9N distributor

John Christy

New User
I have a 9N front mounted distributor Ford. It will not start
and I have discovered that it has no spark to the plugs. I have
checked out everything from battery to pigtail on the coil and
voltage flows to all parts. I have had the coil/distributor
bench tested at a tractor shop and all is good.
I find that when the coil is energised the body of the
distributor is hot. Now I am just a dumb farmer but how are
you going to get spark to the plug if the distributor body is
hot? I have pulled it down on the bench and find that power
to the pigtail contact results in power to the dist. body.
 
Body of distributor hot??? Sounds like you have something out of place since if it is hot then it is not grounded as it needs to be for things to work. If the body of the distributor is not grounded it will not complete the circuit so yes you would not have spark
 
electronics 101 at play here.

the points are the source of 'ground' for the coil. when they close, there is a complete circuit.

if you have that dizzy off in your hand and put power to the coil, and the points are closed.. the body of the dizzy will be at the same potential as the top of the coil

certaintly no mystery here.


have you checked key switch and resistor contacts.

reading voltage on a meter is 1 thing. haveing a good enough connection to conduict some current is another.

post back
 
current flow is from the switched post on the ignition switch to the positive post on the coil then to the insulated side of the points and when the points are closed, to the body of the distributor. So, if you have power to the positive post of the coil an a bench you should have the whole thing "hot".

When the points open the coil field collapses and the spark goes to the plugs thru the rotor. Spark does not occur when the points close, it occurs when they open.
 
Ouestion ? Iwas taught the distributor side of the coil should be the same as the battery. Is this right?

Jim
 
That is correct but on the N series fords you can only hook it up one way since it ground internally on the distributor. Now if you have the round can coil what you asked is correct
 
(quoted from post at 21:35:19 05/02/13) Ouestion ? Iwas taught the distributor side of the coil should be the same as the battery. Is this right?

Jim
Yes, if the points are open. Not if they are closed.
 
The distributor body stays hot on doing the bench test.
Now let me lay out my system and you can tell me if I have a bad hookup. The positive post from battery goes to frame. The negative goes to the starter. The positive post also feeds the switch which goes to the coil. So the coil receives + and the body is + so the motor is - from the lead to the starter. Now I need that electrical 101 to tell me what is wrong with this picture. The starter would not run unless the motor was ++.
 
John........would it surprize you to learn the starter motor don't care, positive (+) or negative (-) ground, it ALWAYS turns the correct direction to start yer engine. And yes, you can run yer 6-volt starter motor on 12-volts.

Would it surprize you to learn yer 1-terminal squarecan frontmount coil don't really care positive (+) or negative (-) ground either??? While it came 6-volt positive (+) ground from the factory, many neubie shadetree mechanics install it negative (-) ground just like their 12V-V8's. It will start and run just fine. .......Dell, yer self-appointed sparkie-meister
 
" The positive post from battery goes to frame." "The positive post also feeds the switch which goes to the coil." IF this is actually the way it is connected, then you are feeding chassis ground into the ign switch & to coil and clearly no current will flow & no spark will result. Are you sure that is the way it is connected??? Nothing connects to grounded side of the battery except chassis ground.
 
That makes sense to me but I do not know where a gasget would go. The distributor mounts flush with the block behind the fan. I have not seen a gasget there. There is one between the coil and the distributor.
To eliminate some possible problems I have bypassed the switch and the resistor and to make it hot I go direct from the positive post to the only post on the coil. I have cleaned the inside of the dist. and installed new points and condenser. The only place I can see for a problem is the copper foil from the pigtail screw to the points. I don't think I can replace that.
 
That strip is know to break and can be replaced if you can find one. I have seen them replaced with a piece of wire etc. If testing it off the tractor you have to ground the body of it so one lead goes to the coil top and the other to the body of the distributor so as to bench test
 
I have done as you suggested and then rotated the tang which rotates the rotor and the reading remains constant on the multimeter. The repair shop used a plug wire to see the spark jump when it was on the bench but the body was not grounded. I will go try again but am sure it is as I have described.
I had it on the bench with the power from a 6 volt charger and using a multimeter to detect leakage. The points closed gave a reading of 12 volts and point open 6volts. So there is leakage to groung somewhere. the ground point was the distributor body.
 
Check that where the wire goes on the points there is not a ground there. Common area for a short to happen at
 
(quoted from post at 18:02:26 05/03/13) That makes sense to me but I do not know where a gasget would go. The distributor mounts flush with the block behind the fan. I have not seen a gasget there. There is one between the coil and the distributor.
To eliminate some possible problems I have bypassed the switch and the resistor and to make it hot I go direct from the positive post to the only post on the coil. I have cleaned the inside of the dist. and installed new points and condenser. The only place I can see for a problem is the copper foil from the pigtail screw to the points. I don't think I can replace that.

"To eliminate some possible problems I have bypassed the switch and the resistor and to make it hot I go direct from the positive post to the only post on the coil." I have already pointed this out earlier, but apparently it didn't 'take'. You are saying that + on battery is chassis ground, then you say you get 'hot' directly from battery +. Can't be!!!
 
Something really does sound fishy here. If the positive terminal on the battery goes to ground, then you need to get power to the distributor from the NEGATIVE side of the battery. Doesn't matter if it comes from the key switch or a jumper wire, the power has to come from the - side of the battery, not the + side. This completes the circuit. Something might still be haywire inside the distributor, but after it's fixed, IF it needs to be fixed, you still need to get power to it to get spark and the only way you will do that is to get the power from the NEGATIVE terminal if the POSITIVE terminal is grounded to the frame. Let us know when you get her running. Jim
 
I made the check and the voltage at the cois is the same as at the body with points closed. Points open 1/2 the voltage at the coil.
 
John you stated before that the + side of the batt is to ground and the - side to the starter. Then you say you are feeding + to the distributer. That's why it will not work. + to + gives you no circuit. Your ignition should be hooked up to the - side to complete a circuit. Should be an easy fix.

Rick
 
perhaps you could throw in a few more words to make that easier to follow.

as I said.

dizzy body showing bat voltage, when it's not installed and points closed is NO mystery.
 
I finally located the short. The pigtail from the coil was touching the clip ring that holds the distributor plate. I had to bend the pigtail just a fraction and it fired right off. The clip ring can only fit one way so it could not be moved.
Thanks to all for your help. I am back to work. If I just had a few more horse power, I would be in good shape.

Thanks
 
Ya one like that can be fun to find and fix. Good to hear you got it figured out.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top