9N won't start

So its my first time owning a tractor. picked it up for a really good deal and only because I was told by a few people they are very easy to work on. Picked it up last October(2016) and was not running, it was cranking but no start. It sat till just about 2 weeks ago, trying to get it started. I have someone working on it, we have changed out point, coil, distributer, plugs and now I'm changing out the ignition resister.Here is why. The guy I bought it from said he had some else looking at it and they left the battery on and killed it. So they put a new battery, but it still never started.
Now that we are working on it, come to find out these guys put a 12v battery in a 6v system, it has been cranked ALLOT. the mechanic thought something or everything was fried so we just replaced. But now that we have done all the replacements it still will not fire up. I am lost and I don't want to continue to pay this guy with no end in sight. thanks for any help

forgot to add, we have no spark at any plug

"Now that we are working on it, come to find out these guys put a 12v battery in a 6v system, it has been cranked ALLOT. the mechanic thought something or everything was fried so we just replaced. But now that we have done all the replacements it still will not fire up."

first, welcome to YT. you've come to the right place. if the people here can't help u to get this running, chances are no one can.

the dangers of a 12 volt battery in a 6 volt system are, in my opinion, grossly exaggerated. as far as i'm aware, there are only 2 things on the tractor that care about that difference in voltage.

the first one is the headlights - and while 12 volts to a 6 volt headlight will burn the bulb up in short order, this won't keep the tractor from starting or running.

the other thing that can be affected adversely is the coil. but since i now have over 100 hours on a 6 volt coil with a twelve volt battery, i tend to consider this mismatch to be as big a problem as others

no spark is actually good, as it eliminates fuel flow problems from immediate consideration. i will leave u in the capable hands of bruce, who can give u a far better roadmap to diagnosing your lack of spark than i ever could

hang in there - and in the meantime, don't pay this guy anything more to randomly replace things.

sorry, that should have read "i tend to consider this mismatch to NOT be as big a problem as others "

It is easy to work on.

" I don't want to continue to pay this guy "

I wouldn't either.

Assuming that the bushings & advance weights are ok (*see below), & that you have correct voltage to the coil (battery voltage with the points open and about half that with the points closed), the most common electrical failure (no spark, weak spark) points on the front mount are:

1. The insulator under the brass concave head screw & where the copper
strip attaches. (it's fiber & will wear out; poke & prod w/ your meter leads to make sure it still works) If you need to replace the insulator, use a .250 x 3/8 nylon square nylon anchor nut available at most big box home stores.



2. The pigtail at the bottom of the coil not making contact w/ the concave head brass screw inside the distributor. (With the coil on, the pigtail must firmly contact the brass screw. No contact = no spark)



3. The copper strip is broken or grounded to the plate. (look very carefully for cracks & breaks).



4. The condenser wire grounding to the plate or side of the distributor.



5. The tab on the bottom of the coil not making contact w/ the brass button on the cap. (With the cap on, the tab must firmly contact the brass button. No contact = no spark.)



6. Incorrect positioning of the spring clip on the plate causing the pigtail to ground. (the open part of the clip goes between 7 & 9 o'clock on the plate. That puts the straight part of the clip opposite of the timing screw at 3 o'clock)



7. Incorrect seating of the coil on the distributor due to a loose bail
or no gasket.(the coil must not move at all; if it does, replace the gasket or bail. Or stick some cardboard under the bail).



8. Water/moisture inside the cap due to gasket failure or the absence of
a gasket. (the cap AND coil have gaskets)



9. Dirty/corroded/burned/incorrectly gapped or misaligned points. I use
only Wells, Blue Streak or Echlin brand points (* *see below). If you are using quality points and cannot get the gap to open to .015, chances are you need to replace the bushings. If the shaft has any sideways movement AT ALL, the bushings must be replaced. (*** see below)



10. Burned rotor, cracked/carbon tracked cap.



After find the problem & re-check the point gap, do a continuity check before you put the distributor back on the tractor. Before you start, make sure your meter/light works.



With the distributor still off the tractor, follow these steps:



1. Coil off, cap off, points open. One probe on the brass screw & the
other on both sides of the open points. On the side closest to the cam, you should have continuity. Not on the other side! If you do, you will also have continuity everywhere because the points are grounded.



2. Coil off, cap off, points open. One probe on the brass screw & the
other anywhere on the body of the distributor. You should have no continuity! Now, rotate the tang on the distributor....as the points open & close, you have continuity (closed) and lose it when they open.



3. Put the coil on the distributor, cap off, points open. One probe on
the lead on the top of the coil, the other on the cam side of the open points. You should have continuity!



4. Coil on, cap off, points open. One probe on the lead on the top of
the coil, the other anywhere on the body of the distributor. You should have no continuity!



At this point, I just put the distributor, coil & cap all back on the tractor as a unit. The reason I do this is because it is real easy to get the cap or coil misaligned trying to put it back together, one piece at a time. The result is something gets broken or you get a 'no spark' problem.



It's possible to put it back on wrong & break it. Look at the slot on the end of the cam shaft. Whatever angle it happens to be, turn the distributor tang to match it. Make sure you can tell the wide side from the narrow side on both the cam & distributor! (close counts). Place the distributor on the front of the engine, gently push it in place & slowly turn the distributor body until you feel the tang slip into the slot. Rotate the distributor body until the bolt holes line up. Hand tighten the two bolts until the distributor body is flush with the timing gear cover.



* Unscrew the plate hold down screw & remove the C clip to get the plate out. Remove the shaft & weights. The weights should freely move.



* *NAPA part numbers:

. Points: FD-6769X

. Condenser: FD-71

. Rotor: FD-104

. Cap: FD-126


*** There are three ways to replace the bushings in a front distributor:

1. Buy new bushings (part numbers 9N12120 front & 18-12132 rear). Press out the old ones, press in the new ones and ream to fit. CAUTION: do not try this unless you have a press & know how to use it. If you break the base, a new one costs $130. If you bend the tower which holds the front bushing, a new plate will cost you $30. Resist the temptation to buy a new plate; most are pot metal and the threads will wallow out about the third time you change the points.

2. Take the new bushings and distributor to your local machine shop.

3. Send the distributor out for bushing replacement if you do not have a local machine shop
75 Tips

Serna.........ennytime you have starting issues, replace yer FLOODED sparkies. Recommend AutoLite 437's gapped 0.025. Ennytime someone mumbles resistor, that implies the weird 4-nipple front mount with points 0.015. Me? I'd unsnapple the capple and press open the points (0.015) and clamp the corner of $1-bill (cheap) between the points and PULL. Polish the INVISIBLE CORROSION from between the points. As an aside, the front mount is designed to be removed and points replaced on the kitchen table. With 2-bolts kenn NOT getter outta time. Re: 12-volts vs 6-volts. There is NOW a 12-volt squarecan front mount coil. Costs a little more but generates hotter sparkies. Many bubba 12-volt conversions use the el-cheapo 12-to-6 volt converting resistor scheme. mox-nix. Unfortunately, unless it is marked on the box, it takes an OHM meter (technical term) to distinguish between the 6-volt (1.2-ohms) vs 12-volt (3-ohms) The idjits that make the 12 volt coil could use different color plastic, or more better engraved the voltage (12-volts) or engraved the part number. Being a FCC licensed engr, I have my own electronic ohm meter. Something most wanna bee tractor mechanics won't have. 12-volts will kill a 6-volt coil, not quite like 12-volts on 6-volt lite bulb where it is instant flash. Generally, short term 12-volts on 6-volt coil won't killer. One last comment, positive (+) or negative (-) ground (6-volt or 12-volt) won't killer yer sparkies ...but... there are some obscure advantages to positive (+) ground. With modern 437's, notta problem. Litebulbs don't care positive (+) or negative (-) ground, work just the same. ........HTH, the amazed Dell and self-appointed sparkie-meister

Roughly where do you live? Maybe we can find you a Mechanic. I'm in maryland.

Someone left the switch turned on in our 2N front mount, Fried the coil. New coil--- runs like new.

I'm in Clovis, CA

Bruce
thanks, I will print your comments out and use them as a check list and go from there.

Have you tried running a hot wire from the battery to the distributer and see if you have spark on the points?? Really sounds like the coil and I know you have probably checked it a thousand times but ?? Just a thought??