Picked up a couple of brand new Stihls today...

[BonScott46]

Reset the 261 today, 90 seconds idle on choke and turned it off. It didn't help anything. Throttle response is still inconsistent, sometimes ok but mostly terrible and boggy. By far the hardest saw to start that I have ever owned, routinely takes 4-5 pulls when having sat for at most a couple of minutes. At one point I pulled it 5-6 times on start then 5-6 times on choke and then another at least 10 times back in the start position all after the saw had sat for a very short time. Power in the cut is good with an 18 inch 3/8th Stihl rm chain out of the box cutting tight ringed ash.

 

[RI Chevy]

Just asking here so please don't get offended. Regarding your fuel mix. Have you tried canned fuel?
Maybe bad batch of fuel from station???
Just trying to rule out "known" issues.

Maybe solenoid is bad?

 

[BangBang77]

It's a brand new saw. I would try new fuel first; if that doesn't work, take it back to the dealership and let them deal with it.

 

[RI Chevy]

This.

 

[BonScott46]

The dealer filles it with Aspen which is alkylate fuel at 50:1. I have since filled it twice with Aspen and some Mobil 1 Racing so the final concentration is around 32:1. The saw has behaved the same running on both mixes. I will run it again tomorrow and if it has the same issues i will be taking it to the dealer.

 

[RI Chevy]

Try 40:1 or 50:1 and see if it improves performance. The solenoids might not like to flow 32:1.

 

[sawmikaze]

Take it to the dealer.

 

[BonScott46]

Try 40:1 or 50:1 and see if it improves performance. The solenoids might not like to flow 32:1.

It ran the same on 32:1 as it did on 50:1.

 

[RI Chevy]

Take it to the dealer.

This [emoji115]

 

[sawmikaze]

Reset the 261 today, 90 seconds idle on choke and turned it off. It didn't help anything. Throttle response is still inconsistent, sometimes ok but mostly terrible and boggy. By far the hardest saw to start that I have ever owned, routinely takes 4-5 pulls when having sat for at most a couple of minutes. At one point I pulled it 5-6 times on start then 5-6 times on choke and then another at least 10 times back in the start position all after the saw had sat for a very short time. Power in the cut is good with an 18 inch 3/8th Stihl rm chain out of the box cutting tight ringed ash.

Maybe you got a *s-wordty coil..happened to me on a brand new 362c one time.

 

[Cobby08]

It sounds like a solenoid.

 

[RI Chevy]

Thank you Mark..[emoji106]

 

[BonScott46]

Going back to the dealer tomorrow. Hard starting again today and then it started losing power. I was back barring a back cut and it was fine, I stop to check my holding wood and go to start cutting again and it starts losing all power like it is running out of gas. I pull it out and it revs up fine put it back in and the same thing. I have a wedge in so it is not pinching the bar and I am not pushing into the cut it just does not want to rev on its side. I flip it over and try with the powerhead down, it is a little better but has barely enough power to cut the last two inches of wood. More than a half a tank of gas left at this point.

 

[BonScott46]

It sounds like a solenoid.

Could it lose power on its side if it was a bad solenoid?

 

[Wonkydonkey]

Just my 2c worth,,, if your changing the fuel & oil mix you would need to reset the saw..

Other than this I’d try what a dealer would do, reset it with fuel mix 50:1 and run it. If it fubars,, with this take it back to dealer..

I hope you get it sorted..

 

[BonScott46]

Just my 2c worth,,, if your changing the fuel & oil mix you would need to reset the saw..

Other than this I’d try what a dealer would do, reset it with fuel mix 50:1 and run it. If it fubars,, with this take it back to dealer..

I hope you get it sorted..

I recalibrated with the 32:1 mix and it ran the same as it did on the first tank which was 50:1. It is at the dealer now although I am not holding my breath that they will fix it.

 

[RI Chevy]

Think positive!!!

 

[Cobby08]

Could it lose power on its side if it was a bad solenoid?

Usually its not dependent on orientation. It will run equally as doggy on all sides and pig rich.

 

[BonScott46]

Update on the 261 goes like this: Dropped it off at the dealer and they calibrate/reset or whatever it is they do. Saw runs ok for the next full day of use, still boggy off idle but much easier to start. It has now started to cut out when it gets down to about 1/4 of a tank. I will make several cuts in a row and then it comes back to idle and it cuts out after a couple of seconds like I have hit the off switch. This has happened maybe 10 times now. The next step is going back to 50:1 I guess and see if that makes a difference.

 

[RI Chevy]

Sounds like an electrical short going on somewhere. Like when you shut saw off, the wire may be chaffed somewhere???
Wire may be touching metal causing saw to stumble...