1950 M hot box

Bob S. · Sep 14, 2010

Howdy,
I parked my M over a year ago when I had heart surgery. Got some stumps to pull out from recent storm damage. The M is parked in tight in a storage building I rent space in. I figured I'd better see if it will start before trying to get things moved out of the way. It won't start, I need some expert advice (educated guess). I had a charger on it for 5 hrs today, spins over good, won't fire. It has some junk in the sediment bowl, gas flowed into bowl when valve opened. The issue I'm worried about is the switch box/ammeter gauge is so hot I can't touch it. It was hot before I tried cranking the tractor over, no wires are hot or smoking except the ground cable. Sorry about the long post, but I thought I'd give as much info as I could. I can barely squeeze in to work on it and it has a loader, so I have to work on it where it is.
Thanks
Bob S.

old · Sep 14, 2010

Pull the ignition side wire off the coil and hot wire it. If it fires up that way then get it out in the open that way so you can in turn work it over. Sounds like you might have a problem with either a mouse eating up the wires and that in turn has caused a short or you have a problem with the charging system and something is shorted there. Either way a hot wire takes that all out of the picture so you can get it out and be able to work on it better

Bob S. · Sep 14, 2010

Howdy,
I forgot to mention that it has a 12V conversion, will hot wiring it burn up the points?
Thanks
Bob S.

sflem849 · Sep 14, 2010

(quoted from post at 17:45:08 09/14/10) Howdy,
I forgot to mention that it has a 12V conversion, will hot wiring it burn up the points?
Thanks
Bob S.

I believe he is trying to override the ign switch and about 10 feet of wires by using that method. That will not wreck your points.

old · Sep 14, 2010

Well yes no and maybe. If you have a 12 volt coil that does not need a resister then no it will not burn the point. If you have a 6 volt coil with a resister in line yes if you run it a long time it will burn the points out faster but for what you need to do you should be more then ok. I do the hot wire thing all the time when working on tractors we get in just to get them up and running

Janicholson · Sep 14, 2010

I must add to Olds post that it is important to stop the heat from burning things up, or starting a fire. Remove the small wire from the starter switch that goes to the electrical box before hot wiring it. This will allow it to be moved for fixing. Jim

Bob S. · Sep 14, 2010

Howdy,
It has a resistor, do I still hot wire to the coil, or to the resistor block. Also what is the off position of the lite switch?, none of my lights have ever worked and I think someone may have messed with the switch.
Thanks again.
Bob S.

old · Sep 14, 2010

You could in fact hot wire it by going to the ignition side of that resister that way you keep it in line and can run it a long time that way. As for that switch I can not tell you which way is on or off

old · Sep 14, 2010

Jim that is why I told him to take the wire loose at the coil so it could not back feed the system and cause problems

Ron in Nebr · Sep 15, 2010

Just an additional thought here for what it's worth....

If you've had a charger on the battery and believe there is a direct short to ground somewhere in the system, if you need to unhook the battery, take your battery cables loose where they bolt to ground, not at the battery....if there IS a direct short someplace, taking a cable clamp off the battery will likely cause a pretty good spark, and if the battery has just been on a charger, that's a good recipe for a battery explosion. Better safe than sorry.

gene bender · Sep 15, 2010

Are you sure you had the polarity hooked up correct when you put the charger on.

Janicholson · Sep 15, 2010

Very true, but the supply lead to the amp meter could be shorted to ground. Removing the ignition switch wire would not eliminat that risk. Just making sure. Jim

Al L. in Wisc. · Sep 15, 2010

Bob S. hope your heart surgery went well and glad you started! Ron had an excellent point; something I had never given thought to. Maybe not as easy as disconnecting from the battery, but something I'll try to remember. Unless someone has tampered w/the light switch, the far left - counterclockwise - position should be 'off'. I have had problems w/points sticking/corroded after tractor(s) sit a long time. A little piece of fine sandpaper or emery cloth swiped across them a few time and then something like a matchbook cover once across them will remove any leftover residue from same. Thanks goes to an older tractor mechanic for that tip. Got mine started that way. Yes, check for rodent and birds nests as others have posted close to disastrous situations from same. This year I have also discovered the mess that dauber wasps can create. Nearly plugged my 460U air intake and the muffler on the string trimmer causing that two-cycle to smoke like the dickens and eventually not to run at all. Good luck w/your project.

mkirsch · Sep 15, 2010

You really should open the box and see what's going on in there. Undo the two screws and take the cover off.

I would bet that something has built a nest inside the box through the giant gaping hole in the bottom, causing the short circuit which is making the box get hot and keeping the tractor from starting.

A simple clean-out of the box with compressed air may be all that is necessary.

Bob S. · Sep 15, 2010

Howdy,
I may not get to it today, but thanks for all the tips. I will let you know if/when I get it going and what I find.
Thanks
Bob S.

1950 M hot box

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