[Farmall] Points, Farmall A

Sat Oct 24 05:35:16 PDT 2009

 Just a note to define what a good spark is. Any tractor mag should generate 
a 1/4" spark minimum just by turning it over by hand. I have seen some go 
7/16". You may have to do some creative rigging of a test wire, but a 
machine for testing magnetos uses this same guideline except the piece for 
testing the size of the spark gap is nicely made and easily adjustable. I 
have seen several people tell me their mag was hot because it would fire a 
sparkplug just to be proven wrong once it was put on the tester. I suppose 
an old spark plug with the electrode bent way out would be an easy to build 
check for a minimum spark check.

John Hall

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Becker" <jim.becker at verizon.net>
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 12:11 AM
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Points, Farmall A

Yes and yes.

The rotor should end up fairly near #1 post.  If it doesn't, maybe the gears
inside the magneto aren't properly timed.  Has the magneto been tampered
with since it was in use?  One gear inside the magneto has teeth marked L
and R.  The other gear has a single mark.  Line up the R with the single
mark.

When the engine is at TDC, if the gears are properly meshed, the drive slot
should end up at about 2/8 o'clock viewed from the rear.  If it isn't you
won't be able to time the magneto.

You should test/fix the magneto while it is off the engine.  No point
bolting it back on until it throws a healthy spark.

Jim Becker        jim.becker at verizon.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gb spear" <fidomister at yahoo.com>
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 7:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Points, Farmall A

Hello and thanks again. Do you mean after aligning the gears, to turn the
rotor until the slots [between gov. gear and mag drive] and recesses
engage..the rotor will not be at no. 1 post.?.then make that no. 1,,,,,,,,,I
have an extra mag,the coil is out of it and it will attract a nail,,the one
on the tractor has the coil in it,and I can feel no magnetic,attraction..The
mag I'm tryin to get aligned has no fire,,but I have not checked the coil
for continuity or the capacitor. Attempting to get timing close before I got
to the fire.. I apologize for being so in the dark here,,I do appreciate
your replys..GB

--- On Wed, 10/21/09, Jim Becker <jim.becker at verizon.net> wrote:

From: Jim Becker <jim.becker at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Points, Farmall A
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 5:00 PM

You do need to align all the marks on the timing gears, including the
governor gear. I think the IT manual shows that. You can rotate the
magneto backwards until the rotor is near the #1 cap tower and the drive
lugs are in the proper position, but getting it to the exact position for
the lugs to engage the governor would be difficult. Probably easier to
remove the magneto, properly set the governor then rotate the magneto to the
proper position to reinstall. You will need to reset the timing per the
manual after remounting the magneto.

The magnet is in the rotor of the magneto. I doubt that you could detect
any magnetism from the outside.

Jim Becker jim.becker at verizon.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gb spear" <fidomister at yahoo.com>
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 1:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Points, Farmall A

Hello and thanks, I will go to Binder in a moment,,I hav e no history on
this engine. The cylinders look very good, it has some new seals , and the
bearings have been replaced. I am attempting to start it before I get in
deeper with the tractor.. I watch the valves so I know when no 1 is
firing,,,at no time , 180degrees out included, has the rotor been at the no
1 post..I intend to align rotor with post then install mag drive gear to
match that, and see what happens..that should [i think] have fire at or near
correct time.[Even tho my timing dots will be un matched]And,,,should the
insides of the mag be magnetic to a small nail,etc...It does not seem to
have any magnetic properties, I truly appreciate your time and info...Thanks
GB
--- On Wed, 10/21/09, Mike Sloane <mikesloane at verizon.net> wrote:

From: Mike Sloane <mikesloane at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Points, Farmall A
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009, 7:42 AM

I&T manuals are essentially just "digest" forms of the IH service
manual. Go to Binder Books <www.binderbooks.com> and order the service
manual from them, and all your questions will be answered in detail. :-)

Note that, for any 4 stroke engine, the firing stroke and the exhaust
stroke will both look the same when you view the timing mark on the
crankshaft pulley. But the distributor rotor will be 180° out of
position. But (and this is a big BUT), if the distributor was removed at
some point and put back in incorrectly, it is still possible to time the
engine properly; it just takes a little more work to figure things out.

Mike

gb spear wrote:
> This must be a boring inquiry to all the good Farmall mechanics, but
> Im lost,,I got an IT,,Farmall Book today and it does not address
> setting the points on any of the tractors. Are the points set with
> the rub block on the highest part of the rotor? What about ,,when my
> No 1 is up and firing,the rotary button is not on the No 1,,dist
> post...do I make no 1 , the post where it is pointing?? I just got
> this engine and hope the cam/crank dots are aligned...Any input is
> appreciated,,,and is there a good manual to buy,,,,Thanks GB

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