135 continental dies and will not start.

[Bladehauler]

Make sure your holding the wire about a 1/4 inch away from the engine and check for spark

Do you have the requisite spark? Since it ran before and you haven't moved the distributor I would suspect the timing is OK. But the spark or the fuel or both maybe the issue. Check the spark by removing the center wire from the distributor cap, holding it near a good ground and cranking the engine. You should see a FAT, BLUISH-WHITE SPARK, the color of lightning. If you do than it most likely you have a fuel problem. If you don't, then you need to check the primary ignition circuit.


I removed the center wire and held it near the tie rod and cranked the engine and no spark. What is the next step?

 

[The kid]

I removed the center wire and held it near the tie rod and cranked the engine and no spark. What is the next step?

John, pull one of the plug wire and put a screwdriver into the plug connector. Now hold the the bare .. no wait that will knock the sh&t out of you. :smile: Hold the handle and put the screw driver about a 1/4" or a near that to a bare metal spot on the frame/block or somewhere it grounded. If no spark, then you need to start checking the electrics. Coil, wires to coil, ignition switch, neutral safety switch, inside the distributor. you need to start tracing out wires. Make sure you have or don't have spark before tearing into something else. Just my :twocents:

 

[johnking]

I picked up a circuit tester today(the kind with the light bulb) and just checked the wires heading to the starter and coil. It showed juice going into the coil but none coming out via the plug that goes int the center of the distributor. I fired the engine to see if it would show current when firing, none apparent. I then tried Kid's/Roberts screwdriver in the plug connector once more and got spark(which was not apparent before). I hooked the plug wire back in and the tractor fired right up(it did smoke more than usual but the heavy smoke ended fairly quickly) but the engine died after a bout 3 minutes of running and would not refire. At this point I tried the old screwdriver in a plug wire trick and neither felt nor saw a spark. Is my coil bad or do I need to look at something else?

 

[The kid]

I picked up a circuit tester today(the kind with the light bulb) and just checked the wires heading to the starter and coil. It showed juice going into the coil but none coming out via the plug that goes int the center of the distributor. I fired the engine to see if it would show current when firing, none apparent. I then tried Kid's/Roberts screwdriver in the plug connector once more and got spark(which was not apparent before). I hooked the plug wire back in and the tractor fired right up(it did smoke more than usual but the heavy smoke ended fairly quickly) but the engine died after a bout 3 minutes of running and would not refire. At this point I tried the old screwdriver in a plug wire trick and neither felt nor saw a spark. Is my coil bad or do I need to look at something else?

Watch this video. it's a simple way to test a coil if it's good or not. However the coil could be good when cold and once in use the secondary winding opens and no fire.

Ignition Coil - How to Test - YouTube

The use of an Ohm meter to check resistance between Primary and secondary can give you a false positive when not at operating temperature. Basically the points in the distributor breaks the ground side of the energized coil causing a burst of voltage out thru the top of the distributor to each plug. Check your points to make sure they are not burnt, or screw come loose and the distributor cam isn't opening the points. It is sounding like a bad coil though. The smoke is from the gas you pumped into the chamber trying to start it.

Here's another site with some good troubleshooting info.

Ignition System Troubleshooting

One last note. Check your plug wires one by one. especially the coil wire with an Ohmmeter. Make your you don't have a intermitting break in the wire(s).

 

[MasseyWV]

At this point I tried the old screwdriver in a plug wire trick and neither felt nor saw a spark. Is my coil bad or do I need to look at something else?

You most likely weren't getting spark previously because there was not a suitable ground (bare metal) available for the electricity to arc to when you checked it. Your coil is probably fine and as mentioned previously, I think your problem lies with the carburetor.

 

[The kid]

You most likely weren't getting spark previously because there was not a suitable ground (bare metal) available for the electricity to arc to. Your coil is probably fine and as mentioned previously, I think your problem lies with the carburetor.

How can an engine run without spark. He did the identical same thing before got a spark. Second time after it died. no spark. Does the carburetor prevent spark? I missed that in the OP manual.

 

[shona13]

G,Day johnking.
First thing is to check fuel supply , turn the fuel tap of,remove the fuel line going to the carburetor turn the fuel tap on with a bucket to catch the fuel LET IT RUN FOR AT LEAST TWO MINUTES there should be a good healthy flow all the time if not turn the fuel tap of and remove the fuel line from the FUEL TAP CAREFULLY and turn the fuel on again you should get a good healthy flow ALL THE TIME it should not slow down, if this is no good siphon the fuel out of the tank and remove the complete fuel tap from the tank and get a piece of wire and start cleaning all the holes in there ,blow it out with LOW AIR PRESSURE ,make sure it is not blocked and when you are happy reassemble that is the fuel system proven TO THE CARBURETOR .

The next step is proving the ignition system , first MAKE SURE THE BATTERY IS CONNECTED THE RIGHT WAY ROUND POSITIVE TO EARTH then with the ignition turned on check with your test light that you are getting 12 volts to the SW or NEGATIVE ON THE COIL if this is good remove the low tension wire the thin one on the other side of the coil,marked either POSITIVE or E FOR EARTH then remove the high tension wire from the DISTRIBUTOR the thick wire in the centre of the cap and hold the end near the coil body say 1/8 th inch away, then get a piece of thin wire and connect it to the terminal that did go to the distributor and with the other end scratch it on the coil body if the coil is good you will get a good bright spark one which you can HEAR, if this is all good go to the distributor .
Remove the cap and first check the carbon pickup brush in the centre of the cap push it in lightly and it should have spring pressure on it pushing it back out the carbon rod should be minimum 1/8 th long if not replace it.
Next thing remove the rotor button and give it a good clean.
Next check the contact points ,I dont know how savvy you are with things mechanical so you may need help with the points, remove the points and either replace the points AND the condenser ,they dont cost much, pay special attention to the INSULATING WASHERS on the spring end of the points when reassembling ,remembering that the spring and everything attached to it MUST BE INSULATED that is it should not go to earth to test after reassembling the points turn the engine by hand until the points are OPEN that is you can see an air gap between the contacts on the points,then with your test light connect it to the SUPPLY side of the battery normally wired positive to earth then with the test light end touch the terminal on the distributor that the coil wire would be on ,IT SHOULD NOT LIGHT UP WITH THE POINTS OPEN if it does there is a problem with the insulation going through the distributor body,fix the problem and test again ,when this is all good reconnect the wire from the coil to the distributor the thin one then refit the high tension wire the thick one to the cap .
Note : If for example the battery was in the wrong way the low tension voltage would be going through the coil the wrong way i.e. the supply would be going through the secondary windings first instead of the primary windings this will result in a poor spark and consuequently cause what looks like and most often is flooding ,to much fuel.
Do all of these things and keep us posted .
The most common fault with ignition systems on tractors are earthing problems .
P.S. I like The Kids cake is it pecan pie???
Happy Days .
Hutch.

 

[johnking]

I am at National Guard drill this weekend so no tractor work this weekend. My last test was placing the wire from the ignition coil to my hand and turning the key. No shock resulted so Friday I ordered a new coil along with a fitting that will eliminate the glass bowl filter on the gas tank(inline will be the only filter). Wish me luck.

 

[trout250]

we were having a similar problem with our 68 mdl 135, just replace points , condenser, and rotor cap, and distributor cap, It fires up and runs, we always shut off the gas when we let it set for any length of time because of it flooding. We have done this about every third yr, and just done it this wked cost for parts at napa was $26.00
good luck

 

[johnking]

I put a new ignition coil in and it fired right up. I took her out to my farm and fired her up. I did not turn the gas on all the way and she died in some heavy brush. I am not sure if the coil was needed or a wire or something else. I then tried to pull start the tractor to no avail and I think I screwed up the clutch/tranny. I can still shift but the clutch has much more travel in it now.