HELP 1949 John deere A starts on choke for a bit and die

Johnau07 · Jan 29, 2023

I've got a 1949 John deere A that will start on choke, run for a few seconds then dies. The next time I try to start it, it backfires. I have a brand new carb on it. Before this, I had it running good for and hour and all of a sudden, it died.

d9gdon · Jan 29, 2023

(quoted from post at 19:38:09 01/29/23) I've got a 1949 John deere A that will start on choke, run for a few seconds then dies. The next time I try to start it, it backfires. I have a brand new carb on it. Before this, I had it running good for and hour and all of a sudden, it died.

Sounds like the fuel flow is stopped up.

caterpillar guy · Jan 29, 2023

Sounds like timing is off or points not set right.

Johnau07 · Jan 29, 2023

Ok, I will check that out

This post was edited by Johnau07 on 01/29/2023 at 04:20 pm.

Johnau07 · Jan 29, 2023

Yeah that could be, when ever the sediment bowl is empty and I need to fill it up, it seems to be air locked. No gas goes into the carb unless I crack the line.

Steve@Advance · Jan 29, 2023

Check the spark at the plug end of each wire. It should have a 1/4 inch
spark to ground.

Then with the engine off, fuel valve open, have a clean glass ready and
remove the drain plug from the carb bowl, catch the flow in the glass. It
should have a continuous flow, not slow to a drip or stop flowing. If it
drips or stops, check the fuel flow to the carb. Keep checking until you
find the blockage.

Look at what was caught, it should be clean and water free. If there is
contamination, the tank is contaminated and will need cleaning. If flaking
rust it may be time to replace it. The carb may need to be eased apart and
cleaned even though new.

used red MN · Jan 29, 2023

Hello John welcome to YT! The timing may be off some
but I will go more with Don that you have a fuel
delivery problem. I believe those Deeres have a carb
bowl drain. Open it up it should flow some sort of a
stream out of there and not slow to a dribble, unless
other items pointed out later in my reply do not allow
flow. Since you are new we have no idea what your
mechanical knowledge level is. Old tractors have a
habit of having crud in the fuel tank. Often that gets in
the passage where the fuel flows out into the sediment
bowl, checking for debris in the bottom of the tank
with a good flashlight will give you some idea if this is
a problem. Also some models have a fuel shut off
activated by oil pressure, being a red tractor guy I am
not sure how that is reset to start the tractor, see link. I
am also not sure if that is on both the styled and
unstyled models.
JD online parts diagrams

used red MN · Jan 29, 2023

The sediment bowl air locking is common and does not
keep the tractor from running. If you ever have this
situation but the tractor is running watch the fuel
through the glass. As the tractor runs and fuel is used
in the carb fuel will enter the bowl and fill it. The air will
pass down the fuel line and pass through the float
needle valve in the carb.

Johnau07 · Jan 29, 2023

Ok thank. Yeah I will do that this next weekend when I have some time. This is my second John Deere I've owned. I've worked on these with my dad and learned quite a bit. This tractor I got for free from a local farmer. The engine was stuck so we rebuilt it. Put new rings in, new carb. Just did what we knew to get it " working".

Loosehandle · Jan 30, 2023

Check for crud in gas tank, common for
mouse nest to rust threw top of tank and
fall inside.

Leroy · Jan 30, 2023

Get the orignal carb back and get it rebuilt. I am hearing
all the new carbs are built in land of almost right and are
just that, almost. If you do not still have orignal carb get
one. I understan the carbs have passages in that the average
owner cannot clean out. Takes special tools. I had a 51 A, 49
B, 50 AR, 46 B and 38 A.

Leroy · Jan 30, 2023

Yes they do have that drain. They also have passages that need special tools to work on them and as I understand little plugs taken out to clean the passages and the old ones cannot be reused, have to have new ones,

MSD · Jan 30, 2023

Bad condenser will fool you into thinking it is fuel related. Try a new one before spending to much time and money on all the other stuff.

Pete in Holland MI · Jan 30, 2023

Run it, but when it quits, be ready to immediately check to open the drain on the carburator bowl and see if you have a good
gas flow. THEN, pull a wire and crank the engine to see if you have spark. This will at least identify fuel or spark,
then you can head down that path.

Johnau07 · Feb 4, 2023

I've got another question too. This tractor has got a 12 volt system and had a generator on it. I want to covert it to a alternator and need to know how to wire it up. It is a 12 volt 1 wire Delco Remy. The serial number is A-11331W10262 if it helps.

This post was edited by Johnau07 on 02/04/2023 at 05:48 pm.

d9gdon · Feb 4, 2023

(quoted from post at 19:37:54 02/04/23) I've got another question too. This tractor has got a 12 volt system and had a generator on it. I want to covert it to a alternator and need to know how to wire it up.

You would need to tell us which alternator that you plan to use.

Johnau07 · Feb 4, 2023

It is a Delco Remy 12 volt one wire. The serial number is A-11331W10262 if that helps.

Johnau07 · Feb 4, 2023

This post was edited by Johnau07 on 02/04/2023 at 05:45 pm.

Johnau07 · Feb 4, 2023

This post was edited by Johnau07 on 02/04/2023 at 05:46 pm.

HELP 1949 John deere A starts on choke for a bit and die

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