Posted by Goose on March 02, 2016 at 18:37:45 from (70.198.3.78):
Several years ago, in a weak moment, I bought a Poulan 20" chain saw because it was on sale for a price I couldn't resist. I started it up once, made a test cut in a log to make sure it was functioning OK, and put it back in the plastic carrying case.
With my two Stihl saws, I simply never needed a 20" saw. Last week I noticed the case sitting there under a bench in my shop and figured I'd start it up once. Put fresh gas in it, but no go. I finally took the side cover off and put a drill on the flywheel nut and spun it that way. Still no go. I finally checked the spark plug and it was wet so I knew it was getting gas. Checked the ignition with a test light and it was dead. On/Off switch was "On". This is about as simple of an ignition system as there is possible. The magnets on the flywheel pass the primary winding of the coil, the primary induces high voltage in the secondary, and the plug wire is embedded in the secondary of the coil. The "Off" switch grounds the secondary of the coil.
Since I know from first hand experience that Poulan had a rash of defective coils about the time this saw was manufactured, I finally decided the coil must be the culprit and ordered a new one. Even though the saw is new and has run only about ten minutes, it's too old for warranty, if Poulan even honors their warranties. I installed the new coil this noon and still nothing.
I've disconnected the "Off" ground wire at the coil to eliminate that. I pulled the flywheel to check the key and that was good, although if the key were sheared, there would still be spark when the flywheel rotated, just at the wrong time. Both the original coil and the new one check the same with an ohmmeter, and they both checked the same as the coil I pulled out of a defunct weedeater that I abandoned because of fuel problems. (The weedeater coil won't interchange, but it's made the same).
I'm stumped. The entire ignition system consists of the rotating flywheel, the coil with the plug wire embedded, and the "off" wire to ground the coil to stop the engine. It's such a simple ignition system, the only thing I can think of is that the new coil might be defective. I think I'll take one of the coils to a small engine shop tomorrow and see if they have a better way of checking coils, or at least double checking my conclusions with an ohmmeter.
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