Homelite trimmer won't start
Hi, all. I'm looking for some help with my trimmer. I bought a Homelite String Trimmer (UT20699) at a garage sale ($5 woohoo!). The kicker is that it won't start. When I got it home, I noticed that the 2 fuel lines were out of the tank, so I got new lines and a new filter (I think I have them going to the right lines on the carb as there is fuel showing up in the primer bulb). But the trimmer won't start. It doesn't really sound like it's trying to catch. First I tried spraying a little starter fluid in the carb and then a little in the spark plug hole but it won't go. I checked the plug and it's all black on the tip (not sure if that counts as fouled or not). Also, I noticed that when I pull the throttle trigger the throttle on the carb isn't moving....seems to be stuck but I was able to movie with a screw driver. Anyway, I'm pretty much a complete newb when it comes to anything mechanical so any help or advice you can offer is definitely appreciated. You need to buy a carb kit for that particular carb, tear the carb apart and soak it in carb cleaner and blow it out through any and all holes real good. Sounds like the throttle cable might be broken if you could move the butterfly on the carb with ease. And of course you could have a fouled spark plug but check for spark by taking it out, putting it back in the boot and grounding the threads to the head and watch for a blue snap. Nothing? remove the kill wire..... still nothing then a new coil... Also you should check the cylinder and piston through either the spark plug hole or exhaust port for scoring.... any scoring, probabally will have too low of compression to even start, and a new cylinder, piston and rings will need to be bought... not really worth it either. A 2 cycle like a trimmer, under 90 psi of compression is bad, even at 90 it'll be hard to start, over is good. Thanks for the response, V8. To check for spark, when you say to ground the threads of the spark plug to the head do you just run a wire from the threads to the engine block or to the tip of the spark plug? Also, after it's grounded properly I assume I just pull the cord and see if there is spark, right? Sorry, I'm really a complete novice when it comes to all of this, so sorry for my ignorance. Also, I can move the butterfly but it doesn't move easily at all. When I pull the trigger, the cable does seem to be moving but the butterfly seems to be stuck, so I'm guessing it needs to be cleaned? It can be hard to ground a plug on some trimmers with all the plastic they have on them. Sometimes I wedge a screwdriver next to the cylinder, and lay the plug on it in such a way so that the metal on the plug is touching the metal on the screwdriver, and the screwdriver is touching metal on the engine. You can use your wire method too, or whatever it takes. Sounds like the carb does need cleaning. I got it started!!!!! woohoo! Ok, so after reading your tips on checking for spark, I went home after work and pulled the plug out and for the ground I cut the cord off an old charger for a cell phone I no longer have and taped the wire to the threads on the spark plug and then to the engine. I got spark, and it looked good and blue, so I put the plug back in and took the muffler off and cleaned the screen. I put it all back together, closed the choke, completely and gave it 6 or 7 pulls on the cord. Switched the choke to the next step open and pulled again...and it started! (kinda scared me actually. lol) So, thanks for all of your help. Gotta love the internet! I do still have a problem with the throttle not moving by itself. It's basically stuck wide open. I can move it with a screw driver, but it's not easy at all. Any tips on getting that working besides liberal use of wd-40 or some other lubricant? You still need to clean the carb..... sounds right now that the butterfly is stuck in place maybe by gummy gas. Or the shaft is broken on it and its rubbing (unlikely but possible). Hi dont want to hijack but I have the same trimmer and I need to replace the fuel filter. Well its IN the freakin tank and I see NO WAY of getting it out to change it anyone got an idea? Is there some kind of special tool or something? If I pull it out then I wont be able to get the hose back in the hole Pull it out, then buy a new fuel line along with the filter. You always want to replace the lines when you're replacing the filter. Get a line long enough to feed into the hole in the tank all the way out the opening at the cap, put the filter on, and then pull it in. Trim off the excess and connect it to the carb. geesh how does that miss my brain? Seems like they shoulda made it differently though. Wonder what they are going to charge for the line. Thanks cheese man. The line shouldn't be much more than $1.50 per foot. Trim the end of the line at a hard angle to help make it easier to get it to go through the small holes in the tank. DO NOT try to enlarge the holes in the tank, or you will wind up with problems (I see a lot of this, and it always winds up with either a replacement gas tank or getting tossed in the junk pile). Well good thing I havent tried it yet!! Thanks for the tip. I was looking at that but I figured making the hole bigger was not such a good idea. Don Originally Posted by dcjredline Well good thing I havent tried it yet!! Thanks for the tip. I was looking at that but I figured making the hole bigger was not such a good idea. Don Homelites are my specialty expecally the older Homelites that fuel filter has a snap ring on it holding it on the fuel line the best way to remove it is with a pair of long narrow needle nose pliers grab the fuel filter pull the fuel filter to the opening and see if it can remove that clip then you can pull the filter off the fuel line in case you do not know the Replacement fuel filter part # it is PS03380 if you cant find one locally you can google search the part # hope i helped you out on giving you some pointers to get this taken care of yes i joined last year and only posted 3 times lol oh if you acccidently damage the tank they are still available just got to do a Search on the google for it part # for the tank complete UP00020 Hello All, Can You Tell Me How Old This Trimmer Is?? Im Trying To Get It Started And I Pull And Pull And Not Even A Purr With Starting Fluid ..i Cleaned The Plug And Its Getting New Fuel I Have A Spark But Im Not Sure If Its Strong ...do I Need A Coil ?? Thanks Chelsea130 Originally Posted by chelsea130 Hello All, Can You Tell Me How Old This Trimmer Is?? Im Trying To Get It Started And I Pull And Pull And Not Even A Purr With Starting Fluid ..i Cleaned The Plug And Its Getting New Fuel I Have A Spark But Im Not Sure If Its Strong ...do I Need A Coil ?? Thanks Chelsea130 hi chelsea the year of it is diffinitely between 1987-1999 somewhere in between them years but no newer than a 1999 model cause they went obsolete back in 1999 but if you did a yahoo search for obsolete Homelite parts use them keywords you may find a obsolete homelite dealer online hope you find what you need it sounds like either the carb is plugged up or the coil calvin hello all, is there a way to test a coil on this weedeater im getting spark but it dont seem strong .....its not blue..... its not firing the fuel wich im getting plenty of....... Originally Posted by chelsea130 hello all, is there a way to test a coil on this weedeater im getting spark but it dont seem strong .....its not blue..... its not firing the fuel wich im getting plenty of....... if it is not blue if it is orange then you have a coil problem its got to be blue for it to fire the fuel and start the trimmer hello all, is there a way to test a coil Originally Posted by chelsea130 hello all, is there a way to test a coil not that i know of Yes. The easiest way is to remove the kill wire from the coil and check for spark. If still none, and the engine is turning fast enough, and the coil gap is set correctly, then the coil is bad. Well THANK you all for the help. I have changed the filter, I pushed the hose through into the tank and just fished it back in when I was done replacing it. Local shop didnt sell the hose. Trimmer is still bogging and stalling when choke is off (on setting 4) when it is on 3 then it runs fine. As long as I keep a little throttle in it then it wont stall. I have had the carb off and cleaned the CRAP outta it, new plug and now new FF. Any other ideas??? Check the gap on the spark plug. Also check for a crack in the primer bulb, loose connections on the gas lines that may not leak gas, but allow air to be sucked into the line. A torch tip cleaner may have to be used on the small ports when you tear down clean the carb. My Homelite Trimlite 05-744 was running to other day fine. Always started on the 1st or 2nd pull. I shut it off to add some trimmer line and added some gas to it and put it away for a few days and now it won't start. I've removed the plug and it looks fine, squirted starter fluid into the cylinder....nothing. Bulb is holding fuel. Everything is in good working condition trigger, choke, etc. except that now I get nothing but a sore arm yanking on it. I'm going to pull the plug tonite and see if I have spark. If I don't is it likely the coil and if it is is it a big deal to swap out. I bought it from a guy around last Christmas sitting by the side of the road. Said he was trying to get money for his kid's Christmas and wanted $25.00. I had just bought a lottery ticket and had $17.00 plus 3 quick picks. I offered him that and he took it. It's been a good trimmer and I'd like to get it working again. This is a great board and I'm very happy to find it. I hope I can contribute. Thanks for your help. Gary Check the spark and post back. If no spark, unplug the kill wire from the coil and check again. It didn't look large though. I'm going to re-gap it in the morning and try it again. I left the plug out tonight so it will be good and dry tomorrow morning then I'm going to put a whif of starting fluid in the cylinder and give it another try. It should at least fire on the starting fluid even with a small spark, shouldn't it? Thanks again for your help. Gary If it has a blue spark, I'd say the ignition is working fine. If it has sufficient compression, it should start with the ether, but starting 2-stroked with starter fluid is not the best thing for it, since 2 strokes depend on oil in the fuel for lubrication, and ether has little to no lubricating value. Try adding a small capful of gas through the spark plug hole. Then crank it with the throttle wide open. If nothing still, check compression.
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