Starting TO-20 hot.

Arcticman

New User
My father in-law recently gave me his 1949 TO-20. After replacing the plugs, plug wires, coil and cleaning the contacts. The tractor start fine cold, however will not restart when hot. Any suggestions?
 
Bad key switch most likely hows does it run after 15 min. or so? There's a list of things that can cause that.
 
When it quits running check to see if there is any spark at the spark plugs. Has the tractor been converted to 12 volts? If it has and a true 12 volt coil has not been installed, or if a ballast resistor has not been installed on the 6 volt coil it will overheat the coil.
 

Is it shutting down on its own when hot? I don't see you mention that. So assuming your shutting it down and it doesn't restart well. Especially if your running 6 volts. A 6 volt system requires more amperage (about twice as much" to do the same job as 12 volts. So heat can become a problem resulting in starter drag. Does it turn over sluggishly when hot starting? Check your ignition well if its all ok make sure it isn't flooding with a rich mixture. Then check the starter & battery. Many 6 volt baterys have fooled a person into other repairs,and many 6volt starters have caused many people to change ok batteries. I say ok batteries because I was never a fan of 6 volt (even though I grew up with those systems).In my opinion there were very few "good" 6 volt batteries. In other words 6 volt system has to have a good battery and a good starter for hot starting.
 
Yes I am shutting it down and it is very sluggish. I put a brand new battery in when I got the tractor. Eventually I would like to convert to 12 volt. No time right now.
 
What size are the battery cables? A 6 volt needs 1 gauge or 0 gauge to be able to draw enough current to crank properly. You also need to move the point where the ground cable grounds to the tractor. Originally it was on the dash but as they age and bolts become rusty that is no longer a good ground. Move the ground down on the bell housing or the back of the steering box and see if that doesn"t help. I converted my tractor back to 6 volt and if everything is in proper order....you will have no problems cranking it hot on 6 volts.
 

Condensors do break down sometimes when hot. BUT! Remember if your starter draw is high a weak spark can occur because of low voltage due to the high current draw of a bad starting system. I am not condemning the starter at this point as there are a lot of things to check out. I am assuming you ment when you said "sluggish", you ment it cranked sluggish.
 

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