Head scratcher

[Paul in Edmonton]

It had been a few weeks since I started my 8N (front mount, 6V), but it ran fine when shut off.

Fast forward to yesterday. Turn on the gas knob, and tried to start up. At first with no choke, then a bit of choke (on for a second and then off, etc.) Nothing. Not even a tiny cough. (Usually I get that problem where there's a cough, and then the Bendix disengages--that didn't happen at all this time.) Gas running out the bottom of the carb, so I laid off the choke after that. (And gave it a few minutes to rest.) It was a warm day, so I didn't think choke was needed, anyway.

Checked spark--not a proper test, since I didn't have a spare plug to gap at 1/4"--but there was spark. (I didn't have most of mechanics tools with me, so I was limited in what I could try.)

Burned deposits off a couple plugs (the other two looked fine).

Put some more gas in it. (But there had been gas dripping out of the carb before, so it couldn't have run dry, could it? The level was certainly low, though.)

Pulled the oil cap off the bottom of the air filter, in case there was a blockage in there. (Oil looked clean, but I didn't look at the mesh.)

Lots of cranking with not even a cough between the above steps. (I was surprised the battery held out as long as it did! Probably 'cause it was warm out.)

Gave it another try, cranking with no coughing. Pulled out the choke again, and it started instantly. What the...???!!!

Ran fine after that, with one restart--I had to shut it off to connect the ORC before bush hogging. I put the oil cap back on the air filter after it was running. The restart was perfect--fired immediately. No further problems.

So was it just that there was just enough gas in the tank for me to flood the carb the first time, and not enough to do anything else after? Or was it that there was enough blockage in the air filter to make it not start, but not enough to stop it from running when warm? (It didn't seem to be running rich--no smoke.)

Whatever. I got it going eventually, and it did the job I needed it to do. I just wish I knew what the issue was, so I can avoid it (or fix it more easily) next time!

-Paul

 

[Tom N MS]

Flooded..easy to do..yes, leaking out the carb will
drain the tank..Need to fix the problem or be SURE
to turn off the gas when not in use...

 

[ray hofstetter]

Oil in the air cleaner may LOOK clean, but there's probably
an inch of mud in the bottom, but I use mine for plowing
and discing more than brush-hogging.

 

[notjustair]

Or your ignition switch is getting finicky.

 

[Bob]

Sounds pretty typical to me!

These 'ol beasts each have a personality of their own and can be a bit cantankerous at times.

They are NOT an EPA-approved fuel-injected, computerized machine that compensates for operator error and starts perfectly every time!

 

[NNP]

might be time to give the points some attention.
Even just a few days of the right weather conditions will get the ol moss growing on em.
weak spark would making flooding it very easy.
And with every starter revolution on a 6v'er, that spark is getting weaker.
After you cleaned the plugs and waited a bit...battery was getting tired....so ignition spark was very weak....when you hit the choke, it gave it a split second of a rich mixture that the weak spark could ignite.
On these good old tractors, once they run, they do their best to clean themselves out. So, no problems then.......till next time it has sat.
(ps put a draincock on the carb bowl drain, so you can let gas run thru the carb after it's been sitting, to clear water and sediment)

I know it's not an option sometimes. But, I never argue with my 6v points tractors.
If I know everything is right, but I 'miss' or foul up the start,
I just turn the gas off and throw a charger on it and come back later....starts right up.
They have to show me who's boss once in a while.

 

[souNdguy]

without the prior testing.. you may never know the cause. could have been gunk onthe poitns or ignition contacts.. or even hung valves that decided to move.

 

[Paul in Edmonton]

Thanks for all the comments.

I don't think the oil in the air filter was dirty. Or at least I'd be surprised. It's only had one summer since I changed it (at which time I cleaned out the mesh, too). And that one summer is maybe four hours of brush hogging. It gets more use in the winter plowing snow--not much dust there.

I'm sure the gas was shut off when it was sitting. I know that because the replacement sediment bowl has a leaky gasket. I HAVE to shut off the gas if I'm leaving the tractor for any time. It would have been the first thing I noticed if the valve wasn't closed when I went to open it. (I need to get a replacement valve stem for my original sediment bowl, and see if I can get it back on the tractor. I bought the replacement for the whole unit because at the time I didn't know they sold just the valve stem!)

Gunk on the points is possible. But it's a lot drier here than in most of the places you guys live. We don't have nearly the same problems with moisture.

I agree about the charger. In winter, I'd have never gotten as far as I did on Sunday. I'd have had the charger on it within a couple minutes, and have been using 12V (from my truck) on (just) the starter to both get a faster spin and to let the battery worry only about spark. But this time, the battery seemed to be holding up fine--but I doubt it would have lasted much longer than it did.