Farmall won't start #2

My Farmall has been sitting for about one year now and it will not start. It will crank and crank and crank, so the battery and starter are fine, but it will not give one fire. Where to start?

I am not a savy mechanic type, know some basics, but willing to learn. Of course I am thinking fuel and spark.

What would be a priority of trouble shooting?

I am thinking fuel to start. There was little fuel in the tank when I attempted to start it up and I did add two gallons of new gas. If people think I should start here what should I look for, fowled fuel filters, gummed carborator, ?????

After cranking, pull a plug and see if it is "wet". Let us know this. When you have that plug out, put it back in the plug wire, clamp it to the frame rail, crank the engine and see if you have spark there. Let us know the results of these two tests.

Gordo

Most likely you just need to clean up the ignition points. they have probably become corroded, or maybe just dirty. Just drag a clean piece of paper between the contacts (a dollar bill works good) Do this several times, until the paper stays clean.

Ok, Excellent.

Help me learn here. I assume if the plug is wet it means my fuel lines are clean and fuel is moving but not igniting. Correct?

Your second test is to see if I have an electrical problem. Correct?

I am sorry to say that I will not be able to get back to anyone on the results of the test for a while. I live in one place the tractor in another. When we are both in the smae place I will be better able to test and converse on the issue (The tractor does live with a computer so I will be able to converse with you helpful people more easily at that time).

I did want to get my plan of attack moving now so that in a week or so I can hit the ground running on this issue. Thanks again.

Another good and simple suggestion, thanks.

What you posted reminds me of a friend that came over to get me to help get his 450 running. He said it would turn over but not start. I knew had let it sit for months. I told him to clean the points with a piece of card board like what the points come in and or emery cloth. He did so and had it up and running. It was to bad I could not go help him but I had company at the time, lost a case of beer because of the company LOL, ya he always buys me a case of beer for my help
Hobby farm

Drain the fuel and put in new fuel. Make sure your sediment bowl, tank and fuel lines are clean. I'm guessing you might have a dirty/gummed carburetor or a stuck needle/seat or float. If it has a good blue spark to the plugs, it is probably a carb problem. Since it has sat for a year, it would be a good idea to take off the carb, clean it with carb cleaner and compressed air, and put in a new rebuild kit (YT sells new kits). If you do not have spark to the plugs, take apart your magneto or distributor (which ever you have) and check the points, clean any junk off the points, they MUST be very clean. Also make sure that the points gap is set correctly. If you still don't get a spark, but a ignition tune up kit that has new points, condenser, and rotor. If it still does not have spark with these parts put in, the coil may be bad or if you have a magneto, the magnets may need to be re-charged. Make sure that your spark plugs and wires are in good condition too.

Good luck!

Andy.

I would start by looking to see if you have spark or not. If it has only sat for a year, I wouldn't think it would be your carb. I have an f-12 that sits all winter and fires off in the spring and haven't cleaned the carb in many years, runs like a champ. anyway pull a plug and see if you have a nice spark, if you do, then I would check to see if you are getting fuel to the carb.

Yes and Yes. If you have fuel, compression , and spark, you should get some kind of firing.

GW

Start with the basics. The engine needs compression, fuel and spark in the right sequence to run.

If we assume that nothing has been changed since the last time it was run, its probably safe to assume the sequence is still correct. You can do a quick check for compression by removing the spark plugs, putting your thumb over each hole in turn, and cranking the engine. You'll feel a burst of pressure as each cylinder comes up on the compression stroke. No compression on one or more cylinders is probably stuck valves and will require removal of the valve cover.

Check for spark. Pull one of the spark plugs, leave the wire connected to it. Hold the body of the plug against the engine (not with your hands or you'll likely get zapped), crank the engine, and see if there's a spark. Should have a nice hot blue spark. If you get a weak, yellow spark, replace the points and condenser before going any further. Actually, it's not a bad idea to put in new points, condenser, rotor, and cap anyway.

No spark, remove the center lead from the distributor and hold the free end 1/8" or so from the engine block. Spark here but not at the plug indicates a bad rotor, cap or plug wire.

Still no spark, clean the points (don't use sandpaper, it'll leave grit embedded in the contacts and burn the points in short order). A nail file will work if you can't find anything else.

Still no spark, you'll need a meter or test light. With the ignition switch on, there should be voltage at the (-) terminal on the ignition coil and the engine block. If not, check the ignition switch & wiring. Assuming there's power at the (-) terminal, check for voltage at the (+) terminal. With the points open, there should be voltage between the (+) terminal and the engine block, and with the points closed, there should be none. If you crank the engine, you should see the voltage between the (+) terminal and the engine block pulse as the points open & close.

Voltage at (-) and none at (+) equals an open ignition coil or shorted wire to points.

Steady voltage at (+) with the engine cranking equals broken wire to points or dirty points.

If everything else seems OK and you still don't have spark, replace the condenser.

The (+) and (-) above assume the tractor is still positive ground. If its been converted to negative ground, reverse the (+) and (-) test points above. If it has a magneto instead of a distributor, things get a little more complicated.

Assuming you have spark, now look at fuel. First, make sure the fuel shutoff valve underneath the tank is open (you wouldn't be the first person to try to start a tractor with the fuel turned off). Second, open the drain valve on the bottom of the carburetor. You should have a steady stream of gas running out. If not, either the fuel line or the float valve in the carburetor is clogged.

Assuming you have gas at the carburetor, close the choke and crank a little bit. You should be able to smell gas coming out the exhaust if the engine doesn't fire, and the plugs should be wet with gas.

If you don't have gas getting to the cylinders, either the carburetor is sufficiently clogged that it'll need to be overhauled, or there's no vacuum in the intake.

Remove the air cleaner connection to the carburetor, put your hand over the carburetor intake, and crank for a couple strokes. There should be a strong vacuum at the carburetor. If not, you probably have a bad manifold leak. Stuck valves could also cause low vacuum.

If you have spark, gas to the carburetor, and vacuum at the carburetor intake, but still no start, you probably need the carburetor overhauled. They're pretty simple, but if you haven't done one before I'd recommend not taking it apart without a good set of instructions and a rebuild kit.

There are a number of other reasons for a no-start condition, but this should at least allow you to make sure the basics are in place.

Good luck,

Keith

I'm betting my money on a gummed up carburetor. After setting a year, it has dried out and clogged the jets. Been there, seen it, done it. Take it apart, clean it out, run a tiny wire through the jets to clean them. If you want to verify its the carburetor, shoot a bit of starter fluid into it while cranking. If it fires any at all, everything else is OK.