Keep in mind, it has been several years since this tractor has been run. If I had to guess, based upon what the previous owner said, I would say 3-5 years.
Seems like I made some progress, but no firing yet.
Things I've done..
1. Opened the carb, everything was clean. No deposits anywhere. Needle valves are set to 1.5 turns. I didn't clean the carb because it was clean inside (no varnish either). I may end up cleaning it later.
2. I tested the coil as per suggestions online. With no wires attached, it has about 1.2 ohms resistance between terminals. This is what is expected (according to the instructions) if the coil is good.
3. I tested the condenser as per instructions online.
Disconnect condenser , set meter on ohms, put red meter lead on condenser wire, black lead on condenser body, hold for about 30 sec. This is supposed to put a 1.5 volt charge into the condenser. Switch meter leads and watch meter needle. When I touched the leads onto the condenser, the needle jumped a little to the right. This is supposed to be indication that the condenser is OK. Supposedly it took current and discharged.
I realize those two tests don't guarantee that the coil and condenser are top notch, but they are the only tests I found online that I can do.
With the condenser and coil in place, and the (-) side of the coil having a wire going directly to the negative post on the battery (hot wired), with the wiring harness out of the picture (except the (+) side of the coil wire going to the distributor)...... I saw a spark between the points when they opened/closed when I turned the engine over (occasionally, not every time).
Gas is going into the carb. I can drain the bowl with the petcock (bottom of bowl) and the bowl will fill again and gas flow stops (float and needle valve is working). I know this because I connected up a "tiny tank" with a hose to the carb and can see when gas is flowing.
I disconnected the air filter and squirted starter fluid into the carb a couple times when I was trying to start it. No firing.
I did choke a little. I don't THINK I choked excessively, but ???
Compression and suction is there (I could hear it in the exhaust (muffler is off, tin can over it was jumping on exhaust manifold) and I could feel it at the carb intake with my hand over the opening for a couple seconds.
I have not measured compression (but I could, and probably will).
I am getting spark to the plugs, but it looks weak. I took two different plugs out (one at a time), grounded the side of the plug and turned the engine over. I got a consistent weak spark(looks to me anyway).
Plugs look good... By the way, what do YOU recommend I use for plugs?
I bought one of those gismos (Inline spark testers) that you put on a plug, then put the plug wire on the other end. It has a bulb that is supposed to flash when it gets the jolt from the distributor. I did not see any flash when I was turning the engine over (remember, I did see a weak spark when I took the plug out, left the plug wire on it, grounded the plug body and turned the engine over).
When I had one of the plugs out, I sprayed starter fluid in and quickly put the plug back in and turned the engine over (did not fire).
This has to be a clue.... The coil was getting warm (not hot, just warm).
I was disconnecting the hot wire when I wasn't trying to start the engine.
I filed the points, set them points to .020, cleaned very little crud off the terminals in the distributor cap, bent the metal tab up a bit on the rotor and cleaned the end of the rotor that sweeps by each terminal in the distributor cap.
Ensured the distributor wire was all the way in (spark confirms that anyway).
The engine turns over SLOW, but it does turn over. Not dead slow, but with no urgency. Something I just thought of... I need to check resistance in the battery cables.
The battery (new) has about 6.3 volts when not under load. I've kept it fully charged.
I'm assuming (hoping) I am not damaging anything by hotwiring the (-) side of the coil to the negative post.
This isn't pertinent yet because it's not in the picture yet (wire to the coil disconnected).... I've cleaned the internal and external contacts on the regulator. I don't know the actual condition of the regulator or generator, but the assumption is they should be OK. I will know more about them when I put the wiring harness back into the picture. Assuming I will be able to get the engine running with it being hot wired, I'll check those out with the engine running.
The previous owner WAS hot wiring the coil to get the tractor to run.
I'm out of ideas... Anyone have suggestions??? I know this is an extremely simple electrical system, so I have to be close.
I need direction from someone with more experience than I have...
It seems like the next step would be to replace the coil and distributor, but I'm not sure.
Is it possible the condenser is just not taking a serious charge?
The previous owner said the tractor was running fine when he stopped using it. He was using it to mow about 4 acres (belly mower) and bought a new yard tractor to replace it.
Thanks in advance for the direction I know is coming...
Update. I did go and check the resistance in the battery cables. There is none...
This post was edited by djhammerd at 13:54:28 02/19/14 5 times.
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