Ford 8N having trouble starting -- many troubleshooting steps take -- suggestions?

Soundguy · Mar 20, 2013

jmor's post is pretty comprehensive.

However.. I'd check with 'Will'.

He obviously is the one that knows what he's talking about here.

PorkChopsMmm · Mar 20, 2013

Here now. Will post more after tests. Tractor has been running for ~ 10 minutes and still sputtering.

94BULLITT · Mar 20, 2013

It is not uncommon for a 8N to stall when you let out on the clutch when it is cold outside on a cold start. The oil is real thick in trans.

Be careful pulling those plug wires off like that, they can zap you. I use nylon pliers.

trentonford3000 · Mar 20, 2013

i have a few questions is there rust in the gas tank do you have good gas flow ours willnot sputter but it will die does it run longer if it sits longer then you might have the stem pluged on the sediment bulb if you do then i will put a filter in on that piece of rubber on the gas line about the sputtering i dont know

PorkChopsMmm · Mar 20, 2013

OK -- back in.

Long and short -- Soundguys test with the lamp looks good, the carb was adjusted all the way out -- all the way out CCW on main needle and all the way in on the idle mixture needle and the idle RPMs were turned up (this is from the "mechanic"... guess he was trying to do what I was doing), and I thought I found an issue with a loose bolt on the resistor with the wire that goes to the coil but tightening it had not affect.

Sooo.... it is still easy to start, idles well, etc. but it is still missing/sputtering, not sure what the right terminology is. I tried jiggling wires and going over it while it was running and it didn't seem to have an affect.

Video below (and others in there own thread) illustrating such.

PorkChopsMmm · Mar 20, 2013

Part 2 -- Coil test
Put the lamp in line and it seemed to turn off and on appropriately but the tractor wouldn't start in this configuration. I hooked the wire back up to the coil and it fired right up.

PorkChopsMmm · Mar 20, 2013

Part 3 -- Revving the engine up and down
Just so you can hear it do it.

After this I am unsure where to go. Any more suggestions? I drove the tractor over to the house in anticipation that I might need to plow tomorrow. I have the battery charging inside since the alternator is not working. I will try and test/exchange it on Friday.

8n Bruce · Mar 20, 2013

Congrats on it's starting now. some fine tuning & she"ll be right as rain. :thumbsup::dance1:

sd455dan · Mar 20, 2013

PorkChopsMmm said:
Part 3 -- Revving the engine up and down
Just so you can hear it do it.

After this I am unsure where to go. Any more suggestions? I drove the tractor over to the house in anticipation that I might need to plow tomorrow. I have the battery charging inside since the alternator is not working. I will try and test/exchange it on Friday.

Do you have, or know someone with a compression tester, just think it would be a good idea to make sure (at this point) you don't have a dead or low cylinder. We have dial up so it just takes to long to download thevideos
.

sd455dan · Mar 20, 2013

PorkChopsMmm said:
Part 3 -- Revving the engine up and down
Just so you can hear it do it.

After this I am unsure where to go. Any more suggestions? I drove the tractor over to the house in anticipation that I might need to plow tomorrow. I have the battery charging inside since the alternator is not working. I will try and test/exchange it on Friday.

Do you have, or know someone with a compression tester, just think it would be a good idea to make sure (at this point) you don't have a dead or low cylinder. We have dial up so it just takes to long to download the videos so can't hear how it sounds, if you can eliminate the possibility of compression problem then there's no reason not to get that 8n running well without a large expense
.