chainsaw, stihl, 026?

Loose connections can occur wher the HT lead exits the coil assembly. You may get a good resistance reading at first and then reassamble the saw only to find no spark. Wiggle the HT lead with your meter on it to double check.

J
January 2010

easy answer is to remove spark plug and connect to plug lead and place metal body against cylinder.

If you can see a spark when the engine is turned over using the pull cord then coil is okay.

Be careful not to get a shock when you do this, but if you do then coil is good.

If no spark then coil or lead may be suspect.

Phil
May 2008

Pull out the spark plug and hook up the plug wire. Using some rubber handled pliers make good contact between the bottom of the plug and the top of the engine. While doing this crank the engine over and you should see a blue spark. If you don't see a blue spark(if it is yellow, white or no spark) then you probably have a coil that is going bad.

Brian J.
April 2008

Pull out the spark plug and hook up the plug wire. Using some rubber handled pliers make good contact between the bottom of the plug and the top of the engine. While doing this crank the engine over and you should see a blue spark. If you don't see a blue spark(if it is yellow, white or no spark) then you probably have a coil that is going bad.

Brian J.
April 2008

No spark? Check that the cutout switch isn't faulty (disconnect it), then check for spark again. If still no joy, check the primary resistance of the coil - the thin wires, and expect a low resistance. Then check the resistance between the thin wire and the plug connection lead - expect a much higher resistance. Then check the gap between the flywheel and the coil - it should be just clear, the thickness of some thin card is good enough.

John
April 2008