we have to get our small engines certified yearly or forfeit it to the government.  Then they can toss it into the land fill. 

       

       

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      • Norm Eby

        Ron & Ray,

         

        Thank you both for the sage advise. It turns out that my problem was totally a fuel problem.  The gas I had and thought to be ethanol free, was not.  Here is a simple test for your fuel:

        For this test I used a screw-cap test tube, although any narrow, straight-walled (fuel proof) container would work. 

        Carefully measure and mark lines at 25%, 50%, 75%, 100% using any convenient volume.  Empty the container and add water up to the 25% mark and add your fuel to the 100% mark.  Shake the mixture up and allow it to settle- may take 30 minutes or so- don't get in a hurry.  Once separation occurs, if the water layer on the bottom measures more than 25%, the fuel contains alcohol and/or water.

        I found a station that was selling "racing gasoline"- very pricey- about $8/gallon, but compared to the hell I went through with most of my 2-stroke implements and even a couple of 4-stroke lawnmowers the cost is worth it.  The EPA and powers that be don't care a whit about the consumer and will be the first ones to fine you if your grass gets "too tall".  It's all about control, and they are way out of control.

        Another problem created by the EPA is the logevity of your equipment if you follow the oil/fuel ratios stated in today's owners manuals.  The 50:1 ratio WILL destroy your 2-stroke equipment in short order.  I use 32:1 in everything except my engines that originally called for 16:1.

         

        That's my rant for the day.

         

        Norm

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    • Jerry Jordan

      I have had this trimmer for a number of years but this 128L always ran very rough and shook so that my wife would not use it.  This year it now wants to die after about 15 seconds.  I took it to my Farm & Fleet dealer in Rockton and after 6 or 7 weeks they told me that the carburetor was bad and it would cost more to fix it than a new one.  I purchased a new carburetor and gaskets on line for under $30 and it still runs the same way.  I have checked the gas tank vent, the gas filter, new gas lines and carburetor filter to the same problem.  I'm on my way to buying a new trimmer and you can bet it will NOT be orange and say Husqvarna! 

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    • Ray Heffner

      I think the problem is the carb or ignition from your brief description.  The carbs are factory set to meet EPA guidelines but that has nothing to do with operating properly.  The OPE manufacturers have had a rough time making machines you like and want to buy again after the EPA shoved their rules down their throats.  If you can still find them on E-bay and if your carb can be adjusted, try buying the carb adjusting screwdrivers that fit your carb.  There are 4 or 5 different shapes.  For a while, the EPA made it impossible for you to buy these tools.  But they weren't buying you a new trimmer either. 

      It sounds more like an adjustment problem of the carb.  A bad diaphragm or needle set would not cause that problem especially since a new carb was substituted.  If you had screwed up and left old gas sit in the carb over winter, it might have gummed up the carb.  But since it's been having problems for a while, I doubt that was your problem.  Before you invest any money in adjusting tools, check the compression and the cylinder condition.  If they are a problem then don't waste much money on a repair. 

      From experience I have noted that if you bring a running unit in and they tell you it's a carb problem, they either don't have the tools to adjust the carb or it has a possible timing problem.  I have another entry in here telling of a 128LD trimmer that ran bad because of how the spark plug wire was routed in the case.  That simple of a problem, no simple solution though.  A new carb wouldn't have fixed that problem and a new coil didn't fix it either.  But if you ran the unit with the cover off, it ran great.  Put the cover on and it ran like crap.  With problems like that the MFG wants to try simple fixes like the carb and coil and hope that you eventually give up and go away. poor customer service.  I can't blame the seller because he makes very little commission and warranty repair costs are so small he can't even pay the technician for the labor without losing money.  They will provide the part and some silly sum like $20 to the seller to do warranty repairs that last an hour or more to troubleshoot let alone the paperwork and repair actions.  If the repair technician is making minimum wage, he might break even.  In some cases, it's cheaper to lose you as a customer than to invest lots of money to fix your unit and make you happy.  Carb adjusting tools are forever.  The will fit in tool box until you need them.  Almost every carb made has an adjusting screw, but unless you have those tool, you won't be able to even play around.  The EPA has great intentions but reality doesn't seem to fit into their lives.  My neighbors vintage auto looks like a mosquito spraying truck in Miami.  He calls his 25 year old roto-tiller Smoky for a reason.  And the country bumpkins burn their leaves and trash every fall.  But your tiny 30 cc engine might cause some glacier to melt by depleting the ozone. 

      Try the free test first, remove the front cover and see if it runs better when the spark plug wire is moved.  If that fails, consider the carb adjusting tools.  A lot of MFG's make great larger engines but the smaller ones have problems because the tolerances are so small. 

       

       

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    • Kent Uhrich

      I have had my Husqvarna 128LD for 4 years.  Last year it towards the end of summer it got to here it would only run for about 2 to 3 minutes, then die.  It would start right back up and then within 2-3 minutes, die again.  Needless to say, when you pay over $200 for a piece of equipment, you expect it to last more than 40 hours worth of operation.

      I have followed all the suggestions on this page, it has set me back almost another $75 dollars, so now the cost per hour run time is even higher.  I just put on yet another new carb tonight.  It fired right up and ran for about 2 minutes.  I took the gas cap off and again, 2 minutes.

      There are 2 other people on my block with the same trimmer and we all have the same issue.  I guess tomorrow we are giving up on the orange Husq!

      Sorely disappointed.

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    • Ray Heffner

      how does it run when it is running?  Does it sound like it is starved for fuel?  My first idea is the coil is breaking down so check for a good spark right after it fails.  Some rough running can be attributed to a bad seal in the front of the engine.  It might have a good compression but the vacuum from the crankcase isn't enough to suck in fuel from the carb.  It takes longer to find, buy and install those seals than most trimmers are worth. Let us know what you find on the spark.  Not just any spark but a good one. 

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    • Kent Uhrich

      It runs great, power is good and all is working as it should.  When it dies, it does just that, dies quickly like it has been turned off. Things I have done.

      1 - Replaced the gas tank and all fuel line (no help)

      2 - Cleaned the carb inside and out (no help)

      3 - Replaced the carb (no help)

      4 - Replaced the spark plug, which I had done last year, but what the heck, (still no help)

      5 - Lastly, replaced the coil and as of right now, it ran about a half a tank of gas with no issues!

       

      Thanks - Kent

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      • Dale Grote

        I'm having the same issues with a 128LD weedeater. It has spark (when cold), compression at 130, and it passed both leak down tests. New fuel lines, carb cleaning new carb, new plug, and removing the gas cap had no effect. It sounds electrical, because even when it runs it's spotty until it just turns off, like you hit the kill switch. I'll try replacing the coil, but if it's same coil as the one that's in it now . . . 

        I'm disappointed with the vague answers Husq has been providing in this thread. I'm also disappointed with the helpline number. I got referred to dealers, but none of them actually service what they sell. Isn't there a technical helpline staffed by people who know these machines? 

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