Ford 2N - No start, no spark

[Anonymous-0]

I'm getting ready to dive in to try to get my Dad's 2N running, and not sure what I'm getting into or where to actually start. Here's what I know:

It is a 6V front mount tractor. Currently it is hooked up as a negative ground (how do I know if this is even right?).

He has been trying to start it by jumping the starter. (I think his battery is dead, and bad (won't hold a charge)). I gave him an inline spark checker to see if he had any spark, and he has none. (Could this be because of a dead battery?)

He replaced the plugs, plug wires, and distributer cap..... still no spark....... now he gave up, and I inherit the repair problem.

I hope to get over next week to begin investigation, but would greatly appreciate the experience and knowledge many of you possess to give me an indication of what to look for, and what I need to be checking, rather than my random poke and hope methodology. Thanks

 

[Den N Ms]

Kevin ,first you need a good 6 volt battery,clean all cable connections real good.Put the battery in with the positive post hooked to tractor steering box bolt (positive ground)The ignition has to have voltage to spark.

 

[old]

Dead battery equals no spark, you need a good battery to have spark because it takes volts to make spark. So first off replace the battery. Then pull one plug out and check for spark or hold a plug wire about 1/4 inch from the engine and check for spark. The spark need to be a white/blue color and jump at least a 1/4 inch gap to run. Jumping it right to the starter only spins the engine but it does not put any voltage to the coil. NEVER jump a 6 volt battery with a 12 volt battery or the 6 volt battery could blow up in your face

 

[Mr. Bob]

Also make sure your ignition switch and resistor are OK.
Mr. Bob

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Check out tip # 39 at the link below. A set of manuals will save you a lot of time & money.

The tractor should be positive ground, but that is not a big deal at this point. You need a new battery before you can get anything done; no battery voltage, no spark.

Once you get the new battery in it & connected correctly (positive ground), polarize the generator. (tip # 23)

Next, while replacing the wires, plugs & cap is nice, the real issue is probably w/ the points. The front distributor was designed to come off of the tractor to replace/adjust the points. Remove the wire on the coil, remove the coil bail, remove the distributor cap & take the two bolts off. The base of the distributor has an offset tang & can only go back one way unless you really force it on. Look at how the points & condenser set in the distributor before you start pulling it down! If this is your first time doing it, draw a sketch! Replace the points & condenser. Make sure you are using quality parts; the points should have a phenolic rubbing block & not the cheap white plastic crap. Be careful not to ground the tip of the condenser wire to the body of the distributor when you replace the points. Do not break the little copper strip that goes to the points. (If you do, make another out of the old set of points) Also, make sure the condenser wire does not go through the same opening in the distributor that the coil pig tail does. The condenser wire goes the opening on the top right. Look at the old points; are they burned, pitted or mis-aligned? Check the point gap, .015 on all four lobes. Make sure you have the star washers under the screws on the points.

Next, with the distributor still off the tractor, install the coil. Look at the pigtail on the coil; is it touching the brass screw inside of the distributor? Don’t trust your eyes; test for continuity from the top of the coil to the points. If you do not have continuity, stretch the pigtail a bit until you do. (some people would rather put a small washer under the brass screw) Look at the little tab opposite of the pigtail; bend it a bit also to insure that it will contact the distributor cap. At this point, I just put the distributor, coil & cap all back on the tractor as a unit (it helps to loosen the fan belt). The reason I do this is because it is real easy to get the cap or coil mis-aligned trying to put it back together one piece at a time & the result is something gets broken or you get a ‘no spark’ problem.

Once you replace the battery & points, it should have a nice blue spark at the plugs. Post back w/ any more questions.
50 Tips

 

[souNdguy]

Yep.. get a good battery.. IMHO.. I'd hook it up as positive ground and then repolarize the gen ( jumper bat to arm for a couple seconds ).. then check points.. clean and gap at .015.. ( distrib comes off with 2 bolts.. EZ 15 minute job.

As mentioned dash resistor and ignition switch CAN be bad.. use a jumper wire to jump them out if you think they are bad , for testing purposes.

post back if you need help.

soundguy

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thanks guys. I've gotten a lot of good advice here when working on my TO30 Fergie, and knew you guys would come thru on Dad's N.

It probably will be next week sometime before I get a chance to put your suggestions to work, but I will be sure to add an update, and probably ask for some more advice.

Thanks again!! HNY!!

 

[Kevin Godshall]

OK, I know it's been awhile, the weather got cold and the wood shop got busy, but today I finally got to look at Dad's 2N first hand.

I pulled the hood off and got an ugly look at what I'm dealing with. The wiring is originally and bare in a lot of places. Lots of grease and dirt buildup.

First job was to dump the bad battery and buy a new one (6V). I put it in and hooked it up for a positive ground. Turned on the key and bumped the starter. Turned over without a problem (not like my Fergie with a 12V set up, but sufficient I think).

The generator only has 1 wire, so I wasn't sure how to re-polarize it (???).

Pulled a plug and rolled her over again, nothing there. Began testing voltage at various places (I'm not the world's greatest electrician....) The starter was only getting a bit over 4 volts, so I'm going to get a new grounding strap and find a better location to put it.

Next, I tested across the resistor that is under the hood. Readings were the same on both ends. Is this right?

Directly under the gas tank is a little can looking thing (cut out assembly?). It showed 6V on bottom, nothing on top (??) Also, the resistor behind the dash showed hot on the bottom but nothing on the outfeed side (I checked the ignition switch and it is operating correctly).

Bruce, I forgot to take a copy of your instructions about the coil and distributor with me, so I will have to make sure to do that on the next trip. Perhaps that is exactly what I am missing.

Thanks to all for input so far. Please feel free to continue to help me thru this. I work on my 53 Fergie (12V neg ground) a lot, but this 6V pos ground is alien territory to me.

 

[Kevin Godshall]

Hmmm for some reason when I posted yesterday, this topic didn't get moved up. Maybe the original thread was too old?

I'm hoping for some insight on that little can "thingy". What does it do and how should I read voltage across it?

Thanks

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 06:08:36 02/12/09) Hmmm for some reason when I posted yesterday, this topic didn't get moved up. Maybe the original thread was too old?

I'm hoping for some insight on that little can "thingy". What does it do and how should I read voltage across it?

Thanks

That is in fact the cut out. You read no voltage on one side, because that is the generator side & gen is idle. You read battery voltage on the battery side. Both are normal & is a good indication that contacts are not stuck. You polarize the generator by momentarily jumpering the two cut out terminals together, before starting engine. You need to do this to avoid potential damage to the cut out. Polarizing runs current thru the generator coils & sets the magnetic field such that when started, it outputs the polarity to match the battery. Especially important that you do this since you changed from a Pos ground to a Neg ground.

 

[crazypete]

im having same problem no spark ive changed points cap coil and condensor . i have power to coil but no spark at plugs