IH Farmall 544 Firing problems

volnerj

New User
Looking for some help or advice. I have a 544 Farmall with a C200 gas engine. I can not get the plugs to fire. I have lots of fire from the coil to the rotor. I have timed the engine but still no spark. I can take the cap off the distributor and line up the rotor to the contacts on the bottom of the cap and get fire from the coil through the rotor to the plugs. When I put the cap back on it will not fire. I can move the distributor to advance or retard the timing and no fire; however I can unsnap the distributor cap and move just the cap CCW and then the plugs will fire. Any suggestion or advice would be greatly appreciated.

The distributor is a Prestolite IBT-4102

Jody Volner
 
For whatever reason the rotor is not aligned with the cap terminals when the points break.

Is the rotor tight on the shaft? Some have a spring clip under the rotor that keeps the rotor tight to the shaft. Is it in place?

Was the rotor or cap replaced and are they the same as the old ones?

Has the distributor been disassembled? Possibly the centrifugal advance has gotten out of time with the point cam.

Has the breaker plate been removed? It should only go in one way, but anything is possible...
 
Well, I guess the big question is "was it running before this happened and just stopped or was something done to it and now it won't run?".

Assuming it just stopped working, consider my comments below.

I used to check if points were good by removing the cap and moving the rotor to break the points to see if I get it to fire. I assumed if I could do that I was good. NOT!

I had an old ford truck that was run intermittently. For one reason or another I didn't have my condenser connected properly. Over time the points got badly burned. I could make it fire like mentioned above, but every time I'd put the cap back on, it was totally dead. I replaced the points and condenser and it was ready to roll as usual.

Good luck and let us know what you find.
 

Thank you for you reply. The rotor is tight on the shaft. There is no spring clip under the rotor. I have replaced the cap and rotor twice and they do match the original one taken off. I have had the distributor apart and put back together. I have removed the breaker plate. What you describe as centrifugal advance out of time is what it acts like. The rotor definetly is not firing when it comes around to the caps contacts going out to the plugs.
 

The tractor was running and while mowing it started popping out the exhaust like it was out of time. It then stopped all together after I did a tune up. I then took out the distributor and cleaned it up and switched to electronic ignition. I also put in a hot coil(3.3 ohms). I now have fire everywhere except to the plug. I get lots of fire from the coil to the rotor, none from the contact points on the cap to the plugs. I am sure I am fighting a timing issue but can not figure out how to get the distributor back in time so the rotor hits the distributor cap contacts when it is suppose to.
 
Since you have had the distributor apart, have you checked to make sure it's not 180 degrees out of time? I remember on a ford, you can make that mistake pretty easily.
 
Something is up with the trigger coil or the pole piece that triggers it. Is it possible to get the pole piece upside down?

Could be a mfg defect or miss packaged. If nothing seems out of place, I'd call the mfg and ask if they've had others with the same problem.
 

No way to get it upside down. It comes assembled you just replace the plate assembly and install the magnet; however I will call Petronix to see if they have had quality issues or defects. Thanks for the advice.
 
I would say your cap is bad. It probably has what
they call "Carbon Arc" on the inside of it. It is
hard to see on a black cap but a keen eye can see
it. It will look like some one took a lead pencil
and drew lines on the inside. When this happens it
will lead the spark directly to ground. I would try
a new distributor cap and see if it runs. I suspect
it will.
 
(reply to post at 20:21:51 01/14/15) [ /quote] ok... been working on this evening and have removed the distributor. I turn the switch on and manually turn the distributor counter clock wise and no fire. As soon as I turn it clock wise all plugs fire. The problem is the distributor turns counter clock wise when in the engine and turning over with the starter. I am confused to say the least.
 
OK, let's clear up a few things. OK, if the rotor turns CCW by the engine, by loosening the distributor housing and rotating it CW, you're simulating rotor movement and when the trigger passes the pickup coil, the ignition should fire, so that sounds correct. You also said, when you do this, "all the plugs fire". I assume you mean they will all fire, just not all at the same time. If you're firing all 4 at the same time with one trigger, then you have other issues.

You also mentioned earlier, you installed a "hot coil". It sounds like you started out with some problems an have complicated your issues by making many changes at once.

If I were you, I'd go back to basics. I'd first do a quick compression test to make sure you don't have a valve sticking open or something, because of the backfire you first mentioned. If that's ok, I'd pull the aftermarket ignition parts, and go back to a points/condenser firing system and install a standard coil and set base timing.

Somehow, you have to take this thing back down to it's simplest form and get running, then adjust and then you can add back electronic ignition, etc.

At the moment, I'm not sure what state your ignition is in based on all the comments. If I were there, I'm sure I could have that thing firing right in just a few minutes, but I'd have to see it.
 

last fall I had a normally great running Ford on EI getting progressively poorer running. Fiinally it would not start. Holding the plug wire a little off the plug would get it to fire but not run. A friend pulled the cap off and saw no problem until he pulled the rotor. He noticed carbon on the plastic under the metal contact on top. A new rotor fixed it. The spark was jumping from the rotor to ground due to some very bad plugs.
 
(quoted from post at 08:25:06 01/15/15)
last fall I had a normally great running Ford on EI getting progressively poorer running. Fiinally it would not start. Holding the plug wire a little off the plug would get it to fire but not run. A friend pulled the cap off and saw no problem until he pulled the rotor. He noticed carbon on the plastic under the metal contact on top. A new rotor fixed it. The spark was jumping from the rotor to ground due to some very bad plugs.

I was able to fix the issue. I had a faulty electronic ignition. Went back to the points and the engine now fires.

Thank you all for your input and suggestions.
 

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