Farmall H started right up, died, cranks, won't start.

Hey, guys. I'm having some trouble with my 1949 Farmall H and was hoping someone could help. It started like a champ today and ran maybe a minute. I raised the bucket, backed up a little ways, and the sucker quit all of a sudden. It still cranks with plenty of power. There's still plenty of gas in the tank. But I can't get it to start. I know it's cranked and not fired in the past when I was silly and forgot to turn pull the power switch out. Could there be some sort of problem that's basically causing this same end result? The ammeter moves a little when I pull the switch out, but I'm pretty sure it used to move more. Thanks for your time. -John

If you have any suspicions about the switch, run a primary wire from the output terminal of your battery to the input side of the coil, and try to then start it. If it starts it would indicate that your switch or wiring to and from the switch is suspect.

remove line from carb and see if you have fuel flow. plus check the screen there by removing the brass fitting.

If you just got it out of the shed try choking it then adjust to run with slight smoke for a few minutes then push choke in.

FWIW, one of my H's sat since last summer when my back problems began. A week or so ago, I tried it and it started right up, ran a minute or so, an stalled. It did this a half dozen times.

On a hunch, I tapped the carburetor a few times with a small hammer. It started right up and continued to run normally.

My theory was, the float in the carb had simply stuck from sitting, and would only allow a small amount of gas through. Once I'd tapped the carb and knocked it loose it was OK.

If I have said it once on Y-T I have said it a hundred times simple trouble shooting.
#1 check that you have a good blue/white spark at the center wire of the distributor cap and at all the plug wires. If no or poor spark clean the points. Spark has to jump a 1/4 inch gap or more
#2 pull the carb drain plug and make sure you have a good steady flow of gas that will fill a pint jar in less then 3 minutes.
#3 when was the last time you checked the air cleaner and dumped the water and mud and filled with fresh oil?

To run for a minute or so then quit is generally a fuel problem, either too much or not enough to run.

First, the basics, be sure there is enough fuel in the tank and the fuel valve is open. Try loosening the fuel cap, it may be holding a vacuum on the tank.

Check the spark. With the switch on, pull one of the plug wires, put a plastic handle screw driver in the end of the wire, hold it 1/4" from something metal on the engine, spin the starter. Should get a blue hot spark. If no spark, check the points. They may need to be cleaned or adjusted, or replaced if burned. Also look the cap over, look inside for water condensation, carbon tracking.

If that checks out, there is a drain plug on the bottom of the carb. Get a clean glass, remove the plug, catch what comes out. It should have a full flow, then slow to a trickle, but not to a drip or stop.

If the flow is slow or none at all, check the sediment bowl screen, there may be a screen in the carb inlet elbow. If it has been stored for a while the needle valve may be stuck. A light tap on the bowl may dislodge it, just be careful.

If you did get a fuel sample in the glass, look at what was caught. It should be clean. A few specks of grit is normal, but if cloudy or muddy, or excess rust and dirt came out, the same will be in the carb and tank. It may be time to go through the fuel system, clean the tank and the carb. I do not recommend inline filters, they are too restrictive.

A sign of too much fuel will show as fuel dripping from the carb. If you remove the air cleaner hose, and gas runs out, it is flooding, as in the needle valve is not closing fully. It can be because of a stuck float, bad needle valve, or trash in the needle valve. In severe cases the gas may have overflowed into the crankcase, especially if the fuel was left on while stored.

Other things to check, the air cleaner, be sure it has been serviced, check for rodent nests. Do a spark plug check, look for water beads, oil fouling, if in doubt, replace them.

Let us know...

Pretty common problem for any tractor that sits for a few days. The float needle sticks, bowl is full of fuel yet when shut off, so it runs until that fuel in bowl is used up. Old distillate H and M's had a pet cock on bottom of carb so if it has you just open that to see if gasoline comes out.

If no petcock, they all have a 1/8th inch pipe plug to remove to check for gasoline flow into carburetor. A good rap on carb with a plastic handle of screwdriver usually will get you going. If stuck bad you will have to disassemble carb and clean needle good. Viton tipped needle are usually the ones that stick.

The exact symptoms my 1950 "H" had. Turned out the distributor cap electrode was worn way down, not making contact. New cap and new rotor, all fixed, starts like a champ. Easy cheap fix. Get the copper electrode cap, not the aluminum one.

I am very new to tractors and do not have near the experience of the others posting here, but I just experienced my Super C not starting and people on YT helped me out. I thought I would share how I got mine going, maybe it will help you.

I checked the wiring harness carefully and following all wires from the battery to the starting motor, coil, alternator, etc, and made sure none of them were loose. Sure enough, I found one that was broken so I fixed it and it started right up. Could be as simple as an old wire that just decided to break because of the vibrations of the engine when you started it up.

Fuel in the carb was consumed and none replaced it. Had a similar problem with a Diesel on which I had just changed the fuel filter and didn't get it
adequately burped....fired right up for a second or two and died.

I've had the same thing on my M....it was just as Goose stated. Taped on the carb and it was really to go.

I have a couple of rules of thumb that I go by to aid in diagnosis.

Electrical problems with the ignition system generally cause sudden or abrupt changes. If an engine suddenly dies as if you turned the switch off, that is generally electrical. Sudden or abrupt changes while running are also generally electrical in nature.

Fuel problems tend to be more gradual - or just not immediate or abrupt. Running out of fuel either in the carb or in the tank usually results in the engine going from lean fairly quickly, but not abruptly. Engine starts going lean and stalls.

In this case, depending of the way it stopped, it could have been a wire that broke or came loose, or could have been a blockage in the fuel system. Something as simple as a piece of debris in the fuel tank could have blocked the outlet. A needle and seat could be stuck. Or even a bad contact in the ignition switch.

Start by checking voltage to the coil. Should be battery voltage on the ignition side and pulsing at the distributor side when the engine is turned over. If this is ok, check for spark. First at the coil tower, then at the spark plugs.

If ignition is OK, check out the fuel system as other posters have outlined for you.

My tractor fired right up as usual, run was smooth while it lasted, when it died it died, like if it were a gasser it would just stop like you turned the key off.

Turn the gas on. Don't ask why I would think of that.

Hey, Guys. Sorry it took me a week to get back at it. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions, so far. All useful stuff to know whether it winds up being the fix or not.

With the fuel turned on, the carburetor is dripping fuel from the little screw at the very bottom. Not on purpose. I hadn't loosened any thing. When I tighten the screw, it still drips. The fuel may be coming from somewhere else, and this just happens to be the low spot that it drips off. There is a "wet look" that extends part way up the carburetor with the high spot being the choke. Is it possible to have some sort of capillary action where the fuel is traveling up through the grime, or is it likely leaking from the highest point that looks wet?

Another thing I noticed was that when I loosened the screw, it only comes out so far--you can't take it all the way out. Is that how it's supposed to be? It screws into what looks like a little red nut or bolt head at the bottom of the carburetor. This nut/bolt head looking guy has some sort of sealer between it and the rest of the carburetor. Is it cool to unscrew this guy? It may be where the leak is coming from.

Thanks again for all the help.