'61 gas MF 35 turns over, won't fire... Ran fine just minutes before...

[ImaFarmer]

I am not a mechanic, but I am a nurse. Our MF 35 was not running (husb had been brush hogging after he and a buddy had replaced the carb and the tractor quit running beyond idle), so when husb asked me to look at it I dutifully checked for air, fuel, spark and when I saw weak spark from the coil I replaced the coil. While we were at it, also replaced the plugs, plug wires, solenoid, voltage regulator and put in electronic ignition (I found the points and condenser too fiddly). Tractor would run at idle but any stress on the engine and it would die, as if starved for fuel. Imagine my surprise when I took the "new" carb off and discovered a clogged microfilter. Once the filter was cleaned, tractor ran like a champ. Joy! Took victory laps around the pasture.

Received a 40 yr old finish mower from a friend and hooked it up to test out the mower and the tractor ran great. Husb got the test plot mowed and upon leaving the area and stopping to close the gate, the tractor engine slowly died- as if out of gas. Fuel was not out but we topped off the tank. Tractor turns over but will not fire. Fuel runs freely (I rechecked the microfilter), sediment bowl is clean, but when I pulled the center wire from the distributor to check for spark from the coil, there is none. **Note- Actually husb had disengaged the PTO and driven forward a bit when I told him the ground drive was engaged, and it was then that the tractor engine slowed and shut off as he leaned over to disengage the ground drive- the ground drive is still engaged.

I have a feeling the fix is something VERY simple but I have no idea where to look first. I may replace the EI with the points and condenser (if I still have them) just to see if this is the issue, but I don't know if a bad EI would stop the coil from giving spark- such is my lack of knowledge for electrical systems. Ideas???

 

[Stan Coryell]

Stop with the parts cannon. There are a lot of bad parts on ebay ect.

Are the plug wires solid core? What does the EI say to use?

 

[ImaFarmer]

Wellllllll, the problem appears to be with the EI. Since all of this is new to me, I was at a loss. Coil however tested good (learned how to do that) and the longer I thought about it the more I realized that the problem was "after" the coil and not before. Contacted the company and they suggested the "bench test" for ground and voila- unit failed the test. Will see what they have to say next.

Live and learn. At least I am getting schooled in multimeter use, so that in itself is a good outcome.

 

[Stan Coryell]

Wellllllll, the problem appears to be with the EI. Since all of this is new to me, I was at a loss. Coil however tested good (learned how to do that) and the longer I thought about it the more I realized that the problem was "after" the coil and not before. Contacted the company and they suggested the "bench test" for ground and voila- unit failed the test. Will see what they have to say next.

Live and learn. At least I am getting schooled in multimeter use, so that in itself is a good outcome.

The EI supplies ground (negative on your tractor) to the Coil. The EI is before the the coil, telling it what to do.

What ignition wires are you using? Solid core may wreck the EI.

 

[ImaFarmer]

All is well... Seller of the E.I. is giving me a full refund for the defective unit and I went to a "real" tractor parts desk and for $12, got a Delco tune up kit for screw down distributor cap. Put the new points, condensor and rotor in this morning, had husb crank-crank-crank till the shaft was on the points where I wanted then I set the gap. Dustcover, rotor and cap back on and voila!

 

[Brown David]

All is well... Seller of the E.I. is giving me a full refund for the defective unit and I went to a "real" tractor parts desk and for $12, got a Delco tune up kit for screw down distributor cap. Put the new points, condensor and rotor in this morning, had husb crank-crank-crank till the shaft was on the points where I wanted then I set the gap. Dustcover, rotor and cap back on and voila!

Good stuff.