Pull chord spool is slipping past metal fitting so it won't start. It clicks past the metal.

There is a coil spring that pulls the cord back in. It may be broken or it may have slipped out of the retaining slot.
These are fairly straightforward to dismantle without danger of hurting yourself. Remove the starter assembly from the trimmer. If you look at the underside at the centre of the spool and there is a screw visible, that's where you will take it apart.
CAUTION!! If you decide to take it apart the spring will have a mind of its own and you will need to be patient to re-assemble it if you find and fix the problem.

Get inside the pull housing. Check for lose or broken parts.

Common problem with dewalt due to vinyl orings. Simple tests to determine if trigger valve may work before re-installing. With trigger valve in hand, depress the trigger pin and hold. The bottom of the inner spool is visable in the opposite side from trigger pin and should move inward slightly with little effort when you push it (spool should have almost no movement inward before making contact with body of valve ). If the spool moves inward 1/16 to 1/8 inch, most likely the oring is too worn and not making contact with body of valve (when under pressure, this spool is held against body of valve (closed), and will open when pin is depressed (firing pin pushes on the spring and spring pushes open the valve) ). Next take valve apart and pull out the spool (spool should be difficult to remove from lower body of valve). With spool in hand push upper part of spool into the cap, should fit snuggly. trigger pin has two orings. The upper oring should fit snuggly into cap and lower oring snuggly into spool. The two orings on the pin are made of vinyl and fail. Notice that the spool has a small hole at the bottom. If the pin oring s bad air will leak past pin. Replace with 2mmx1.5mm black oring. After replacing the two pin orings, make sure the pin fits snuggle in the cap and spool, if not , replace the whold valve. The spring is usually good, but if rusty, replace the whole valve unless you happen to have the exact spring in good condition. The two outer orings on the body of the valve do not have to be replaced unless cut. Good luck

It's a tight fit to start with, and it's nothing unusual about that if you don't take them apart regularly.

One way to loosen them is to tap the tube that goes in and near the union, with something that won't damage the metal.
Just keep turning the tubes and tapping.
They won''t come apart immediately, but with a little patience they will come apart.

Likely you'll see some rust inside as well.

Just went through this pain today. Here's how I did it. Use allen wrench with T handle to remove the shroud over the carb controls and plug. Then remove about 10 screws and split the case. Use tool that comes with the unit to remove the nut holding the impeller. Behind the impeller, use torx head to get the other bolts to remove the motor. There are two other screws on the other side that hold the motor on. Drop the motor from the case carefully. It is still attached by wires to the throttle and kill switch. Note how the throttle linkage is connected because it will come apart for sure. On the one side of the housing you are looking at the plastic cord spool with the spring unit behind it. My chord simply pulled out of the spool. It was held on with a 10mm nut and start washer (not a good design). If the chord broke, remove the remnant from the take up spool. To rewind the new chord or replace the one that pulled free, you need to wind the spring to put tension on it. Make sure the take up spool engages with the spring tang otherwise it will turn free and not tense the sprint. Once engaged with the tang, the spool should set to the bottom to be level with the metal chord guide. Turn the spool clockwise 3-4 turns until you feel it tighten. With a 2nd pair of hands, hold the tension on the spool and tread in your chord. Route the chord through the take up reel into the hole on the side. Loosen the 10mm nut with the star washer and route the end of the chord through it. Tie a simple knot in the end to prevent it from pulling through. Tighten the 10mm nut which clamps on the chord. Now, slowly, let the spring tension take up the loose chord until fully retracted. Make sure the metal chord guide fits in the slot to channel the chord properly into the take up reel. Hold the spool down and give the chord a gentle test or two. The chord should retract easily and fully. Simple as pie!!! Reverse the disassembly and you are back in business.

Can you rotate the engine crankshaft from the drive end? If ok, then remove the starter assembly from the engine and try to pull the cord. If locked, look for mis-wound cord on the spool and try to turn the spool somewhat. Any binding should be quite obvious. Hope this helps!

Remove the starter assembly from the engine and pull the cord out--it should have spring resistance to pulling. If nothing, the rewind spring may be broken, or it may have pulled loose from one of the attachment points. Remove the cord from the pull handle and unwind it from the spool if it isn't already pulled out. Remove the spool from the frame to expose the spring--check the ends for breakage and the attachment points for damage (one will be on the under side of the spool). Repair or replace any damaged components and assemble the spring into the attachments. Wind the spool/spring about 2-turns CW, then wedge it to prevent unwinding. Fit the cord back into the spool and wind it CW until the cord has about 8" or so to feed out through the cord port. Fit the cord end back into the handle, tie an overhand knot, and push the knot into the handle bore. Remove the spool wedge and try pulling the cord several times to make sure it goes out and back smoothly. Return the starter to the engine and attempt starting. Hope this helps!

sounds like the spring is broken itself.there should be a hook at one end and a loop at the other end.the hook usualy breaks off but the spring looks good.replace the spring with part number..4140 190 0600 ....that is the stihl part number.let me know if this helped you...if not give me a quick mail and i'll try to help some more......

Just went through this pain today. Here's how I did it. Use allen wrench with T handle to remove the shroud over the carb controls and plug. Then remove about 10 screws and split the case. Use tool that comes with the unit to remove the nut holding the impeller. Behind the impeller, use torx head to get the other bolts to remove the motor. There are two other screws on the other side that hold the motor on. Drop the motor from the case carefully. It is still attached by wires to the throttle and kill switch. Note how the throttle linkage is connected because it will come apart for sure. On the one side of the housing you are looking at the plastic cord spool with the spring unit behind it. My chord simply pulled out of the spool. It was held on with a 10mm nut and start washer (not a good design). If the chord broke, remove the remnant from the take up spool. To rewind the new chord or replace the one that pulled free, you need to wind the spring to put tension on it. Make sure the take up spool engages with the spring tang otherwise it will turn free and not tense the sprint. Once engaged with the tang, the spool should set to the bottom to be level with the metal chord guide. Turn the spool clockwise 3-4 turns until you feel it tighten. With a 2nd pair of hands, hold the tension on the spool and tread in your chord. Route the chord through the take up reel into the hole on the side. Loosen the 10mm nut with the star washer and route the end of the chord through it. Tie a simple knot in the end to prevent it from pulling through. Tighten the 10mm nut which clamps on the chord. Now, slowly, let the spring tension take up the loose chord until fully retracted. Make sure the metal chord guide fits in the slot to channel the chord properly into the take up reel. Hold the spool down and give the chord a gentle test or two. The chord should retract easily and fully. Simple as pie!!! Reverse the disassembly and you are back in business.

I am having the same problem. I took it apart and the plastic cap piece for the pull string spool has a crack. This is the plastic piece that turns the engine when pulling. Because of the crack, the absorption spring under the cap slips out of its hole in the cap. This causes the pull string spool to jam after a strong pull that causes the crack to open up. Now I need to find a replacement part. Any ideas?