Fixing A RedMax Backpack Blower That Won't Start

Well thank you for that video , I have 2 of the same exact blowers one runs perfectly , the other I found at the dump I have been working on it. I can eventually get it running but very hard to start I have tried 3 different carbs new plug checked flywheel gap. The spark and compression are also good 150#, Its sitting in my shed , when the better weather comes I think I am going to order a flywheel. Thanks Can You put a link to the same model flywheel you used please.

2 years ago I watched one video now I can’t stop buying broken small engines and fixing them.they are so relaxing to work on

Just get the feeling someone else was in there fiddling around !

I think your being thorough got it going yet trying to figure out which actual step fixed it is frustrating since the fix could be applied to future machines. Great job.

But it ran before? That's real strange. And the new flywheel is oriented differently. Chinese magnets? Or an updated flywheel? But it ran before with the original which is strange. I really hate those fixes where nothing makes sense and it comes down to luck.

I think we’re all at a lost with this one my friend.

Flywheel from what it looks that you replaced it with the other one seemed to be completely 45° out of timing so the question is who molded the original flywheel wrong and put it in the machine to begin with??

lol. the flywheel key slot was manufactured wrong at the factory, or part mix-ups happen too. this is nothing new i happens a lot with me. plus the flywheels shown where machined different, this happens at factories too especially when they manufacture different engines or make changes in design.

There are 2 small plastic spacers that go in between the coil screws that mount to the engine. If not installed, there is a chance the coil will hit the flywheel or not "square itself" when the magnets go by the pickups. Just food for thought. Again, I enjoy the content.

I’ve had similar situations where I wasn’t sure what I actually did that made it run for sure, but I was just glad to move on and be glad… lol

It seems crazy that the timing difference in those flywheels would cause it to run with the aftermarket one. However, I went back and re-watched the video from last year, and the inside of that flywheel looks A LOT worse in this video - video can be deceiving compared to in person - where the inside of the flywheel almost looks like it was sliding on the key itself. It could be from the video/lighting/etc. Curious if you still have the old one, if you are able to give it another look and see. That could explain it possibly?

Not being able to repair a piece of equipment happens to me about 2 or 3 times a year. Extremely frustrating spending hours and hours and only being compensated for partial amount of time involved.

Craftsmanship mower but that thing we bought a coil we bought everything for it and that darn thing wouldn't run one time or would run the next time we had to strip it and throw it away. My sister bought it up in New York it was used for 60 bucks I can't get it started for the longest time and he finally got it wrong and he sold it to her just like that I told her she should have Runaway thank you for the video

Yes,I rebuilt a Stihl hedge trimmer for a nursing home that my auntie worked for & my dad did some work for after he retired from his job as a fitter.

The ignition coil was gone & I ordered an aftermarket ignition coil & the engine still didn't start even after rebuilding the engine so I got the serial number off the hedge trimmer & I did an online search to find out that Stihl changed the ignition coil & the crankshaft so that they're a matched set because the keyway was milled in a different position.

I ordered the older OEM Stihl ignition coil from an eBay seller who was located in Ohio in the U.S. & when I fitted it ,the hedge trimmer fired right up.

I also had trouble with a junk aftermarket carburettor which I ordered from an eBay seller whose located in Melbourne in Victoria, Australia , it appeared to be glued together with Loctite which the fuel ate so I ordered a new $30 AUD carburettor from a seller who was even located near me in the central coast of New South Wales & it was a good carburettor.

Apparently the machine still runs over a decade later,I learned, try not to buy lawn equipment parts off a Muscat online !

I have a hand held blower of a different brand that is having similar issues. Sometimes it struggles to start but will start and eventually run ok when it gets warm … until it dies and refuses to start again (hot or cold doesn’t seem to matter). I finally gave up on it about 4 years ago, purchased another blower, and stored the old one to someday look into when I wanted a project or had some epiphany of what might have gone wrong. Before giving up on it, I also replaced the coil and carburetor, cleaned the muffler screen, checked the piston and ring, as well as the flywheel key and tested the shutoff switch and wires. No change/no differences. Maybe I also have a bad flywheel? I have never experienced a bad flywheel that was not physically damaged.

I would’ve gotten very frustrated hopefully that blower will be fixed for a very long time hopefully it won’t come back watching this video even I was scratching my head you are definitely a great mechanic I’m glad you have a lot of patience I don’t know if I would have been as patient you are awesome I like watching your videos it’s relaxing

i’d like you to put some cling wrap over the magnet area on the flywheel and drop some fine metal fragments onto the magnet surface to see what the field looks like.

This is definitely a head scratcher. You made it look easy to fix. Great video to demonstrate persistence. Thank you

Hey brotha. I love your videos and if I’m honest, I watch em every day. They are very entertaining and seeing all of your equipment and learning and seeing how all parts of the engine and carburetor work is just really cool. Have a good one and keep up your hard work!!

I have a question. I have a Husqvarna 5521 BBC push mower and it has a Honda motor on it and was wondering how hard it is to replace the blade clutch

Feels like someone put the wrong flywheel in it somewhere along the way.

You fired the proverbial PARTS CANNON at it I have seen head gaskets fail on those or bolts become loose.Should have better compression

Hey, I have Ryobi trimmer it is only working on half Choke or full choke when I put it in run it stops what could be the reasons for it?

A friend of mine tried to repair a sthil straight shaft trimmer, that would not run, changed the carb, spark plugs, coil, still nothing would get it running. Even compression was good! It was a waste of time and effort, so it was junked. Surprisingly this blower almost checked the box of trashing it. You have great patience regarding these tools.

You're the man, you made it!

From someone that runs Redmax day in and day out that’s a first must of been something wrong from the factory

It could be a defective flywheel

Nice video 👍👍👍

i have a very specific idea of a set of events that could have caused this problem.

i know neodymium magnets have a curie temperature of about 310-370 C in which all of their magnetic properties are permanently damaged, but they can actually start losing magnetism at lower temperatures in fact.

so if the carburetor started failing before and started producing lean mixtures or even if the owner was being really hard on the blower, it might have overheated the engine, perhaps causing the damage to the flywheel magnets.

this would have also caused the lower than expected compression readings if it damaged the internals of the engine.

all a guess though but i do like the problem solving.

That was something i wasnt expecting to happen to it

My EBZ 5150 won't start I've changed the carburetor, air filter, spark plug, and it still won't start. Im about to pull the ignition coil next. Im at a standstill with this blower.

I'm going through the same problems with the same exact machine.

I'm hoping that my out come is same as yours. Thanks for the well described video. It's a great machine when running. Hope it ru s again🤞

There's a reason I don't buy Husqvarna products and one of them can be reliability. The other verified reason is the parts are expensive for the quality. For example: a cable for a snow blower chute the OEM was CA$85 at the time I wanted to replace it so I went with an aftermarket unit. A heavier duty cable for a Honda RotoStop blade brake clutch on a Honda commercial made a few years ago or HR214SX made in the mid-1980s was only about $40. MTD parts were and are more reasonable as well. Most of my equipment that I have now is Honda, Cub Cadet and Echo.

What we don't see in the side by side of the flywheel is are the trigger points the same or not. The key being 180 out is a little to weird for me. 😁

Have a similar issue with a redmax ebz5150rh. This blower will not start.

Story with the blower, I got it with the recoil missing.
-First thing I did was spray fuel down carb throat & spun by drill. No start. (Primer bulb was pulling fresh fuel).
-Next checked the spark plug (bosch) & found no spark. Disconnected kill switch wire, no spark.
Replaced coil, has spark (Looks a little weak). Added a recoil to machine & noticed it was hard to pull with spark plug in. [Easy to pull with plug out]
-Retried spraying fuel in carb no start. Perform compression test with drill. Got to (100psi). Removed exhaust (inspected no clog) & saw no scratches on piston. Decided to go deeper in & saw 1 deeper scratch on piston.
-Replaced Piston & rings. (Compression 125psi) Retried the fuel in carb had a pop but no start with throttle wide open. (Even tried with exhaust off). After that pop, it will not pop again.
-At this point, research more & discovered about potential flywheel issues. (Mine has a scratch) Replaced flywheel & spark plug with NGK. Has a spark (similar weak looking spark)
-Now at this point, I'm stumped. Before deciding to tear carb apart, the blower should have at least popped over with the alternative fuel source. My next step I'm gonna try is disassemble the intake to check for blockage & see if the recoil can spin easier.
[The only other theory I can think of is that the fuel is causing the spark to disappear].

I'm having trouble repairing an ECHO PB250 blower. It won't start even if I squirt fuel into the carb. I found that the shear pin on the flywheel was stripped. I replaced the flywheel and shear pin with no positive result. I replaced the carb, fuel lines, and ignition coil. The engine will not start even with fuel sprayed into the carb. So, it has fuel, air, spark, and compression but it won't fire up. Do you have any suggestions?

Good fix that

Backpack leaf good job

Yes it has happened to me to bro 2 times ona a ms170 Stihl chainsaw I used it but didn't clean it the next day I went to use it and it didn't want to start and I started searching to loose cable or gas leak ect.and the problem was that it needed cleaning when I cleaned it it started and until now it hasn't happened again because I don't let it get dirty . the second time was a 250 and it had like 30 minutes that I last used it when I go and start it it didnt even try to start so i did the same thing with the other one but that was not the problem the problem was that it was flooded so I unflooded it and it started my question is why did it get flooded on hot start and I didn't use choke to start it on hot because it's only for cold dtart

Thanks to your previous advice I was able to get my ECHO PB250 up and running. I cold started with carb cleaner then added pre-mixed Tru-Fuel to the tank. The blower started right away. The idle is at 2800 and top speed rpm is 6600. However, in about 2 minutes the engine gets very hot as does the case near the exhaust muffler. I mean the outer cover gets very hot to the touch unlike another blower unit I own. I think the problem is the muffler that may be clogged. The spark arrester is pristine. Can you suggest a possible cause for the overheating?

Maybe bad quality control

My experience is very similar to yours. I rarely get anything with odd issues, but unfortunately I have four of them with odd issues at the same time right now. My yard art collection is getting a little excessive.

Im having the same problem ebz8500 replaced coil it sucked worse, got a more expensive coil, still nothing. Replaced flywheel still nothing. Carb is new and was running fine prior to it cutting out. Cleaned contacts on killswitch still nothing.

Flooded did you see the gas dripping out of the air filter lol

Is it normally for clothes to stink after using the leaf blower? Takes a few pulls to get started and the kill switch isn’t working. Doesn’t choke or stall when using.

Great video. I was seeing myself as you are going through everything on this blower to find the issue, I have a similar blower-Echo PB580T and it does the exact problem as this one, I even removed the flywheel and it looked good as this blower is new and since I bought it as new from an auction, so even though mine starts only like once a day and it works fine but once shut it off and try to start it again it will not no matter what but it will start like 5 hours later or until the next day. So I noticed that your flywheel looked fine but when you got the new one, it’s key is in a different position and it looks like that was your problem with the old flywheel since it starts so that’s your fix in my opinion. I think I’m going to replace the flywheel even though it looks as new. I checked the whole system and the only thing left is to swap a new flywheel and see.