311 Tractor Heal Thyself????

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

Was out cutting hay today. Started to lose power about 30 mins after starting. Pulled the choke out a bit and power returned. By the end of the cutting (3 hrs), I had to run full choke in order to creep up anything more than an ant hill.

OK, I have a fuel delivery problem. Just went out to start to look things over. Figured I had better try to get tractor into shed before tearing things apart.

Started right up. All the power it ever had.

I know something is going on, and unless I fix it, will come back and bite me.

Where would you start to look?

 

[VAC400]

Farmer, I believe what you have is a bad coil. The VAC of my dads did the same thing. But before you replace the coil check your fuel flow and clean the screen,if you are not getting a good flow you will need to take the strainer apart and clean.
Jerry from Ohio

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

The flow is good and screen/bowl is clean.

Would a bad coil also cause a starting problem? A problem where you have to cycle the key many times over to get the starter to kick in?

Thanks

 

[Doc Larry]

I would check fuel filter, fuel screen where line comes out of the tank (if it has one), then look around inside the tank with a flashlight to see how many dead bugs, pieces of rags, leaves, etc., are clogging up the fuel line.....

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

I know have do have rust in there, so about every 3-4 months I remove the bowl and blow air back up though the screen.

Sooner or later, need to get it sealed.

 

[Andy from Va]

The starter and ignition system are two seperate problems.(95% of the time)

A ignition system that cannot put out the required amount of spark can be helped by pulling the choke out making the fuel mixture rich, which is easier to ignite in the cylinder.

The starter not operating can be solenoid, key switch and bad connections in the cables themselves.

Assuming the charging system is working on the tractor? Low voltage to the ignition system will also cause poor operation.

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

Charging system is working. Installed a new Pos Ground Alternator.

Is there a way to test the coil?

 

[ChevCase]

I have had two Case tractors with similiar symptoms. One was resolved when I looked in fuel tank and found floating bugs, rust, leaves, tree twigs etc. that had gotten in tank before I bought tractor.
Second problem involves dirt floating in carb bowl. If a piece of dirt blocks power jet, you will get same symptom. I found that if tractor was running rough/low power, I would get off tractor and turn jet in or out in bottom of bowl and tractor would immediately gain power, run smooth.

 

[Doc Larry]

You already told us that after it sits, it starts back up and runs fine, so it"s no surprise that gas flows freely when you go out to check it cold - but does gas flow freely after it"s been running, and you"re using the choke? (Don"t start a fire!)

After it sits, the suction on the fuel line gradually decreases because fuel isn"t being drawn to the carburetor any more, and whatever is plugging it up is released back into the gas tank. I"m not making this up, I spent weeks finding this type of problem on a Sheriff"s car many years ago.... The jet problem can give similar symptoms. My lawnmower jet did this to me a couple weeks ago.

Good luck.

 

[Pat-CT]

the coil would not cause that to a starter

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

Thank you all for the help and guidance. I printed out the replies so when it happens again, I will have it in the shop.

I love this website.

 

[Andy from Va]

Doc Larry

I believe you, had a IH that would randomly quit at any given time. By the time I got to the site all would work fine. Long story short, I actually used the tractor myself and it finally quit. Problem: someone dropped a silver cap from a fuel additive into the tank, it matched perfectly with the bottom of the tank. When the tractor quit I looked into the tank and couldn't find the bulkhead fitting for the valve, the cap perfectly covered the hole!

Hobby, was this a one time thing, or has the tractor acting up and finally got this bad?

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

It has happend in the past, but in the past, it has always been crud getting trapped in the screen that is at the bottom of the gas tank to keep it out of bowl. In the past, I would simply blow some compressed air back up in the tank to clear the screen.

This time that did not work, This is the first time where after clearing the tank screen, the problem continued.

 

[C. Amick]

You didn't happen to notice whether or not the carburetor was icing did you? Was the humidity high? I've had this problem with my 311. Usually you can shut the tractor off long enough to let the ice melt and start it back up and it runs fine.

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

I did not look for that, and I do know what you are talking about. I get frost on the pipe above the carb in the winter.

It was not all the humid to speak of. I will add that to my list of things to look for next time it happens.

 

[JGarner]

You are right there, but having to bump the key switch several times to get the starter to kick in points to a bad switch which can also cause lack of power to the coil.

 

[JGarner]

Hobby, if you are comfortable doing this, tag and remve all wires to the switch. Take the switch out of the dash and do a continuity check for all of the positions; off, run, and start. In Off, you shoud have no continuity between the hot and run or start contacts. In Run you shaould have continuity to the contact the coil wire hooks to. In Start you should have continuity to the starter solenoid contact AND the coil contact.

Is the light switch wired through the key switch? If the switch is on do the lights come on when the key is in the run position or are they intermittent like the starter? If so you may have solved your start problem.

The running/fuel problem sounds like an extremely dirty fuel system. I would remove the carb, pull the "bowl" off and and clean it. Remove the tank and dry it out and with it upsde down spend about 30 minutes shaking and blowing it out to get all the loose stuff out and then seal it. You can get do-it-yourself sealing kits. with both ends of the fuel line free blow air though it for several minutes, pour a little gas in it and blow it out again. This should solve your fuel problems and if you determine you have a bad key switch a trip to NAPA for a match and new on are in order. They had one for my 630. When I got it my wiring system was an abortion with a toggle switch for run and push button to start. Sorry for the long post.

 

[HobbyFarmerInWI]

I will pull the switch and do as you suggest.

The lights are not thru it.

If I pull the bowl off, will I need a new gasket to put back together?

 

[JGarner]

Yes, I would replace it if its been on a long time.

You can either get some cork gasket material and cut your own or I have gotten these gaskets from my local NAPA store.

Jim