(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

8n burning points

F

fspring

Member
neighbor brought his 8n over after his reg mechanic couldnt figure out why he was burning points up every 10- 15 hours.

its still a 6 volt positive system, but he claims it was switched to 12 volt. has a almost new distributor on it and carb as well. really nice tractor.

i checked the volts with my amp meter and its at 6.1, starts right up. but with it running the amp meter goes nuts and i cant get a steady reading. what would cause this?? i suspect this is his problem
however.

it still has the old 3 wire generator on it, 2 small wires (one goes to the coil) together and the larger at the bottom. what should each wire read?? i cant get a steady reading at any of the post.

any ideas would be welcomed.
 
update, it looks like someone ran a new wire from the generator terminal directly to the coil. is there not supposed to be a resistor in this line before the 6 volt coil????? it apears to show one in the ford online parts diagrams. as you can tell i know nothing about these ford 8n tractors...... thanks in advance
 
You must be using a digital "Ammeter" to read your system voltage, as they are often confused by the electrical "noise" given off by the charging and ignition systems of these old beasts, an accurate analog VOLTMETER would be preferred.

Next, is this a "front mount" or a "side mount" distributor setup?

Also, an "as-original GENERATOR system wouldn't have a wire from the coil to the generator. One of the little wires would be to chassis ground, and the other to the "F" (Fld) terminal on the voltage regulator.
 
See tip # 47 re the erratic reading on your meter.

But 6v or 12v doesn't matter to the points. If it did, you would see different part numbers for points based on the tractor's charging system. And you don't.

Usually burned points will have pits on one side & raised areas on the others. Sometimes they just wear unevenly. They will most always discolor as they have a coating on the surface. The usual causes of burned points are absence of cam/wearing block lubricant, condenser failure, a decreasing gap caused by wear on the rubbing block, mis-alignment, sanding w/ a point file, bad bushings, setting an incorrect gap, leaving the ignition key on w/ the points closed, use of incorrect cam lubricant & poor quality points.


See tips 66, 67 & 68.



Given the 10-15 hour history, I'd suspect junk parts, poor installation or bad bushings.
75 Tips
 
Fix that.

Google " wiring diagrams JMOR" and wire the tractor directly.

The resistor protects the coil for too much current, not the points.

Front or side distributor?

6v or 12v?
75 Tips
 
Your wiring is all mucked up. There are NOT two wires to the coil, only ONE. Do we assume you have an early 8N to the front mount distributor? The coil fastens to the top post of the coil and feeds the loom to the LH terminal of the Ballast Resistor. That's it for the coil. No Ballast Resistor? Get one. Your 3-Wire generator also should have a Voltage Regulator (NOT a roundcan cutout) with three terminals on it; ARM FLD and GRN. Once you KNOW the wiring is correct, polarize the generator before applying power. Also invest in the essential manuals if ya wanna be an N owner. Don?t have any? Get them. The I&T FO-4 manual and 39-53 MOC are great places to start. A copy of the 8N Operator's Manual and the lime green service manual are full of information as well. Here are some 8N schematics:

FORD 8N TRACTOR WIRING DIAGRAM w/ FRONT MOUNT DISTRIBUTOR:
MXLPPws.jpg
rxNF128.jpg
CfuUUP3.jpg
lz8RwfQ.jpg

POLARIZING THE GENERATOR:
yfPvocU.jpg

FORD 8N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:
qI9P22k.jpg

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)
 
ok it does not have that type of distributor, it must be the side mount. its still 6 volt and has a seperate coil.
 
(quoted from post at 09:13:25 08/12/19) ok it does not have that type of distributor, it must be the side mount. its still 6 volt and has a seperate coil.
Click to expand...
efine "burning up points". don't look like they did coming out of box? been so hot that rubbing block melted? one contact welded to the other? what?
 
I have ran my 44 2N with the ballast resisror bypassed for a long time with no points burning. And before that resistor went bad and was shutting off the tractor used a 8 volt battery to get the voltage to points to start, both 41 9N and 44 2N so with the ristor was supposed to be putting 6.2 volts to points and never had a point burning problem. Have owned the 2N for 75 years. and used the 8 volt battery for 30 years. If Ford needed that resistor to cut voltage to points so they would not burn why would both Deere and IHC on 6 volt systems never have that resistor anf points never burn? If they can run without that resistor and work so should the Ford.
 
First, the Deere & IH coils will have a higher primary winding resistance than the Ford coil, by about a factor of three. With or without the resistor, while running makes little difference, BUT.....when stalled, the resistor heats up, increasing resistance, reducing coil current & may save the coil from destruction. You sound like you have been diligent in not leaving ignition on with engine stalled.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
8N front mount dist no spark
Replies
2
Views
395
lha
L
9
8n quits running.
Replies
15
Views
980
9nericm
9
R
Alternator Confusion, Positive Ground
2
Replies
20
Views
751
2SteveWI
2
D
1948 8N steering
Replies
13
Views
560
Dan
D
Hemmjo
Re: FORD NAA/GOLDEN JUBILEE WIRING
Replies
0
Views
176
Hemmjo
Hemmjo
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

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.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top