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Help, my VAC runs rough and dies?

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Marty

09-14-1999 11:12:44




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I finished painting my 51 VAC and was putting the sheet metal back on. When I went to crank it, nothing happened when I pushed the starter switch. It hadn't been charging so I figured dead battery. I put a jumper cable to the hot post on the battery and touched it to the starter terminal. I got a little bit of spark, but it didn't turn the starter over. Is this a dead battery? I then pulled the tractor, it ran but very rough. I friend of mine, who knows a little more than I do started adjusting the carb. We got little response in these adjustments. He swears it's a carb problem. Another friend said if my battery is weak, this could be my problem since it's battery ignition. Any ideas or suggestions? If it is the battery, shouldn't adjusting the carb like my friend was still make some difference in how it runs?

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John L.

09-18-1999 20:34:03




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 Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 11:12:44  
Just a thought, but to remove the battery from the equasion, couldn't one just hand crank the engine? I'm assuming that the hand crank is still in place, of course. I'm guessing the engine would still start since we wouldn't be relying on the battery.



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Jerrie Lott

09-20-1999 19:31:14




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 Re: Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to John L., 09-18-1999 20:34:03  
What good would that do, you need electricity for an point style ignition system to fire so if the battery is no good it doesn't matter if you crank it by hand or pull it or jump it when you rely on the existing battery it will not run right, because it does not have enough juice to produce a good strong spark.



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Steve

09-16-1999 22:30:32




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 Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 11:12:44  
Marty,

Sounds just like my Case VAC when I had a problem with the "Third Brush Generator" not putting out because the previous owner wired it wrong! I'd jump the 6 volt battery with my car, use it for about 15 minutes, then it would start sputtering and then die. Yesterday's Tractor had the correct schematic and accompanying instructions in their "Archives" section, then go to "Articles." It runs beautifully now, so I'd suggest putting a VOM meter across the battery to make sure you're in there. The spark plugs, wires and distributor look to be about 30 years old, so I'm sure of the generator problem now.

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Chris Vangel

09-15-1999 12:42:44




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 Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 11:12:44  
Marty, First things first, The tractor needs to be able to start itself, i.e. strong battery. Not only a strong battery but also good clean connections, make sure you havn't insulated your negative connection at the frame with paint. Check both ends of both battery cables. Your description of jumping directly to the starter is either dead battery (the most likely reason) or a poor ground. The coil requires its' rated voltage. 8 volts going into a 12 volt coil will produce a weak spark, maybe not enough spark to start. However, you need to get the engine cranking on its' own first. With a weak spark, or extremely low system voltage, all the carb adjustments in the world won't make a difference if there is not a good spark to ignite the fuel charge. I generally work on new cars, these tractors are the basics todays electronics are built on. I'll answer any questions at my e-mail above, and if I don't know the answer for sure, I'll be honest and tell you, Good Luck, Chris.

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Augie

09-14-1999 22:54:43




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 Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 11:12:44  
Since everbody has already mentioned the normal stuff I'm gonna ask the dumb questions.

Were those new plugs installed when you painted the engine, and if so were the wires installed on the plugs when you painted.

Paint on the plugs and/or wires is not a good thing. Especially if the wires were already in bad shape. You could be losing some spark energy through the paint. I know it sounds crazy, but paint will conduct electricity, and if the ignition system was marginal to begin with...

Myself, I'd get a good hot battery in there and if it don't run right after that start troubleshooting, beginning with the ignition system.

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Dave

09-14-1999 20:32:47




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 Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 11:12:44  
Jerrie is right, without a stong battery that tractor won't run with a brand new engine. My 1950 VAC runs like a champ with a good battery, when it's weak the tractor chugs along. Also see if you have water in your carb bowl. There is a drain plug at the bottom. They came with at least two different brands of carbs, a zinith or a marvel. Rebuild kits are available. Good luck.



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Wolfman

09-14-1999 12:10:31




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 Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 11:12:44  
Besides dead battery, which will not help your problem one bit, have you checked to make sure that you are getting the proper spark to all of your plugs??? Once you've got it running, pull one plug wire at a time and see if there's any noticeable difference in the way it's running, if not, there's your problem. Stick new AC-Delco plugs in it, and you'll be good to go. I've yet to make an adjustment on my carb (knock on wood).

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Marty

09-14-1999 18:08:02




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 Re: Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Wolfman, 09-14-1999 12:10:31  
Wolfman, just put it new champion plugs this summer. Could it be in the distributor, points, rotor or condensor?



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Jerrie Lott

09-14-1999 20:00:08




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 Re: Re: Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Marty, 09-14-1999 18:08:02  
If the battery is low you are not going to be able to trouble shoot any other problem. So get a good battery, then see how it runs. A good 12 volt battery shoud have over 13 volts a good 6 volt battery should have over 6.5 volts. I can't remember what the specific gravity of the electrolyte an a fully charged battery is sopposed to be.



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wes shinn

09-14-1999 21:03:51




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 Re: Re: Re: Re: Help, my VAC runs rough and dies? in reply to Jerrie Lott, 09-14-1999 20:00:08  
my '47 vai was doing that.it was hard to start,
going thru battery charges so fast i got tired
just hooking up and unhooking. i cleaned the carb
and played with fuel line,no help.had decent spark
still no help.by accident noticed gas cap sealed
tank so tight that gas would soon stop as vacum
was created.i leave cap off while running now it seems to work fine.

wes

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