I need to make the carb run richer, but don't know how to adjust it. My bike takes a long time to warm up enough to ride. Today I got it running and just as I pulled onto the road and shifted into 2nd, it lost power and died

Check there are no air leaks around where the air intake rubbers are at your carburetor. It sounds like your bike is running too lean or weak which means your air/fuel mixture is running on too much air and not enough fuel. This would explain it running smoothly when you put the choke on as the choke "chokes" the majority of the air from the carburetor and allows more fuel to flow through the carburetor creating a richer mixture. There will be a mixture screw somewhere on the carburetor which will allow you to either richen (more fuel and less air) or weaken (more air and less fuel) by turning the screw either in or out. Only adjust this by a small amount (about a quarter turn at most) at a time and try the bike to see how it rides each time. After adjusting the screw each time let the engine idle for about 30 seconds or so to let it settle to the new mixture setting before riding. There will be another screw on the carburetor which is your "idle" or "tick over"speed adjustment screw which adjusts how high your engine revs while the engine is "ticking over". Turn it in to increase idling speed and out to lower the idling speed. This will probably need adjusting as you change the fuel/air mixture. I hope this helps you and good luck :o)

If the saw has a EPA carb it will have anti tamper screws, these have a spline on them, not a screw driver slot, there is a special tool to adjust the jets part no. 530035560, check the web for sellers, both screws are fuel screws, not air screws, so the more you undo them the richer the mixture gets, the L screw will adjust the mixture from idle up to half throttle, the H screw will adjust from half throttle to max rpm, all saws today are set for the best emmissions not the best running so they are always set on the lean side, the settings as they are will be a good starting point, if the saw does not pick up clean inscrew the L screw a bit at a time until it does, be very carefull with the H screw as this can be leaned off too much and the saw will over rev and possibly seize, this should be do with a taco so as you know what the rvs are, it should not exceed 12500 rpm.it should aleays sound a little rich at maximum no load revs.

You just need to have the carb cleaned and rebuilt, you have some build up inside and the jets are starting to clog

ColdI engines require a richer mixture to operate smoothly...so they have an enricher (aka choke).
If you are finding you need to keep the choke on longer.....you may have a lean mixture than normal.nother
Start by inspecting the carb and intake manifolds for any leaks (loose fittings....cracked hoses) that could be drawing in air, leaning the mixture.

Another common issue with bikes that have sat over winter...is plugged idle jets.....the fuel varnishes the tiny orifices in the carb. You could try a product like Seafoam in the fuel tank....run it abit to get the treated fuel in the carbs then let it sit overnight...allowing time for the chemical to work. Since the bike runs fine warm...this may clear things up for you.

I would take the carb apart running through water shouldn't hurt it

Hi jbboitnott,

There are 3 things I can think of that would cause that problem. First, the saw was not warmed up enough. Second, did you cut the choke back after your saw warmed up? The third cause would be that your carburetor is not adjusted correctly.
If you did the first two things, then you could try adjusting your carburetor. The carb has to have a richer mixture when it's cold than when it has warmed up. If you have your carburetor set with the mixture too high, it would start but then choke on the extra gas when it was warmed up. Thus, you should lean out the carb.
Huskys carb adjustment screws are on the same side as the oil and gas fill caps. They are above the gas cap. The screw on the left is for leaning the carb, the one on the right is to richen the mixture.
So, turn the left screw, sometimes marked "L", counterclockwise to richen the carb. Adjust a very small amount at a time. Let it run a little, cut some wood, then adjust again, if need be.

I hope this helps. If it does, I'd appreciate your vote. Thanks for visiting fixya.com

Handie Andie

Even though you probably don't have that many miles on the bike, or if you do have a lot riding time on it, it sounds to me like you need a valve adjustment. That's a high reving bike for that engine that works pretty hard so you might have 1 - 3 loose valves.

try to secure a repair manual by haynes/clymer-they r detailed in every area--was ur bike warmed up? u may just need a simple cleaning

Carburator backfires are almost always due to a lean condition. Check your intake manifold for air leak. Star the bike, warm it up and let it idle on the kickstand. From the air breather side spray a bit of wd40 onto the intake manifold (one side at a time) and listen for the idle to pick up. If it does, you're sucking air around the intake. This should be fixed right away as it will just get worse and could result in burned valves. If this is not the case then check the main jet in your carb and get one that is richer. Trial and error is the only way to determine the best jet for your bike.

Yes! You will open those things up, and they will probably look pretty clean, but the problem with your carbs is in the Idle circuit - too small for you to see into. If you do a search of carb cleaning or related topics, you'll see that alot of folks with cab problems try to clean their carbs ... only to have to open them up again due to improper cleaning (They are difficult to clean properly, require alot of patience) So, I would suggest that you have them cleaned professionally, or at least buy good carb dip to get them really clean. Spray cans of carb cleaner are worthless. Might as well wash em with dish soap.