The 860 is dead!!

The860life · Jun 4, 2014

Hello! I started up the ford 860 with the flail mower and started doing some heavy work, when I hit a patch of super dense grass it was having some trouble and before I could lift it the tractor died.

I let it sit for a bit, and then tried to start it, it was cranking but would not start!

When I flick the starter switch the amps do nothing, and before it would jump up to 10 amps.

Is there any trouble shooting I can do to narrow the problem down?

Thanks!!

souNdguy · Jun 4, 2014

yep.. check spark! if it's got GOOD spark.. move on to fuel.

post back

The860life · Jun 4, 2014

(quoted from post at 11:06:50 06/04/14) yep.. check spark! if it's got GOOD spark.. move on to fuel.

post back

Ok! I checked the sparks and there are no sparks!! So its somthing with the ignition?

Mark Slater · Jun 4, 2014

Definitely!

When your tractor died in the thick grass did you turn the ignition switch to off, or did you just leave it as it sat?

If the ignition was left on you may have burnt up your coil.

The860life · Jun 4, 2014

95% sure I turned the switch off, and I didn't let it sit for that long, like 10 mins max! but is there a way to tell if the coil is bad, just in case?

souNdguy · Jun 4, 2014

hotwire coil to battery, retry. if nada... recheck points. post back

The860life · Jun 4, 2014

Can you give some tips on hot wiring the coil? I have never done that before!!

HCooke · Jun 4, 2014

Run a wire from the non grounded side of the battery
to the terminal on the coil that is not on the
distributor side.

The860life · Jun 4, 2014

Thanks!!

And what am I looking for?

Greg1959 · Jun 4, 2014

I have gone through some heavy brush before and had my 860 just die. Much like you are describing.

Checked for spark...no spark. Looked at the coil and the "brush" had pulled one of the two wires on the coil loose (+ or -). It was just dangling by the coil. I reconnected the loose wire and tractor started right up.

Mark Slater · Jun 5, 2014

Wiring straight from the battery to the coil will insure the coil is getting power. If the tractor has spark or starts with that "hotwire" in place you have an open circuit to the coil. Maybe a fuse or a bad wire opened up.

souNdguy · Jun 5, 2014

you are checking to see if you can get spark back. the hotwire bypasses the key switch power path to the coil.

The860life · Jun 5, 2014

Ok! so I hot wired it and there was a spark from the battier to the coil, but the tractor is not trying to start, also I checked the points and they look brand new! Also I used a circuit tester and the lamp lit up on the battier wire of the coil but not the wire that goes to the distributor! Does that mean the coil is bad?

souNdguy · Jun 5, 2014

Or the points have closed up. You are doing about half of each test we need. Out a test lamp inline wit the coil to the points, roll engine over, and the lamp should blink

The860life · Jun 5, 2014

Well I put the lamp on the wire that runs from the coil the the distributor and cranked it, and the lamp did not blink!?! Is that narrowing it down to the coil?

Sean in PA · Jun 5, 2014

You need to put it "in line" with the wire from the coil to the distributor, not just "on" it. In line means to disconnect the wire from the coil to the distributor at the coil end and connect that wire instead to one wire of the test lamp, and then connect the other wire of the test lamp to the coil, so that all current from the coil to the distributor passes through the lamp.

The860life · Jun 5, 2014

Ok well I made the tester "in line" with the wire that goes from the coil to the wire, and no blink! So now its most certainly coil? Can you tell i want it to be the coil? haha!

Royse · Jun 5, 2014

"Can you tell i want it to be the coil?"

Yep, and it might be, but they're pretty reliable.
Try the test light from ground to the distributor side of the coil.
Distributor wire disconnected, key on. Does it light up?
If not, try from ground to the other side of the coil. Light?
If no light there, work your way back toward the key switch
until it does light.

The860life · Jun 5, 2014

Well dang! With the wire disconnected from the distributor, it does light up! What does that mean?

Royse · Jun 5, 2014

It means that at least the primary winding in your coil is good
because you are getting power through it from the key switch.
If you hook that wire back up (you can just touch it to the post)
and the light goes out, either the points are closed (normal) or
you have a ground somewhere in the distributor.

To continue troubleshooting, make sure the points are open.
Roll the engine by hand until they are or open them manually
and put something non-conductive between the contacts.
A piece of thin cardboard, cereal box, plastic, matchbook, etc.
Once they're open, does the light still go out with wire connected?

If so, one common point of grounding is where the wire goes
through the side of the distributor to connect to the points.

Sean in PA · Jun 6, 2014

Sounds like the wire from the coil to the distributor might be shorting out where it goes through the body of the distributor before it gets to the points.

The860life · Jun 6, 2014

I think that's it! I will look for it now, but I was looking at the points and they look fine! What are some things to look for when I am looking for the grounder?

Sean in PA · Jun 6, 2014

It depends on exactly how yours is wired. I believe that originally there was an insulated bushing that went through the body of the distributor and the wire from the coil connected to or passed through the bushing somehow, but the insulation in the bushings would eventually break down, so lots of folks just ran the wire through the hole where the bushing originally was, and maybe added some extra layers of electrical tape around the wire where it passed through the uninsulated hole. However yours is setup at that point, that is where I would look for the short.

The860life · Jun 6, 2014

Ok so I looked at all the bushing and insulator parts and it looks absolutely fine! So I moved on and tested it with the points open and the light stayed on when I touch the wire to the distributor, I guess I should have done that first eh? What does that mean?

Sean in PA · Jun 6, 2014

So the points were closed. That was grounding the distributor side of the coil so there probably is no short then. It sounds like everything should be working. Are you sure that you have the points adjusted properly to get a 0.025" gap when they are open? Since opening the points made the light go on, cranking the starter to spin the engine should make the light blink as the points open and close.

The860life · Jun 6, 2014

I checked the gap and its fine! Sorry about the tests being done wrong, I am very new to this tractor thing! So if everything is working fine what could be wrong?

cbrown9064 · Jun 6, 2014

(quoted from post at 18:13:34 06/06/14) I checked the gap and its fine! Sorry about the tests being done wrong, I am very new to this tractor thing! So if everything is working fine what could be wrong?

First, answer Sean's question. This will tell us a lot.

If the light blinks, you know the points are opening and closing. Check high tension lead from coil to ditsy for proper connections. You could also test for spark from coil out wards by plugging a spark plug lead in to the coil and having a plug on the other end grounded. This would eliminate the cap and rotor.

But, do Sean's check first.

The 860 is dead!!

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