Problem with starter.

I have a ford 8 or 9n not sure which.
It ran when I bought it a month ago, and recently quit turning
over.
I bought a new battery, still nothing.
All the wiring from the ignition (key) is all rigged up pretty
poorly, but worked nonetheless....

I did what I could to test the 6v current from the battery to the
starter relay and can't determine if its the relay, or a bad
starter.
What is a good easy way to test the starter?
Is it possible to just jump all that and just "Hotwire" the lead
into the starter?

Rancid, easiest thing to do is pull a 12v vehicle up near it, leave your ignition on the tractor on, connect a jumper cable from you jumper vehicles pos trminal to ground (clean up one of the engine to bellhousing bolts for a ground) then touch (not hook to, just touch) the cable that is connected to your jumper vehicles neg post to the cleaned up post on your starter, it'll turn over if it's ok. You really need to figure out is it a 9/2N or 8N as there are specific things relative to the different models we could suggest; does it have 3 or 4 forward gears? are both brake pedals on the right side, or is there one brake pedal on each side?

Does it have a starter solenoid similar to this one? Hal

I think it is a stuck starter. The starter jambed into the ring gear, common on the fords if ring gear starts to go bad. Loosen the 2 bolts that hold the starter on but only 1/4", DO NOT take them out then take a screw driver and drive inbetween the starter and the housing and get the starter to wiggle. Tap the starter button and it should run but do not hold it running like that and if it runs then tighten the starter back and it should start. If when lose it does not run then you have other problems. But do not let that starter come apart, if you have to take it off keep the back bolt in and take the front bolt out just enough to take a 5/16" nut being held with a pair of needle nose pliars in between the starter and the housing and while holding that nut in place thread the starter bolt into it and then you will be safe to pull the starter out and will take a lot of wiggleing to get it out. Reverce to install keeping that nut on the outer bolt untill the inner bolt is secure. Some say you can release a stuck starter by putin in high gear and rocking the tractor but have not found that to work. A lot of information back in the archives here on stuck starters.

If it is a 9N it will not have a relay or selonoid, just a direct contact button but there is a chance the button linkage from the tranny case to the actuall starter button has slipped out of place but you do have to have it in netrual for the starter to work as that is a built in safty feature andthat will be the same if either a 9N or 8N.

8N is a 4 speed.

First off figure out what you have since the fix can be different since the 8N has a solenoid and the 9N does not.
9N/2N have 3 forward gears. Then the simple but not always correct way to tell if a 9N or 2N is the radius rods. On the 9N the radius rods are I-Beam type on the 2N they are a tube type.
On the 8N you have a solenoid and you also have 4 forward gears.
On either you can use a jumper cable and run one side to the ignition side of the battery and touch the stud that has the cable on the starter to see it is will spin over. BE 1000% sure it is out of gear or you could get run over.

You got a good reply from OLD!!!!. Jumping over the relay can surely determine the status of the starter motor. Wish you the best of luck. Good advice is here and handy. LOU.