There is no fire at the plugs

T

Tom

New member
Hi,

I am just starting to restore a 1947 Farmall H. I tried starting the engine Saturday and found I'm not getting any fire at the plugs. Also the first two cylinders have not been firing for some time, the plugs look new. When my uncle gave me the tractor he thought it might have a sticky valve, because it skips. I think the problem lies completely in the electrical system, I hope! Would a simple tune up solve this problem? Should I probe deeper? This tractor is equipped with a distributor not a magneto. Any advise would be greatly appreciated thank you.
 
Tom,
Welcome to NTT.
I don't have any experience with a Farmall, but you might try the normal things. Wires, distributor cap, rotor. I don't think a valve will cause a plug not to fire, but stranger things have happened before.
 
Hi Tom! Welcome to NTT.

I've just went thru a no fire problem on my old truck. It turned out to be the distributor. But first we started with the coil since they are fairly cheap compared to a distributor. So, you might want to check the coil if you are getting no fiire at all. If you are getting some fire then it's not the coil. It's an all or nothing kind of thing.

Good luck getting her going. Please share pics when you can. :thumb:
Enjoy and post often. :thumb:
 
Do you have voltage at the points? Sometimes they aren't opening enough to create spark. Voltage to one side of the coil? It should turn on and off by the points opening and closing. Are the contacts inside of the distributor clean? I scrape turm with my kinfe so where they are somewhat shiny in appearance. Coil wire good to the distributor? Check these things.
 
Thanks to everyone for their reply, this is great!
The wires look good, but I have no idea how old they are. I've cleaned the contacts in the distributor with emery cloth, also tried to clean the points. Still not good. Should I just start over with a new tune up kit? Just for conversation sake, how would one check for a faulty distributor?
 
Tom, I have a restored Farmall H. I didn't do the restoration, but have done a lot of work on it that was not done correctly.

In my opinion, a simple tune-up will not resolve the problem of no fire at the plugs, however, a tune-up can not hurt anything. I think you will have to dig deeper like someone else said, check the distributor, coil, wires to the plugs and distributor, etc. It is easy to just start throwing parts at it to see if the problem goes away, but this is not cheap.

I have found the local Case New Holland dealer to be very helpful in describing things to check, or in getting parts. Seems like they get a kick out of someone doing a restoration.

Take plenty of "before and after" pictures to share with us.

Bob
 

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WOW Bob, She looks real close to perfect. I hope mine comes out as good! What year is it? Is that wide front end original? I hear they are rare. Thanks for the advise, this is a great place to bounce things around.
 
Tom said:
Hi,

I am just starting to restore a 1947 Farmall H. I tried starting the engine Saturday and found I'm not getting any fire at the plugs. Also the first two cylinders have not been firing for some time, the plugs look new. When my uncle gave me the tractor he thought it might have a sticky valve, because it skips. I think the problem lies completely in the electrical system, I hope! Would a simple tune up solve this problem? Should I probe deeper? This tractor is equipped with a distributor not a magneto. Any advise would be greatly appreciated thank you.
Click to expand...

You don't say if is the original 6 volt or if it was converted to 12 volts! (will make a difference in how I proceed to help you!)

If it is a 6 volt fellow you can check your coil this way,
To narrow it down between condenser and coil, observe the ammeter with the ign switch "on" and the engine stopped. If it reads more than 3 - 4 amps discharge the coil's drawing too much current and overloading the points. Otherwise suspect a bad condenser.

There are quite a few IH fans around and most of us have rebuilt one or the other, This is my 1940 B
 

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Yes Dean, it is the original six volt system, I will check what you suggest thanks. That B is something! My younger brother has my fathers 1945 B. The grill is banged in now and heavy rust. Hopefully with some love and elbow grease it will look like yours someday! By the picture on the left looks like a very happy little family. I need to get some pictures in but shes really not much look at right now.
 
Tom said:
What year is it? Is that wide front end original? I hear they are rare.
Click to expand...

Tom, my H is a 1952.

According to the guy I bought the H from, the wide front end is original. I had never seen a wide front end on an H, however, a little research showed it was an option.

I like the wide front end, especially when mowing around the pond. I get very nervous being on a steep bank around the pond, and the wide front end makes it a little more stable.

The wide front end does not turn as sharp as the narrow front end. That's not a problem as long you don't have many obstacles to go around.

While the tractor looks good from a distance, there are some "warts". Nothing significant, but paint over sprays, a few oil leaks, and things like that.

Good luck on your restoration.

Bob
 
Ya, I've only seen a couple myself, and they were on the old potato farms In Rhode Island where I grew up. I believe they where the old HV series. HV for high vegetable. I don't blame you for being cautious, as simple a design as these old tractors where, they are dangerous equipment. I remember in the sixties my father and uncle actually loaded junk car bodys with a 1941 H. Outfitted with a loader and manure bucket. This was only done a couple of times, till they came to their senses. Thank God!
 
if your not getting any spark at any of the plugs, then that rules out plugs and wires. it definetly wouldnt hurt to try a new coil, ther cheap and easy to find, another easy thing to check is point gap, if the points are opening to wide, or too narrow you wont have any spark. most distributors and mags are gapped between .015" and .020".
also make sure the rotor is ok, if its not installed properly you will not have spark. even if the engine is timed incorrectly you will still have spark, just not at the right time. there will be a post coming out the side of the dist. a wire from the coil should be conecting to it, also that post is capable of grounding out on the dist. housing. all of these things will cause failure of ignition. i wouldnt worry about the condenser, it wouldnt keep the dist from sparking.

what i would do is find a wiring diagram for the tractor and make sure every thing is hooked up correctly, check all the things i stated and you shouyld have spark.

this is why magnetos are better, distributors are too tempermental
 
Good info Matthew. :thumb:

Tom, how is the restoration proceeding? Sure would enjoy seeing pics of it now ...so we can appreciate it more later. :D
 
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