I'm sorry, another 8N not starting question.

Big Trees

Member
Hello y'all, with the help of this forum I chose my first tractor, 8N converted to 12 V with side mount distributor.

Since getting it home a week ago it has mostly sat as I'm looking for a heavy duty angle blade to do some grading work. I started it 2 days ago and started to brush hog a little with it and it bogged down and quit on me. I had a friend come by and help me look at it and he said it was the starter so I took it off and took it up to have it looked at. The guy put a couple washers in it to make the gap a little bigger and sent me on my way stating it was working fine. I got home and put starter in and it started right up and I parked it for the night.

Fast forward to this morning and I started it and drove it in 1st gear for about 20 feet before it died on me and won't crank up for me since. My first step was checking the spark plugs and I'm getting NO spark. Since then I've read a bunch of threads here and tried a bunch of stuff but no avail.

When checking voltage at the coil sometimes I get 5 volts and sometimes I get 12. When touching the voltage or light tester to the points I get no reading but I get a spark from the points when I separate them with a screwdriver. I barely get any reading at the distributor and I get power and voltage at the resistor.

I would sincerely appreciate any and all help/advice at all in getting this tractor running. Since moving to the country I have been taking on a lot of new adventures and working on my own stuff has been one of them. I have the I&T F0-4 manual but that doesn't go into very much detail for a beginner like myself.

Please help a fella out....

Thanks in advance!
 

Thank you for the response. The clamp seemed pretty straight forward to me, the cap seemed to fit in place where the clamps line up with the "tabs" on the cap just right. It seemed like it fit together real nice. Is there something I can look for that maybe didn't go right? Again, I appreciate your response.
 
Check the wiring with a voltmeter from the battery to the key switch to the coil. Wiring might be in poor connection. Frayed or brittle(broken) wiring can be a problem. Also check all the spark plug wires ends and clean them if necessary also look at the inside of the nipples on the cap to make sure there is no corrosion on the brass bases.
 

Thank you for the response and I think I'll just replace that wiring you're speaking of. It won't be that much and hopefully that'll take care of a possible problem for me. I appreciate that!
 
Oh yea, and when I disconnected the wire at the top of the coil and put it by a ground it did NOT spark at all.
 

If you are getting a spark when you open them by hand you are getting power to the points. I would make sure they are set to 0.025" when open. then take the large lead out of the top of the dist cap and open the points by hand when hooked to a spark tester or in the hand of a real good friend.

if you have spark there, I would check the rotor and make sure you have the small clip the rotor goes on over on the shaft. They are easy to lose if you don't know they are there. Rotor and dist cap usually don't go bad, but they can crack or get burnt terminals on the inside.
good luck
 
Trouble shoot then part NEVER the other way around. Try a simple hot wire from the battery to the ignition side of the coil. Then when hot wired spin it over and check for spark from the center cap wire. Make sure it is a good blue/white in color and jumps a 1/4 inch gap. If no spark then your points are not doing there job as they should be. Check the gap and make sure it is 0.025 on all four lobes. Yes said you got a spark with a screw driver when messing with the points so did the point spark or was it because you shorted thing out with the screw driver and if you shorted it out then the point need to be cleaned and or replaced.
 
Thank you for the reply and advice, old. I did hot wire the battery to the coil but I didn't know I was looking for a spark, I thought I was looking for the tractor to start. I will do that again tomorrow but look for a spark. When you say "check for spark from the center cap wire" , do I have to do that with the cap off? Maybe it's not making sense to me because it's been a few hours since I've been out there and I can't picture it right now. I'm also not exactly what you mean when you say "lobes", I'll use the search feature and see if I can find some pictures. I wanted a youtube video tonight on how to gap the points but he didn't check 4 pieces. I'm not sure if I was shorting the points or they were sparking due to normal procedure, I really don't. I will clean them tomorrow as well. I tried to do it earlier with a dollar bill but I didn't seem to be making much progress. I have been trying to diagnose it instead of buying parts for it. The only thing that I've put on was spark plugs but I had those before it wouldn't start, I just hadn't put them on yet. Thanks for the advice and I'll look for spark tomorrow after hot wiring it again.
 
The distributor cap has 5 nipple on it. The center one is the one that comes from the coil. You pull that one off the cap and hold it a 1/4 inch or so from the block and spin it over. You should get a blue/white spark for it. The 4 lobes are the lobes on the distributor shaft that open the points 4 times per full engine stork as in all four cylinders fire. If the points are set wrong you can have some cylinders fire and others not or have a bad distributor bushing which can cause odd sparking that can cause many odd problems
 

Ok, that's making sense to me now. The only thing that I'm wondering about now it when I was outside earlier checking the tractor out and pulling the plug wires, I noticed that there was a wire coming from the distributor (I think the center one) that wasn't connected to anything. I looked at the connector and it seemed like the metal part was missing. I just assumed it was a "rigged" up setup and just went on with my diagnosing steps. It sounds like that wire need to be going to the coil. Now I just need to figure out where it needs to go on there LOL. I sincerely appreciate the help!!
 

When I was pulling off the coil wire and checking for spark I was pulling off a regular wire, it wasn't one of the nipple wires.
 
The coil will have 3 wires going to it. One comes form the ignition one form the distributor and the center one goes to the distributor cap and that is the one you check spark at. If you hot wire it and hook up the hot wire to the small wire going to the distributor you will burn up the points and yes will need new ones if you have done that. I keep my e-mail open on here so any body who need more help can e-mail me and then I can give you my home number. I have had more then one person call me for help and have been talking to a guy in Texas for the last few days helping him
 

Thank you very much for offering to help me over the phone, I sincerely appreciate that! I hope it doesn't come to me having to bug you nice folks at your residence over the phone haha. Asking for advice on here is bad enough lol. When I hot wired the coil earlier I ran a small wire from the + battery terminal to the right side of the coil, without seeing it I believe it was the side going to the distributor. I was thinking about changing the points anyways because I have a feeling I need them. Just didn't want to blindly throw money into the tractor.
 
Yep I understand trouble shooting first then parts and never the other way around. Over the 10 plus years on this site I have many people that call me on the phone when they need help and I am more then happy to help if and when I can and even come up with part numbers from time to time
 
(quoted from post at 21:09:04 07/22/15) Yep I understand trouble shooting first then parts and never the other way around. Over the 10 plus years on this site I have many people that call me on the phone when they need help and I am more then happy to help if and when I can and even come up with part numbers from time to time

Old, good morning and thank you for your continued help. I reconnected the center coil wire that was unhooked and the tractor started up immediately lol. I feel like a goof because it was something so easy and obvious but I guess you'll have those problems when the tractor world is new to you. I can't thank you all enough, I appreciate the help you all are more than willing to give. Thank goodness there is forums like this.


I'm about do some research on the squeaky belt that I have on the tractor but is that a sign of something besides a little loose belt?

Again, thank you very much! I'm so glad the tractor started without parts being put in :D.
 
" I'm about do some research on the squeaky belt that I have on the tractor but is that a sign of something besides a little loose belt? "

Adjust the belt to have 1/2" of flex at the midpoint.
75 Tips
 

Thanks, Bruce, I will do that. Is the alternator the easiest place to adjust the belt at? I would think so but that's coming from somebody who doesn't know anything about tractors lol.
 
" Is the alternator the easiest place to adjust the belt at?"

It's the easiest place because it's the only place!

" that's coming from somebody who doesn't know anything about tractors"

Check out tip # 39. The manuals are a good place to start learning.
75 Tips
 

Thanks for the help and the tip to get a manual. I have the F0-4 manual but need to get the operators manual also. I went out and tightened up the belt a little and it only squeaks a little on start up but not while it's running like it was this morning. Thanks for helping me get that worked out. I will purchase a owners manual and study the two of them.

I have a few other issues I need worked out (ammeter hooked up, steering box greased, hydraulic leak) but those are all things that I know have been discussed and I'll take the time to find those answers, I just needed this thing running. Thanks to all who responded and helped me get this thing running.

I appreciate it.
 

lol You're exactly right on that! haha I looked at the loose center wire coming from the distributor and I saw the center thing on the coil that didn't have anything connected to it lol but it didn't "click" in my head to try to put it on the coil and fire it up. I'm glad you all were willing to help. I sincerely appreciate it.
 
Shoot a couple years ago I had a guy call me once or twice a day. He had a tractor that he could not get started and I talked him threw it over about 2 weeks time. I am always happy to help if and when I can
 
That is so very true now days. Back when I was growing up you knew your neighbors and you helped them and they helped you but now days your neighbors would prefer to sue you in court and cause you trouble then to help you
 
So am I, I have been here since July of 1980 but yet neighbors who have only been here say 7 or 8 years have put restrictions on me and the courts have agreed since I can not afford to pay a lawyer not how it should be but that is how the courts work any more you have the $$ you get your way
 

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. It should not work that way but our crooked system doesn't care. I hope things eventually work in your favor, I truly do.
 
Well I know after my mom dies I will have the $$ to do something about it since I will have to sell her house and that should be a big chunk of $$$. Sad it has to be that way but well you know the court system is now for those who have the $$
 
Such is life but when I get he $$ I will sue the neighbor for at least $100 each per week plus pain and suffering etc etc etc. Plus maybe try to get the Judge for unfair ruling due to not hearing all sides and I'll not do it in the country I live in so as to get out of this area full of crooks
 
Well ya there are a lot of crooks in the court houses but I'll take it to the capital so at least it will be a long ways form this country so maybe I'll stand a chance and that is also where there are more D.A.V.s like my self
 

Always a crap shoot, no matter who has the most money. Although the person with the best paid lawyer (more money lol) usually does end up on the winning end, that's for sure.
 
Ya very sad that the justice system is now more then likely the injustice system and the Lawyers and judges are the crooks not the people there for the trial.
 


Old, I'm having issues with the tractor not starting again and I referenced back to this thread for your advice again. I'm going to try what you suggested in this thread again to try to diagnose my issue. I wanted to thank you once again for helping me.
 

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