1941 Farmall H No Spark

FarmallCT · Sep 29, 2014

Hi everyone,
I recently got a 1941 Farmall H tractor for a pretty good deal and I just got around to working on getting it running and found that it does not have any spark. It is magneto ignition. I took out the spark plugs, cleaned them. I cleaned the distributor, rotor and the points and still no spark. Any suggestions?
The only other thing i can think of is the condenser but i did see some sparks at the points briefly when i cranked it after cleaning them but they stopped after about 2 seconds. I just don't want to have to re-time it if I take the magneto off to put a new condenser in and that's not the problem.
Thanks for all the help,
FarmallCT

rustcollector · Sep 29, 2014

Should not have to remove the magneto to replace the condenser or the coil. It could be either or even a bad switch or wire shorting in the "on" position. Remove the switch wire on the magneto and try it. Good rule of thumb in any mechanic work is check from the simple and least expensive first to the more complicated.

gene bender · Sep 29, 2014

You do need to remove the mag to replace the condenser but give the points a good cleaning not uncommon for the points to get a film and not fire.Be careful when getting to the points remove the cover where they are and not the front where the gears are that time the rotor.

ken house · Sep 29, 2014

if he has someone turn motor with the crank, will he be able to hear the magneto impulse?

teddy52food · Sep 29, 2014

Condenser has to come out on the side towards the engine. Easiest to pull the mag. Just watch where the rotor is pointing & don't turn the engine while it is 0ff. Put it on with the rotor in the same spot. Center punch or mark the mag flange & casting & bolt it up & the timing will be the same as before.

used red MN · Sep 30, 2014

CT not to insult you but I have no idea of your level of mehanical knowledge. The impulse mentioned in a magneto is a spring mechanism on the drive that should make a clicking noise at cranking speed. It stalls the mag shaft then releases it when a cyl is at the firing point. This release allows the magnetic coil to release a higher voltage spark as the mag shaft spins quickly past the firing point. When the engine starts centrifical weights disable the mechanism and the mag goes to direct drive if you will.

El Toro · Sep 30, 2014

Your magnets maybe weak in the mag. Hal

FarmallCT · Sep 30, 2014

I am familiar with the impulse as I do have two older Farmall tractors. I do not hear the impulse going off at all but the starter seems to spin the engine faster than normal so maybe it's spinning too fast that the impulse isn't engaging? It is 12 volt.
The points do appear pretty new but I did sand down the points with sand paper and saw a little spark at the points but then back to nothing.
I'm not too familiar with this magneto since I'm used to working on an F4 mag so I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get to everything.
Thanks for all the help.
FarmallCT

ken house · Sep 30, 2014

after sanding points, did you clean the grit from between them? some recommend dragging a dollar bill through, i sometimes, hold the points open and spray ether on them.

FarmallCT · Sep 30, 2014

I did blow on them to try to get some of the sand out but I did not try ether or anything. I may try that when I get home from school today. My biggest problem was holding them open enough to get the grit out so hopefully that will work.
Thanks for all the help.

AlanA · Oct 1, 2014

(quoted from post at 13:57:42 09/30/14) I did blow on them to try to get some of the sand out but I did not try ether or anything. I may try that when I get home from school today. My biggest problem was holding them open enough to get the grit out so hopefully that will work.
Thanks for all the help.

Take the mag coil cover off and file the contact points that get juice to the coil wire as well. they can corrode as well.

FarmallCT · Oct 1, 2014

I am glad to say that I did get spark at the points today but still not at the
plugs.
My grandpa and I took a look at the magneto today and used a wire/connection
tester to make sure all the wires are good.
We did find that the middle connection on the distributor cap was bad (the
connection from the outside to inside of the cap) and all the wires checked out
good along with the coil and condenser. I'm hoping that this is the problem and
I'm hoping to have it fixed as soon as I get a new cap.
My only question is, if I have spark at the points, does that means the coil and
condenser are working properly or can they still be part of the problem?
I'm not too good with the electrical parts so I just want to make sure.
Thanks for all the help.

1941 Farmall H No Spark

FarmallCT

Member

rustcollector

Member

gene bender

Well-known Member

ken house

Member

teddy52food

Well-known Member

used red MN

Well-known Member

El Toro

Well-known Member

FarmallCT

Member

ken house

Member

FarmallCT

Member

AlanA

Member

FarmallCT

Member

Similar threads