47 8n

My 47 8n has quit starting. Have cleaned carburator and have plenty of gas. Checked power to coil and have 6.4 volts. Cleaned points with sandpaper...they open when pressed. the distributor points forward etc.

Any thoughts?

Alex

condencer?

didnt the 8n come out in 1948? bill m.

Bill.......it don't matter when it came out. All ya gotta know is whether ittza 4-nipple frontmount or 5-nipple sidemount ...and... 6V-or-12V, simple, eh?

Alix, you write......."My 47 8n has quit starting. Have cleaned carburator and have plenty of gas. Checked power to coil and have 6.4 volts. Cleaned points with sandpaper...they open when pressed. the distributor points forward etc" .......aint'chur carb and 'nebber was. Why? 'cuz carbs take LONG time to go wrong. And while cleanin' yer points with sandpaper is good EMERGENCY move, yer gonnna be replacing them points innna'bout 10-hrs. trust me

You do know ittza 2-bolt, 15-min job to remove the frontmount dizzy and change the points on the kitchen table, don't you??? Just un-snapple yer capple and letter dangle. Installation is a reversal of the removal ...except... gently start the 2-bolts and twirl yer rotor until the dizzy drops into the OFF-SET cam slot. You can NEVER gitt outta time unless you break sumptin'.

Onnna 6V frontmount, you should read about 6V (points OPEN) ...or... about 3V (points CLOSED) The 3V is caused by the MANDATORY "infamous ballast resistor". Its the LAW, Kirchhoff's Law.

Me? I'd gently "stretch" the squarecan coil springy-thingy so it makes a good contact with the hollow-headed condenser attach screw.

You do know that there is an "N-Board" that specializes in just N-Tractor problems, don't you??? .......Dell, yer self-appointed sparkie-meister

We have one that ran intermittently, after lots of troubleshooting and asking around the problem was a poor ground (thru the chassis, etc.) from the distributor back to the battery.

Ran a wire from the distributor back to the ground side of the battery and it has operated over a year without a problem.

The other writer is correct, you have a 2N, not a 8N. Some of the late 2N's were built with a mix of 2N and 8N parts (as 8N parts came avail.) which creates confusion.

Check for a good spark. Sand paper can/will leave junk on the points and that will keep them from working. I use a points file cost all of a buck at an auto parts store, then a piece of stiff card board like from the points box to clean off the filings. Oh by the way yes you could have a 8N made in 1947 but it is still called an 1948 8N.

Coil. That's usually the problem when they don;t want to start and everything else is OK.

I think all the 9N, 2N and 8N tractors were 6 volt.
Probably the most obvious difference between the tractors is the 4 speed transmission in the 8N.
Never worked on a front mounted dist. (Ford tractor or Ford flathead V-8) so I"ll leave that discussion to the Ford guys.

And don't use your cute little point file for ANYTHING else, even though it will be a temptation (would make a dandy emery board for your fingernails)- you want to keep it clean so you don't screw up the points more than you help them, when you use it.

Yep and if you want to go all out every time you use it you then spray it with something like brake cleaner or electrical spray to clean off the bits of the points that get on/in it