Won't start - carb issues?

[jrpontiac]

I"ve had my 8n for a couple years now and it has ran great until recently. It cranks over, gets gas and gets spark, just won"t start. I put a carb rebuild kit in it thinking that was the problem, it stills is very hard to start, that is if it even starts. I"m getting gas but for what ever reason it isn"t making it to the plugs. It smells as if it"s flooded but the plugs are dry. If it does start it burns off alot of excess gas in a smoke show for a minute or two. The two times I have been able to get it started I choked the heck out of it, but when it fired it wasn"t choked and I had no throttle.

I was using it two plow the 2ft of snow we got yesterday and it died and now it won"t start - again. It"s stuck halfway it the driveway and the road is to slippery to tow it. My driveway is about 800ft long and it is still snowing. I"m in a world of hurt.

This is what I have checked.
- compression is around 85 lbs on all cylinders.
- plugs look good
- Spark looks good
- carb is getting gas

One item I suspect is my intial carb settings starting points. I"ve read how to fine tune once it is running but what are the base setting if it isn"t running.

 

[jack harmon]

Low compression is probably not helping any,is spark good and blue?have you checked it at EACH PLUG (and not just one) at the spark plug end of wire?bad insulation on wires can cause all kinds of problems especially in wet weather.copper wires and not resistor,should be used.Try removing your air cleaner hose and see if gas is coming running out throat of carb,also make sure choke plate is installed correctly.To get it back home try starting it with starting fluid while you have hose off.it might fire on that.do not choke it it sounds to me like your flooding put in some new spark plugs even if they look good once they flood with gas they cause hard starting,make sure your dist cap is not corroded on contacts,it CAN fire good thru coil wire but be weak at plugs because of rotor ,cap , or wires.IF its (you don't say) a front mount dist they are very prone to get wet.pull cap,coil and spray some wd40 in let set a few minutes and then wipe out good with a rag.really need to know what you have to help but this may help you get started.

 

[NOXJohn]

Jump start it with a 12 volt battery to get it out of the road and some place you can work on it. Turn key on and jump across starter only. I am assuming your is a 6 volt system.

 

[jack harmon]

One thing you want to remember, good gas flow at bttm of carb tells you you are getting gas through float ONLY, it does not tell you if float is sticking down or anything else about the internals in carb.if you just put a kit in your carb without cleaning all the passages it doesnt help you much. on MINE I turn the main jet out 2 turns,and the idle et out about 11/2 turns to start with that generally will let mine start but,we dont have near the cold temps you do.ALSO make sure you have new clean fuel in extremly cold temps this gasahol they are using now does not store well for a long time.

 

[old]

Front or side mount distributor??? Now as for spark it may look good but if it will not jump a 1/4 gap its not good enough. You also may have gas fouled plugs since you say it looks like its flooding. Also with that compression you have a problem from the get go. I would replace the plugs with auto lite 437s and then keep your hand off the choke and see if it starts

 

[Bruce (VA)]

It is important for you to tell us if your tractor has a 6 volt or 12 volt electrical system & if the distributor is on the front of the engine or on the side. The troubleshooting is different based upon the configuration of your engine.

There are three very important tools you always need to have in your N tool box: a 3 inch piece of wire w/ alligator clips on each end, an old spark plug w/ the gap opened to 3/16” and a 7/16 box end wrench. And, you really do need a working ammeter. With these tools, you can quickly narrow down most N problems to spark or fuel.

Next time it stops, check quickly for spark then fuel. When I say quickly, I mean get off the seat, grab the tools & do it right then. Do not wait a minute or two. First, check for fuel. Remove the bolt in the bottom of the carb; as long as the fuel is turned on, you should see gas flowing out of the carb. If it’s a dribble or none at all, you have solved half the problem: it’s fuel related. If gas flows well out of the carb & only stops when you turn it off at the sediment bowl, chances are very good it’s not a fuel problem. So, next, crank the engine & look at the ammeter. What is the ammeter doing? Does it show a constant discharge, no movement at all, or does it dip? Next, get the old plug, ground it to a rust & paint free spot on the head, turn the key on & crank the engine. You have three possibilities: no spark, weak and/or intermittent yellow spark, or a bright blue spark. What is it? Unless it’s a blue/white spark, you have a spark problem. If the ammeter shows a constant discharge, or doesn’t move at all, that also tells you that you have a spark problem. Jump the ignition switch w/ your jumper wire & see what happens. If it runs, you found the problem.

If it does not have gas coming out of the carb at a steady stream w/ the bolt out, you have a fuel problem. First, remove the gas cap. Your vent could be clogged & it vacuum locked. If that doesn’t work, tap the carb bowl w/ a hammer handle in case the float is sticking closed. (don’t whack it w/ the head of the hammer; you can crack the bowl). If you still don’t see gas flowing, the N has three fuel screens; one in the brass elbow, one in the top of the sediment bowl & one on the stem of the sediment bowl in the gas tank. Check the screen in the elbow & the screen in the top of the sediment bowl. (don’t worry about the one in the tank) Both probably need to be cleaned. If you have the fuel knob turned on all the way, it may be trying to feed off of the reserve inlet which is probably clogged. Only open it 2 full turns. Put at least 2 gallons in the tank.

Both Ford and Marvel/Schebler say to set both the side-pointing idlemix and the down-pointing mainjet to 1-turn as a starting point. I set the down-pointing mainjet to 1-1/2 turns and don't fool w/ it anymore.

Low compression, fouled plugs & cold weather isn't helping a bit. Change the plugs & keep your hands off the choke. Check tip # 43 at the link below for info on jumping it to overcome the low compression problem. And, add some HEET to the gas tank in case you have a moisture problem.

Post back w/ more info & the results of these tests; lots of folks here can help you out.
50 Tips

 

[jrpontiac]

It is a 6v, front mount. I'll try the items that have been suggested. Thanks. I checked the compression with a hand held push in tester, far from perfect but it gives an idea. Tight quarters as well. I'll have to dig up a screw in one. The snow stopped, broke the 24 hour snow fall record by 6 inches. offically - 20 inches in 24 hours. We have about 25 inches at the house. We don't get this much snow in Spokane. 6 inches is typically a huge storm. They predict a couple more smaller storm in the next week.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey I had the same problem. getting gas, good blue fire,new plugs and still would not start. I changed the coil and she started.I think it was the coil.