Juice to everything - Except plugs.

[jim cancil]

Tractor not starting.. Just in case: got a new coil .. ck'd + end of coil for 14v - OK

.. cleaned rotor/cap (cap fairly new)

.. cleaned and gap"d points to .022 (F-40 tractor)

...but cannot seem to get a spark? Any thoughts?

Jim

 

[Bruce(OR)]

My favorite is bad points. I tend to fun a file past 'em. Especially the new ones. They always seem to be glazed over.

 

[jim cancil]

Bruce - me too/ first thing. Got out the emory cloth .. did the zig-zag dance in the closed position (actually a few times..) But.. nada.

 

[phil(va)]

Could be combo of things, but if you have tried all the others, try replacing with new Autolite 3116 plugs and see if u get it to fire.

 

[jim cancil]

Phil: I took a loose plug I had and hooked it to #4 plug wire.. grounded it: nothing.

..that's why I think juice is not getting past the rotor.

Jim

 

[Bob (Aust)]

Not at all familiar with an F-40 but are the points grounded? The moveable point (that engage the distributor cam) should be insulated at the pivot pin, usually with an insulating sleeve. Often that small insulator may be cracked or broken.

Or the usual suspect, the condenser?

 

[LJD]

Check the spark without the rotor and cap first.

Just stick a spark plug with a wide gap in the end of the coil wire and have that plug grounded. I use a plug with the ground electrode torn right off. If the spark is correct, it will jump that big gap easily. Then with power on, and points open - try shorting the points with a screwdriver. If you see a good spark, do this next.

Crank the engine and see if you get the same spark with points opening and closing on their own. If not - that points are the problem. If you DO still have spark -then you know you're losing it in the cap and rotor.

Loosing it in the cap and rotor can be from weak spark . . or . . bad point timing to rotor position. If spark occurs when the rotor is in between two poles - it causes spark loss problems.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Pull the center wire out of the distributor cap and hold it near a good ground, turn on the key and try To start. What"s the spark look like? It SHould be FAT, AND BLUISH-WHITE, the color of lightning. No spindly blue, yellowish, reddish sparks, FAT AND BLUISH-WHITE. If it"s not there is something wrong in the primary igntition circuit. Make sure the points are set properly,are not corroded , burned , or oily, and pull a piece of brown paper bag between the points to slick "em off. Check the connections and make sure they a bright and tight. With the key o, check the voltage through the primary circuit ( battery keyswitch, solenoid connection(if you have a solenoid), associated wire connections to battery side of the coil. All should read battery voltage. If you change or clean anything, repeat the spark test.

Check the voltage with the points closed on both sides of the coil. The battery side should read near battery voltage and the distributor side should read near zero. If the distributor side still reads battery voltage, you have a bad ground.Make sure the battery ground is good and make sure the distribtor is grounded well.

 

[jon corbett]

wire and or stud thru distributor grounding out.my te was badly treated ,a $140 bucks later i found the dist stud grounding out.live and learn ...

 

[Bruce(OR)]

Yeah, wire grounding out at stud on side of dist. Pull th cap and crank. Spark at points?
Put it all together. Pul;l coil wire. key on , crank.
Got spark? Even a bad rotor will make spark come out the coil.
Battery voltage on the ground side of the coil. Opposite the power side. Itshould fluctuate when cranking.

 

[Bob (Aust)]

Turn everything off.
* turn the engine until the points are open,
* disconnect points wire at + side of coil,
* put a multimeter set to resistance (or Ohms or &#937 between the movable point to ground.

Think that should work - continuity and the points are grounded somewhere.

 

[mittajohn Aus]

Had a similar problem with my tea 20 turned out to be the rotor button which looked ok and did not show any resistance with a meter. I put a plug lead directly into the coil to see if it would fire.
Regards John.

 

[mittajohn Aus]

Had a similar problem with my tea 20 turned out to be the rotor button which looked ok and did not show any resistance with a meter. I put a plug lead directly into the coil to see if it would fire.
Regards John.

 

[John(UK)]

Check the bolt through the side of the Distributor Bowl that it isn't grounding. There is an insulator in there and it can wear with vibration. Also replace the Condenser, as these often fail, check the contact faces of the points, if there is a spike or a hole here then the Condenser is [email protected]

 

[jim cancil]

Thanks all... my time ran out for me do do it myself. A nice young fellow (with a rollback) around the corner will take it from here. I simply have too many more pressing things. I will have him read all your postings before he goes 'exploring'. Cheers .. and have a safe winter.

Jim

 

[Alont]

As a quick check I would disconnect the +ve lead to the coil.
Now put a temporary lead from the +ve side of the coil and make and break it to +12 volts-it should spark at the ht wire from the coil to chassis ground.
If you lined up,say #1 rotor position and the connected ht out from coil to the dist cap, should be able to check for spark at #1 plug.
If this works, it must be points,condenser/capacitor or insulation/connection of there components.

[Ended up like the start of War and Peace]

Alont