Homelite UT 10544 problems

I have a Homelite UT 10544 14 inch that will not start. It has compression 130 psi on 4 pulls, throttle wide open. It has good spark, jumped a 1.8 inch gap on my spark
tester, but for $4 I just replaced the plug. When I hold the plug to the engine, it has spark The primer bulb is working and I am getting gas to carb, the spark plug gets
wet. It will not even fire on starting fluid or dripping gas in the carb. Any ideas what to check next. I just picked it up at an online auction. looks almost new but
according to the SN it was made in 2010. I thought it would be small enough and handy to have on the tractor when bush hogging.

First check the exhaust/muffler/spark arrester. If plugged up they do not even fire. Jim

I don't know if it is a possibility on your homelite but I had a Briggs that sheared the flywheel key one time. It was sparking but not at the right time.

Could be flooding. Check the metering diaphragm, the one covering the needle valve. The diaphragm will get hard over time, it should be very soft and pliable. If it tries to pop once on the first try, then wets the plug, starts spitting fuel out the exhaust, it's flooding.

And it could be the flywheel key sheared. The magnet should be just slightly past the coil lamination when the piston is almost to the top.

janicholson looks like you nailed it, I took off the muffler/ spark arrestor and it will fire and try to run... Is there any way to clean the out, it seems to be full of oil, very heavy. looks like new ones are $70.00 or more on the net.

Lay the screen on a nonburnable surface and burn the deposits off with a propane torch.

Make sure the flywheel didn't partially strip it's key to the crankshaft. An aluminum key generally used in those types of engines can warp & throw things out of time & really be frustrating to find. (Don't ask how I know this!)

I had this same problem this summer and found that the flywheel key was sheared and when I replaced it and tightened flywheel nut with a wrench it would shear immediately. The answer is to use a impact wrench and make sure it is super tight.
Good luck. Al71

If the muffler is clogged, the oil ratio is probably too rich, or the quality of oil is low, don't use marine/outboard oil either. Muffler clogging is really a thing of the past, back when oil quality was low and they used rich oil ratio's to compensate low quality of oil. With modern, higher quality oils and a mix ratio of 50:1, it seems almost impossible this would happen. Fuel left in the saw will evaporate, leaving the oil behind, same thing can happen in a fuel can too. This will make the oil ratio too rich along with gas going stale.

Cleanings options:
Take muffler off, use a torch to cook the carbon/oil to ash, or throw in a fire.
Soak in a strong solvent or carb cleaner, use pics or small screwdriver to scrape gunk out.
Then use compressed air and a blow gun for final cleaning.

This might help in starting. Prime bulb 5-7 times, pull choke lever out (don't touch throttle lever) try to start it (1-3 pulls or, 5 pulls max if real cold). If it sounds like it tried to start, stop pulling, and push the choke lever back in (don't touch throttle), now pull to start. Let engine run at fast idle for 20-30secs, hit throttle to return to idle. My homelite saws always need the choke lever pulled out and pushed back in unless the engine is hot and recently shut off.

Thanks for all the replies.
I boiled the muffler in a dawn solution in a crock pot that use to boil carbs before I rebuild them. did not seem to help. I dried it in the oven (wife was gone) and I am able to blow thru it, I no longer think that is the problem.
I mixed up a batch of fresh fuel with new gas and with 50:1 2 cycle oil, and used the starting procedure that 4play recommended. no help. I had drained the tank and used some of my existing 50;1 mix that I use in my weed eater and chain saw prior to the new batch
I never could get the choke to stay open by itself and was using my foot to give it some throttle. That probably caused some of my flooding issues. While I had the carb off I could see that the wiring to the on/off switch was interfering with the linkage and I rerouted the wires. The choke works fine now.
I took the carb off and checked the diaphragms. They both seemed soft and pliable.
I think tomorrow or Monday I will check the key on the crank,
Thanks for all the helpful suggestions I will let you know what happens.