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I just bought a refurbished trimmer. It is a 4 cycle Troy-Bilt with electric start. I have had good success with this brand previously, and I need the electric start because, well, I am the girlie-girl type and need all the help I can get.

Well I cannot figure out how to start it, even with the electric start.

• It has new gas and oil
• I primed it 10 times per the manual.
• I have tried it both with and without the throttle squeezed. The manual says to squeeze it.
• I have tried it in different choke positions. The manual says to use position 1 and then 2.
• I have tried the pull start a few times but have mostly tried starting with the electric start. It is a plug-in starter so there is no battery issue.
• I do not see any loose wires.

I do not know if this is a problem, but the manual that came with the trimmer is a general manual for refurbished trimmers and is not specific to this trimmer (model TB539 ES). I cannot find the specific manual online.

I bought the trimmer online and it doesn't have a warranty, so I don't think it is returnable.

Any tips?

Check the fuel line inside the tank to see if it is still attached going up out of the tank, and to the carb. If so just inspect the lines for being loose, split, and be sure the fuel filter is still on the end of the line in the tank. It will need to be empty of fuel to inspect the fuel lines in the tank. Check the spark plug because new, or not it could be fouled out let us know what you find, or not, and we can go from there.

Thanks! The spark plug doesn't look like anything unusual, but then again I don't know what I'm looking for exactly.

The gas line doesn't look split, but I haven't looked in the tank itself yet because it would be a pain to empty it and I'm not sure that's the most likely cause, because when I try to start it I smell gas.

It seems to come close to starting but doesn't.

What is holding down the throttle supposed to do? Does anybody know?

longthumbs said:

Thanks! The spark plug doesn't look like anything unusual, but then again I don't know what I'm looking for exactly.

The gas line doesn't look split, but I haven't looked in the tank itself yet because it would be a pain to empty it and I'm not sure that's the most likely cause, because when I try to start it I smell gas.

It seems to come close to starting but doesn't.

What is holding down the throttle supposed to do? Does anybody know?

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Sometimes a kink will get in the fuel line. You can take a wire, bend a hook on the end and fish the filter and line out of the tank w/o draining it just to inspect. I'd take the spark plug out and ground the base of it and pull the cord to see if there's any spark. If spark, then it's in the fuel delivery. You can put a squirt of carburetor cleaner or starting fluid in the carburetor opening after hooking everything back up and see if it will hit and run a second or two. If it does that, then could be perhaps the fuel inlet needle stuck to the seat, or a brittle diaphragm or something in the carburetor assuming the fuel line is clear from tank to carburetor. Shouldn't be that much of a problem if they've refurbished it already. Good Luck on it.

BKBrown said:

I notice you said it is a 4 stroke - You also mentioned new gas and oil - I hope you did not put a 2 stroke oil in the gas on a 4 stroke engine. It probably won't hurt the engine, but ti would be hard if not impossible to start.

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No worries. I was very careful about that!

BKBrown said:

OK - I notice that my fingers did "ti" instead of it. Refurbished should be like new. If you follow the instructions for starting and it still does not work, I'd try the Troy Bilt web site and ask about it there.

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Thanks. One of the issues, however, is that I am not 100% sure I even have the correct starting instructions. For example, the manual I received has nothing about electric start.

BKBrown said:

I haven't checked out the Troy Bilt web site, but usually you are able to download manuals for specific models.

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I couldn't find the manual for this model on the website, or at least the search didn't bring up anything.

TRY this ???

Troy-Bilt Weed Wacker Manuals

BKBrown said:

TRY this ???

Troy-Bilt Weed Wacker Manuals

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Thanks! Does anyone know if weedwackerpartsmanual.com is a safe website? It asks you to download some software, which makes me very leery.

longthumbs said:

Thanks! Does anyone know if weedwackerpartsmanual.com is a safe website? It asks you to download some software, which makes me very leery.

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I would not download software - I found it in a web search -- do a search for "Troy Bilt manuals"
Sorry I didn't check out that site before linking it.

Just wanted to mention that I WAS able to get the trimmer running. I'm not sure what the problem was or what I did that worked, but after lots of cranking (with the electric starter) and sputtering, it did actually start and stay running. Thank you for all the advice!

My guess would be that since you could smell fuel that it was flooded, if you smell fuel again and it won't start switch the choke off #3 position hold the trigger in the wide open position then try to start.:thumbsup: