starting and staying trouble

Hi all 49 H. she starts up 1st time easy although I sometimes have to mess with the starter button. runs for about 30 seconds then stalls. she"ll start up again 1 or 2 more times then gets hard to crank and sometimes doesn;t do anything. last check the battery was great, and it is about 1 year old and has been checked twice at a battery shop. i checked the gap on the point and it seems good, but I couldn;t tell the spark color from up high - need help with that. so should I get the switch and electrical cable kit, rebuild the carb? I have been told so many things = my head is spinning and I need this old girl to work!

That's what those Hs do; every darned one.

Kind of a trick to "feather" that choke just enough to keep 'em runnin' until they warm a bit.

Allan

Sure has indications of a fuel flow problem. Ice?? I would remove the fuel line where it goes into the carb and see if you have good fuel flow. If you have good fuel flow to the carb there could be something going on in the carb, ice, float level?? If fuel flow is not good work your way back to the tank and find the block. Only ignition thing I can think of is condenser. Sometimes they will cause a problem like that. As far as the hard starting goes, are your battery cables big enough? If they are heating up during cranking they are not big enough.

Allan hit the nail on the head. There's nothing wrong with your tractor.

You need to learn how to use the choke to keep it running until the engine warms up.

When it starts to die, pull the choke lever quickly, then push it back ahead. It only takes a blip at a time, but it might take several blips before the engine stabilizes and runs smoothly.

Every tractor is a little different, but they all need some choke when it's cold.

If the tractor starts right up, there is NOTHING wrong with your ignition. Leave it alone. You'll create more problems than you'll fix.

Try the choke idea before you do anything else.

Sounds like you have a fuel issue. Take the fuel line loose at the carburator and see if you have fuel flow there. If that is ok, then take the drain plug out of the carb and see if you have fuel flow there. If you don't get any flow out of the carb drain, or it drains a small amount and then stops, then the carb needs cleaning and/or rebuilding. Could be dirt, or it could be a sticking float valve.

Yup, listen to the guys that know. It ain't your wife's car. Old tractors do not have automatic chokes and electronic fuel injection. Only "Manual Override"

(quoted from post at 06:22:41 02/02/11) Allan hit the nail on the head. There's nothing wrong with your tractor.

You need to learn how to use the choke to keep it running until the engine warms up.

When it starts to die, pull the choke lever quickly, then push it back ahead. It only takes a blip at a time, but it might take several blips before the engine stabilizes and runs smoothly.

Every tractor is a little different, but they all need some choke when it's cold.

If the tractor starts right up, there is NOTHING wrong with your ignition. Leave it alone. You'll create more problems than you'll fix.

Try the choke idea before you do anything else.

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Yep!! You guys just hit the nail right on the head.

One thing I forgot to mention is, DON'T PANIC when you're working the choke handle.

Pull it smoothly but quickly. The whole "blip" operation should take you about two seconds. Count "one thousand one" as you pull, and "one thousand two" as you push it back in.

well I have tried everything with the choke, and no go. like I said after the third try I can"t get it to crank. I"ll try the choke again, and check the fuel line like you guys said. no one thinks it is worth to change the starter switch and stuff - see link for the kit http://external_link/products/?view=product&product_id=24913 what do you exp folks think?

I have found the sweet spot on my SH and can put the choke there to start and keep running till warmed up. Took awhile to find figure it out. Till you get the "feel" for that, you've gotten great advice as far as feathering the choke.
My SC typically doesn't need to be choked. My C has to be choked till I think I'll flood it. My 300 needs to be started with the choke on then you better get off it quick or it floods. As you can see my Farmalls all have their own personalities.

My SC typically doesn't need to be choked. My C has to be choked till I think I'll flood it. My 300 needs to be started with the choke on then you better get off it quick or it floods. As you can see my Farmalls all have their own personalities.

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Same here, mine are all different. My C is the same as yours, you have to choke it and spin it over for about 30 seconds and it will fire up. My Super C will usually fire up with little to no choke. My M will fire up with no choke, but you usually have to yank it out for a split second right after it fires, then it's good.

There could be two problems. One might be the starter. Starters with worn bushings can drag internally and cause slow cranking and early battery drain to the point that the tractor will not turn over. (which means that there is no rrrruuurruuurrruuuu at all). if this is the case, have the starter motor load tested and taken apart to see if there is armature drag.
The second issue is fuel flow to the carb as noted below. if the carb has a chance to fill up slowly through plugged up lines, it will run for a minute, then stop. Starting it then would just be in fits and a few puffs. (no matter what is done with the choke.)
Plugged fuel lines My bet. There is a screen in the inlet to the carb where the fuel line fittings are attached. There is a screen and sediment bowl under the tank, and the hole going into the tank can be blocked.
Best of luck, Jim

You may need the cables or the push button starter switch. Or your battery may be getting weak. It's really hard to diagnose by long distance. Generally if it cranks right along a little bit then slows down I suspect the battery. If it's bad connections it will generally refuse to crank from the start.

i just went out there and tried to start it, all i got was a few bare attempts to crank, a puff of light smoke and that was it. I tested the battery 7.83, tested all the electrical i know how, at the magneto it measures 6.8 a full 1 degree under. how do i test the starter? 1 more thing - maybe u can help with, on the carb, at the very bottom, below the choke lever and above the main fuel needle I have fuel dripping (whenever I have the valve open on the fuel bowl to run the tractor) there is a small screw stuck up in there loosely, but not what belongs there. someone told me his has a brass thumb screw - the pics in the servicmens manual says nothing either. any ideas?

(quoted from post at 11:20:27 02/03/11) i just went out there and tried to start it, all i got was a few bare attempts to crank, a puff of light smoke and that was it. I tested the battery 7.83, tested all the electrical i know how, at the magneto it measures 6.8 a full 1 degree under. how do i test the starter? 1 more thing - maybe u can help with, on the carb, at the very bottom, below the choke lever and above the main fuel needle I have fuel dripping (whenever I have the valve open on the fuel bowl to run the tractor) there is a small screw stuck up in there loosely, but not what belongs there. someone told me his has a brass thumb screw - the pics in the servicmens manual says nothing either. any ideas?

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6.8 volts at the magneto?? A magneto does not require battery voltage. A magneto makes its' own electricity, and connecting a magneto to battery voltage is a guaranteed way to permanently cook the magneto coil. It sounds as though you are somewhat inexperienced in things mechanical, so you may want to enlist the help of someone local who is experienced. He can either get the tractor running for you, or show you a few tricks or maybe what you are over looking.

Have you tried starting the tractor with hand crank??

what I meant by voltage is that when I put the tester there, that is what it measures - i havent connected anything that wasnt connected when I got it two years ago. I tested the current levels to see if I could find anything out but got no where. currently it wont crank at all - while yesterday I got it to crank two times. I am baffled, and as far as people to work on tractors, unless you can tow it somewhere - you get robbed around here. I had someone do some work for me, quoted me one price for about 3-4 hours work, got it done in and hour and a half and doubled the price.

If you found voltage at the magneto (and your sure it is a magneto) and the tractor is not running, there is a problem. Disconnect the wire going to the side of the ""magneto""
there should only be a grounding to stop wire connected to that terminal. Any voltage there is bad news. Look at magnetos on Google to see what they look like, compared to point and coil based Distributor systems (which should have voltage to them from the ignition switch. If your battery is good, your starter is not. Jim

thanks, I will take a pic of what I am talking about and post it, and confirm with my manual I am calling an apple an apple ,and see from there. thanks for your help.

It may be that someone made a battery ign by using the points in the old mag and an external coil.

Thinking on this issue a little.
Battery voltage with a 6 volt battery is about 6.3 to 6.4 volts fully charged. If the tractor is not running the battery voltage (if 6 volt) should be at that voltage no higher.
If your battery is actually a 12 volt battery, or an 8 volt battery, the voltage could be that high (reported below in the earlier response to me)
count the cell caps on the battery, If there are 3 cells, it is a six volt. If four it is an 8 volt, if 6 it is a 12 volt. (about 2.1 or a little more per cell) charging an 8 or 12 volt battery with a 6 volt charger, even for a long time will not put a usable charge in it. (an 8 volt might get to 60 to 70%charge if the charger was a large floor model on high charge rate.)
If it is a 12 volt battery, it will start the tractor if charged at 12 volts. (with a mag (if so equipped, there is no need to worry about switching things around, 12 volts is fine and dandy) A 6 volt starter will make it start OK on 12 volts.
If it is 12 volt, and the charging system is 12v and operational all is well, just charge it up. negative to negative and positive to positive. connect the last battery charger connection to the chassis on a shiny bolt. again observe the battery connection (one is grounded, the other is going to the starter switch) be sure to hook the same polarity found on the battery ground to the proper color charging lead. (red positive, black negative. Jim