Farmall cub wont run

[Kalebtrojacek]

Hello Everyone,

My Farmall cub was running and then it died in the middle of a field and for some reason. It won't start again. I have tried a few things all have been unsuccessful any advice on how to troubleshoot this would be greatly appreciated. I'm really no good as a mechanic but am trying to learn as much as I can from you all and youtube. Here is a video of the tractor trying to start. https://youtu.be/SJ47c4LUaOI

Thanks for the help!

-Kaleb

[Don McCombs]

This may seem obvious, but have you checked the fuel level?

[Kalebtrojacek]

This may seem obvious, but have you checked the fuel level?

I am hoping its an obvious fix like that, but yes it has fuel!

[Don McCombs]

Did it sputter and die or just die like you turned the ignition switch off?

[Kalebtrojacek]

Did it sputter and die or just die like you turned the ignition switch off?

It just died like I turned the ignition switch off.

[Eugene]

Have fuel from the video. Ignition problem, some place.

[Kalebtrojacek]

Ive just been blindly throwing parts at it. I've put in a new distributor coil. I've changed the points in the distributor (for some reason the dust cover had a hole in it and I have not got in a new one yet. I have not changed the distributor cap. I have changed the sparkplugs. I cleaned and rebuilt the carburetor... Now theres always the possibility that I messed something up when installing all of this.

[staninlowerAL]

Suggest you start from the battery/ignition switch and see where you are loosing the current flow. Trace it all the way to the points to see if they are arching when they open and close. If this all is functioning correctly check the fire from the coil to ground then to the plugs. Chances are your cub is grounding out in some undiscovered manner.

[Kalebtrojacek]

Suggest you start from the battery/ignition switch and see where you are loosing the current flow. Trace it all the way to the points to see if they are arching when they open and close. If this all is functioning correctly check the fire from the coil to ground then to the plugs. Chances are your cub is grounding out in some undiscovered manner.

What would be the best way to see if they are arching when they open and close?

[ajhbike]

i just had this happen on an 8N and a JD. After checking fuel, fire and air, I move on to making sure the wires are sound. I used my tester to check continuity on every wire and found the broken wire...it didn't look broken but it was. It might mean accessing behind the dash which is a pain but it is hard to check continuity without access.

[staninlowerAL]

Suggest you start from the battery/ignition switch and see where you are loosing the current flow. Trace it all the way to the points to see if they are arching when they open and close. If this all is functioning correctly check the fire from the coil to ground then to the plugs. Chances are your cub is grounding out in some undiscovered manner.

What would be the best way to see if they are arching when they open and close?

You can use a test light to see if the current is going to ground when the points close. Connect the test light to the terminal on the side of the distributor, leave the wire from the coil to the distributor connected. Attempt to start the engine, ignition switch on, if the test light blinks when the engine is rotating, the path to ground through the points is good. If not, then you either are not getting current through the wiring/coil to the test light or the points are not working correctly. Or you could remove the distributor cap and turn the engine with the ignition switch on. When the points open and close you should see the arc (spark) at the contacts. If no arc, then the circuit is not grounding when the points open and close. Find and fix the cause. Recently I had a Cub LoBoy (C60 engine) that would not start after I corrected the problem that was prevented the points from firing. I determined that the cause was the high voltage side of the coil had an open circuit. I replaced the coil and it corrected the problem immediately. The engine started and ran with no further problems. Good Luck.

[Jim Becker]

. . . Or you could remove the distributor cap and turn the engine with the ignition switch on. . . .

If you try this, remove the coil secondary wire from the distributor cap and ground it so you don't damage the coil. Holding that same wire near a ground and looking for a spark is one way to test the coil.

[ricky racer]

Have you verified that you have a good constant flow of gas to the carb and that there is no restriction to the gas flow? I think it sounds like a fuel problem.

[Kalebtrojacek]

An update for the day. It started and ran 3 times today, but did not start the many other times I tried to run it. I replaced one wire and thought that the faulty connection was the problem. This enabled it to start the first time, but after that I had problems starting it again. Is there a way to see if the ignition switch went bad? I made a very stupid mistake when I first got the tract a few weeks ago. I put a six volt battery in it thinking that it had not been converted to twelve volt. Well It had already been converted and it fried my ammeter when I made this mistake. So ive replaced all the wiring, ammeter, alternator, spark plugs, put a new set of points, and rebuilt the carburetor, but I have not put in a new ignition switch. If it fried the ammeter do you think i would have also damaged the ignition switch?

[Jim Becker]

Make up a jumper wire with an alligator clip on each end. Use it to bypass the switch and feed voltage straight into the coil.

I note that you have changed the coil and there was some confusion about correct voltage. Are you sure you have the right coil? If you have a "no resistance required" 12-volt coil combined with a ballast resistor (commonly added in conversions) you will have a weak spark.