26CC HOMELITE MIGHTY LITE LAWN TRIMMER PROBLEMS

Had same problem with my reconditioned unit. After a few hours engine would run only with 1/2 choke and full throttle. Like most 2 cycle engines, the unit was starving for gas.

Solution: Adjust both carburetor screws. These screws are located directly below the idle adjustment screw. There are 2 of them side-by-side and they are approx. 3/16 diameter with an oval shaped cast metal raised restricter. Simply remove the plastic round air filter by removing the small nut. Then, using a Dremel tool while wearing safety glasses, cut a slot in the face of each screw. Cutting through the raised cast metal surrounding the screws will not damage the unit. Then using a small flat blade screwdriver, screw each screw clockwise till it stops then back-out each screw 2 turns. Factory setting is 1 - 1/2 turn each. However, the unit over time runs too lean with the factory setting.

Then start unit, let warm up with 1/2 choke, then turn to run position and make any final adjustments.

Making this adjustment, I am once agin able to trim my yard in the idle position. Runs Great !!!! Hope this helps.

You will probably find that the carburetor on this unit has a "pac man" bit specific to homelite. I have a 2007 model and found the carburetor to be out of adjustment out of the box. Unfortunately, the EPA passed a stupid law that forces the manufacturer to make the carb tamperproof "read un-adjustable by the user" by making the manufacturer use a tamper proof screw unique to homelite. Apparently this stops Americans from killing thousands of whales by adjusting their own carburetors. You have to spend $20 on a "pac man" tool on ebay to adjust it, or take it to a service center and pay for the simple service. You might be able to sneak small needle nose pliers into the fitting to do it, but you will probably scratch up your tool. This is just one of the latest farces of the EPA, who seems to specialize in creating consumer inconveniencing, American commerce damaging (in the national scope due to unnecessary costs), and simply frivolous laws to perpetuate their own bureaucracy. –Alex Fink

I had the same problem, hard starting, bogging down and dying, etc. Disassembled the carburetor and cleaned it, as well as the fuel lines and screen in the fuel tank. Nothing helped.
Then, similar to mikehandyman solution #2 above, I cut a slot through those two non-screwheaded screws with a blade from a hacksaw, including cutting through the raised cast metal oval surrounding them. Then used a flat screwdriver to turn them in all the way, then back out two (2) full turns. Runs perfectly now!
Wear leather gloves and eye protection if you try it. It's not that difficult, just takes a few minutes.

Yep, DDMiller 229 nailed it for me. Same problem. Not being equipped with a dremmel or such a tool I found that I had to diamantle the area a little bit to get access to the screws in a manner that I could get a hacksaw in, but whan I slapped it all back together after the two turns backward, the thing roared back into life. It's better than it's ever been. It's just so inane of the manufacturer to put these screws in that can only be adjusted with a special tool only available to the specialists. Bunch of creeps. Anyway, my message to others is to follow DDMiller's advice and don't bother messing with the carburettor. If this doesn't fix your problem then maybe you can start troubleshooting elsewhere, but this was the fix for me. Thanks DDmiller. Cheers!

I was about to throw this trimmer away after starting my second season struggling once again with this thing. Slotting the carburator screws and adjusting them was the answer for me also! Works fine now. The internet is a wonderful thing.

Had the same problem right out of the box. Bought it last fall and it would bog down as soon as you hit the gas. Never got around to returning or fixing it until I needed it this spring. The solution is as stated above. Put slots in the jetting screws, turn in all the way and back out 2 turns.
THANKS for your help.

Check your fuel mixture, if it is to rich(to much oil mixed in with the gas) it will cause it to bog out. Remove two cycle gas from gas tank and be sure to pump the primer to get excess out. Remix fuel(try 40:1, it's leaner and should solve the problem. If that does not solve it, try checking the muffler, sometimes they have screens on them that can get clogged. Also running the weed eater with to rich of fuel can cause the muffler to be clogged. Always check the spark plug and clean it. If none of these solutions fix the problem, then the carburetor needs cleaning.

Had the same problem with my trimmer as soon as I took it out of the box. Tried slotting the screws and reset the fuel mixture, BINGO runs like a top. Thanks for the tip!!!

I have a Homelite 26vt Mighty Lite as well, and I was experiencing a similar problem. The trimmer would no longer rev as high as it used to, and it seemed to smoke more than before. I thought maybe I'd premixed too much oil, or the air filter was clogged, but when I took off the choke dial the air "filter" (really just a wire screen) was perfectly clean. Thankfully the wimpy filter allowed me to see the throttle plate fairly clearly, and I noticed that it would barely move when I gave it full throttle. When I pulled the trigger, it would use up about 3/4 of its range of motion just pulling slack out of the throttle cable, and then would only rotate the throttle for the last 1/4 of the way. I took apart the black plastic housing that contains the trigger mechanism and found that the end of the cable jacket was supposed to be held in place by being smashed between the two housing halves, but the plastic had developed enough flex that it had lost its grip on the jacket and was allowing it to move. It seems like a poor design, and possibly a common point of failure. If this is your problem, you should be able to test it by squeezing the trigger all the way (with your trimmer running), then pulling on the bare metal part of the throttle cable to see if you can rev it higher. I put the end of the cable jacket back where it should be and spread some hot glue around the place where it enters the trigger housing, but there's probably a better way to keep it in place. Hopefully there's nothing actually wrong with your engine... good luck!

Here's to DDMiller 229!

I used my Dremel to cut grooves in the two screws, no problema. Now works like a champ, after a lot of previous non-use, blood sweat and tears. Makes you hate govt bureacracy for sure. Also homelite and the chinamen who work for homelite and missed the proper setup.

Many thanks to DDMiller and Fix Ya. I'll bookmark this site!!

Rick McQuiston, Santa Rosa Beach, FL.

All posters are correct about cutting your own slots. i have 2 homelite models (weedeater/blower) with same engine, i bought at pawn store for 35/ea. they look brand new but run like ****. called my local dealer and asked him for the special tool because i didnt want to hack saw like others (but can do it) becasue didnt want to waste my time. he wouldnt sell the special tool to me! loser! i would have given him $10 if he asked! so i did like other member ans disassembled down to the balck plastic air cover...this allows the carb to come away from engine so it can be moved around a bit for hacksawing angles. it is STILL attached to motor via gas lines. cover all engine/carb ports with cloths, then hack saw completely across the aluminum bridge on the carb, that is ABOVE the mixture screws. saw all the way thru this bridge, and then the screwws themselves. check cut in the screws, you dont need too much. stop when done. reassemble. screw both down then back out 2 turns as mentioned. engine starts no problem. now, adjust each (low and high speeds) run it full. wait till it's hot. adjust it to LEAN side of rich. now adjust idle. adjust idle to RICH side of lean. this gives you good idle and full speeds, but also goo MIDRANGE runup. good luck.

Whatistheredandwhiteplasticnobsoncarb.

Im so happy! i used the advice on this page and my mightylite 26vt is running. i still have to do some adjustments, but now i can. i also used an hacksaw to cut slots in the adjustment screws. my initial thought was that i didnt want to cut the oval casing around the screws. then i thought, it doesnt run anyway, whats the worst that can happen. i used needle nosed plyers to back the screws out of the casing, but that took too much time and patience. plus it is not precise enough to properly adjust them. then the metal in the screws was too hard to get the saw set. so i screwed them back in and used a hacksaw to cut slots in them. the casing helps get the blade set. i screwed both screws all the way in then backed them both out a little over 1 and 1/2 turns. i cranked it on the first pull and ran great. thanks to everyone who contributed.

Thank goodness for this website and others like it that save homeowners time and money. I slotted the jet screws on my homelite 26cc, adjusted as recommended above, and resurrected this less than two year old unit. If this didn't work I was going to put in the trash tonight and go buy a battery unit. For those that are not aware, the carb and any tuneup adjustments are NOT covered under Homelite's warranty. IMHO, the warranty is useless, as this is the heart of the machine, and is what causes most problems.

Thanks, again, for your willingness to help out those of us who get frustrated when this stuff stops working.

Joe in Ohio

Have a 31cc craftsman grass trimmer with 2 lines coming from the gas tank.One goes to a primer bulb then to the carb and the other has a screw in it and does nothing. Does anyone know why its there.

Looks like a dirty carbureter. Get the carb. cleaned out or do it yourself. It should be fine.

Same symptoms with my 25cc Homelite HLT25CSS Trimmer. Drove the 'pacman" screw out with a tiny drift and hammer, slotted head by holding screw in a pair of pliers and using a mini hacksaw. Screwed back in and backed out 2 turns, same problem.
Added 1/2 tank of 50:1 premix (rather than the recommended 25:1) and removed the idle screw again and blew carb cleaner into the orifice, also opened the throttle with the air cleaner removed and blew carb cleaner into the carb opening, opened throttle several times and hear a hissing noise from the carb? (Engine was cold at the time), adjusted idle set screw to 1& 1/2 turns from fully closed. The result of these many changes is that the trimmer is running like new, at 1& 1/2 turns out from closed on the idle screw. Either gummed up main jet or too rich premix is my suspicion, but with the several changes made at the same time, I canno be positive. I also put some "Mechanic in a Bottle" in the gas tank last time I used it, but didn't seem to make any difference.

All this advice is great, but, i dont even know how to get to the carb, can somebody describe it for me, please, should i strip the whole plastic housing from it? thnx for any help.