String Trimmer Suddenly Took a Dump - Echo

[hotajax]

Echo SRM 2601. Was using it had full power for about 20 mins. Suddenly just crapped out like you hit the OFF switch. Except I didn't hit the off switch. Brand new Echo coil 2 years ago, new spark plug last year. Inclined to believe that it is shorting out somewhere. Won't restart. Any ideas? On/Off switch? Did any of you ever have this issue? Coil contacts are clean. Will check ground. For now, dead in the water. Thanks in advance.

Late note: Ignition issues - resolved. Now I have to get the linkage tighter. Engine won't rev.

 

[Duce]

Echo SRM 2601. Was using it had full power for about 20 mins. Suddenly just crapped out like you hit the OFF switch. Except I didn't hit the off switch. Brand new Echo coil 2 years ago, new spark plug lear. Inclined to believe that it is shorting out somewhere. Won't restart. Any ideas? On/Off switch? Did any of you ever have this issue? Coil contacts are clean. Will check ground. For now, dead in the water. Thanks in advance.

It needs three things. Fuel, compression, spark is all needed. New plugs, 2 year old coil means very little, if no spark- check switch, ground and new plug. Is plug getting wet? Still has compression? Everyone that runs ope has one of these problems sooner of later.

 

[hotajax]

Yeah, all that stuff works. While I was checking it out, I did something to the throttle cable. Now I can't rev up the carb, cable too loose. Sort of like a car with no gas pedal now.

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

> Now I can't rev up the carb, cable too loose.

I will assume you checked the obvious with adjusting the nut. I mention this because it is easy enough for the cable housing to jump out of the retaining forks(?). On one repair I held the cable down with small zip ties.

I would check to see if the leaded on stop pulled down on the trigger or if the trigger part that retains the slug broke.

I had a Ryobi that acted like that and what had happened is clutch springs went and were dragging like a brake shoe on the drum. I thought it was the cable, but, after seeing it hit the stop on full press, I knew it was something else.

The cable might be frayed or broken within the housing and hanging on by a thread, literally. You might have that rubber grip the cables run through, so, removing the cable to check the slack is a hassle. Especially if it has slide down on the shaft with use.

I have an echo hedge trimmer (kioritz) so I might be able to double check a thing or two if the engine family is the same.

 

[hotajax]

You're right its a hassle. I have to remove the shaft from the motor, just to get the rubber handle off The end of the throttle cable housing closest to the engine is sparkly clean, like it was inside something that kept it clean. But there is a 3/4 inch gap between the end of the throttle cable housing and the carb linkage. Looks like part may have broken or popped off. You wrote a lot of material here, thanks.

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

You're right its a hassle. I have to remove the shaft from the motor, just to get the rubber handle off The end of the throttle cable housing closest to the engine is sparkly clean, like it was inside something that kept it clean. But there is a 3/4 inch gap between the end of the throttle cable housing and the carb linkage. Looks like part may have broken or popped off. You wrote a lot of material here, thanks.

You are welcome, here is what a stock (except new carb) cable looks like, they are basically all the same design within the family of motors, and I have used zip ties to secure the cable housing on others.

I had not used the Echo for a few months (4?) and had drained the gas, once I removed the air filter to make sure I was doing the choke properly, it fired up after a few pulls and ran great. Cut a whole lot of vines and bush stuff down for my neighbor, after his battery power Kobalt trimmer stopped working from being jammed. Fine little Japanese tool for light trim work.

 

[hotajax]

Bottom line, it's fixed. I went to the dealer where we bot it 21 years ago. Of course the technician at the service counter was clueless. So he asked this guy who used to be a mechanic to take a look. He said it was in the handle, and figure out how to anchor the cable housing in the handle. Took a while, but I finally figured it out. The disappointing thing is that there is NO instructions that I could find online for that model Echo that showed how to assemble the handle with the throttle cable housing. The dealer wasn't real helpful, just kind of "don't waste my time" attitude. So much for buying more stuff from them. D&*kheads. You were right about the housing being loose - it wasn't loose, but it was in the wrong spot. So now I learned how those motherf&$%ing handles work. If my cable breaks, I'll know how to replace it and not pay the turd at the Echo dealer. For the record, the shop you want to avoid is Pipersville Lawn and Garden Center. A nice one-fingered salute is due.

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

Glad to hear you figured it out. Yes, not much on-line for the Echo - Shindaiwa - Kioritz brands, especially earlier models.

 

[Al Smith]

Just a comment .I have an Echo trimmer that for some reason losses magnetism on one flywheel magnet .It takes stroking it with a very powerful rare earth magnet to get it back after it sits for the winter .Good trimmer when it runs .Pain in the behind though to renew the magnet .It's hanging on a nail ,got tired of making love to it every summer .Then again I've got plenty of trimmers, blowers and chainsaws .At least one of them is bound to run at any given time .That's the problem owning so many because they don't get exercised .

 

[hotajax]

Wow. I never heard of a magnet losing magnetism, but I suppose anything is possible. My problem was a simple fix AFTER I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why it would suddenly shut down. It was that cheesy little coil that sits on the end of the spark plug wire. One part of it punctures the insulation to make contact with the copper conductor, and the other end goes around the tip of the spark plug. It's very easy to displace that coil while you're sliding the spark plug boot over the end of the wire. A $0.99 part that can really eff you up.

BTW: My opinion is that this little coil is a poor design by Echo, I think they could have done much better. Small part that can cause big probs.

 

[Al Smith]

The magnet did not lose all of it's charge, one was just weaker than the other .Going way back in history the magnets on a model T Ford had the same problem but then they had the means to recharge them because the problem was quite common .The actual weed wacker is a good one if not for that problem .I should find another flywheel for it .

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

> Wow. I never heard of a magnet losing magnetism

FWIW:

Avoiding Mistakes in Choosing Hydraulic Cylinders
https://www.machinedesign.com/mecha...ding-mistakes-in-choosing-hydraulic-cylinders

"the customer noticed that the switch worked well for the first hour or so and then began to fault out. As the magnet reaches 176°F, it begins to lose strength. It doesn't lose it entirely unless a much higher temperature is reached, but the magnetic field weakens enough to make the switches stop working."

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

> You were right about the housing being loose - it wasn't loose, but it was in the wrong spot.

Here are the pictures of one I fixed on the cheap. I got it back because it does not run right, leaving these things for 6+ months unused is not a good thing. I think it now needs a carb since the only adjustment I can make is idle speed and when set so the blades do not rotate, it stalls. I am going to do a compression test and check the muffler screen.

The hose clamp acts as a spacer so the split handle can not move forward. It is zip tied so it can not move backwards since the rubber on this one no longer grips like it is suppose to. Sometimes I drill a hole and install a rivet and washer to prevent a handle from moving, but, I was not sure about disassembling this tube so I could drill through it on my drill press and the clearance involved because the metal tube gets hot with use.

Basically I lined up where it used to be from the factory, going by marks, then kludged it together. I thought the loom I put on was enough to protect the wire, obvious not, so, I took a picture of the cable for you, then wrapped it up even better. It is a nice little articulated head trimmer.

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

Since the pictured trimmer - multi-tool is old and such, it did not have a snappy feel to it releasing the trigger, even after lubing the cable. I drilled the plastic lever on the carb and added a little spring to pull it back, then I added a spring to the handle trigger, that maybe should have had it from the factory? Just a mod you might want to consider for the handle the next time you have it apart.

 

[hotajax]

Bottom line, it's fixed. I went to the dealer where we bot it 21 years ago. Of course the technician at the service counter was clueless. So he asked this guy who used to be a mechanic to take a look. He said it was in the handle, and figure out how to anchor the cable housing in the handle. Took a while, but I finally figured it out. The disappointing thing is that there is NO instructions that I could find online for that model Echo that showed how to assemble the handle with the throttle cable housing. The dealer wasn't real helpful, just kind of "don't waste my time" attitude. So much for buying more stuff from them. D&*kheads. You were right about the housing being loose - it wasn't loose, but it was in the wrong spot. So now I learned how those motherf&$%ing handles work. If my cable breaks, I'll know how to replace it and not pay the turd at the Echo dealer. For the record, the shop you want to avoid is Pipersville Lawn and Garden Center. A nice one-fingered salute is due.

CAUTION: If you take the handle apart to replace the throttle cable, lift the handle half and STOP. Pay careful attention to exactly where in the handle the throttle cable is situated. Otherwise the cable will be too short or too long.