[AT] Step one: Stop being an idiot

[Mike Sloane]

Well, if it is any consolation, Dean, you can know that I have done 
things just like that (and more than once!). My most recent one was 
putting all the plug wires back on a 184 distributor one socket over. 
The engine would spin over fine, gas was getting to the cylinders, and 
there was a lovely spark. But it wouldn't fire. Fortunately, I checked 
the wires' position after only a few minutes of this futility, and got 
the engine running just fine.

And I doubt that you and I aren't the only ones to do something like 
that. My good friend Cecil Monson was rebuilding a carburetor once and 
managed to leave the main jet in the coffee can with the cleaner. Only 
after putting the carburetor back together did he realize his mistake 
and also realize that had tossed the used cleaner (including the little 
piece of brass) on to his "burn pile" of used and waste wood. He spend 
many hours searching for that (*&*^ jet, and he finally found it.

The Good News is that by now, your engine has had everything tweaked to 
perfection and should run really well for a long time.

The problem with the charging system is more likely to be in the voltage 
regulator than the generator, in my experience - sticking points.

Mike

Dean Vinson wrote:
> Oh for Pete's sake.
> 
> I've been struggling with this Farmall M, trying to get it to start.  It's
> had assorted woes since I bought it a month or so ago but had always started
> easily.
> 
> Last weekend I went to warm it up and change the oil, having previously
> gotten all the wiring with the generator, regulator, lights, and switch
> sorted out (thanks to many of you for help).  It wouldn't start, not so much
> as a pop.  Posted some questions to the list, got some help from you folks,
> tried again on Wednesday, and by then it started up.  Had some coughing and
> clouds of smoke, but it started up and smoothed out so I figured it had been
> flooded and didn't worry more about it.  Warmed it up, shut it down, changed
> the oil.  Tried to start it back up to put the tractor away, and once again,
> nothing.  Wouldn't start.  So that set off this last couple of days' worth
> of questions and suggestions.
> 
> (All of which has been very helpful, and by now the carburetor and air
> cleaner are *way* cleaner than before, and the points look clean and the gap
> is good, and I know what the cylinder compression is and it looks okay, and
> assorted other good things).
> 
> But I'd left out part of the story.  When I was warming the tractor up on
> Wednesday, I'd been happy to see the ammeter, lights, generator, and
> regulator all working.  But just as I was about to park the tractor to
> change the oil, the ammeter jumped to full discharge and stayed there even
> after I shut the engine off.  The generator itself was very warm to the
> touch, so I thought "uh oh, must have shorted internally" and I disconnected
> both the BAT and L terminals on the regulator.  That stopped the drain on
> the battery, and I forgot about it while I went ahead and changed the oil.
> Figured I'd get that done while the oil was still warm, then look into what
> was causing the short.
> 
> So I still need to fix that short, but have spent all these hours cranking
> and checking and cleaning and poking on that tractor, and never thought to
> connect the wires from the BAT and L terminal back together.  The regulator
> doesn't need to be connected for the ignition system to work--but those
> wires need to be connected.  BAT and L are common inside the regulator.
> Ignition circuit flows from the battery though the ammeter to the BAT
> terminal... then back through the L terminal to the light switch and the
> ignition switch.  Disconnecting those wires isolated whatever the short is,
> but also left the ignition switch with no juice whatsoever.
> 
> So this morning I put the 6V battery back in and, as several of you have
> suggested, checked the ignition circuit starting at the beginning.  About 30
> seconds into it, got to the nice shiny new (disconnected) wires at the
> regulator.  Hooked them to each other, pressed the starter, and the tractor
> fired right up and runs like a top.
> 
> So, time to go look into that short, and see if it's really something with
> the generator.  I'll try hard to rule out the stupidity factor before
> posting any more questions... 
> 
> Dean Vinson
> Dayton, Ohio
> www.vinsonfarm.net
> 
>
-- 
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
<mikesloane at verizon.net>
Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>

Kindness is more important than wisdom, and the recognition
of this is the beginning of wisdom.
-Theodore Rubin, psychiatrist and writer (1923- )


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