[AT] Make repairs or payments

[Easley, Greg A.]

Electrics!  Always a nuisance.

I have a Farmall C that I use for overseeding pasture ground.  It's a retired pulling tractor - gone through end to end mechanically -
completely rewired, starter and generator rebuilt - everything that moves and a lot of stuff that doesn't has been repaired or
replaced as required, but now it just sits in the barn gathering dust except for a couple days every winter when I get it out to
top-dress the pastures.

Saturday when I went to start it the dang thing would crank over just fine but it wouldn't hit a lick.  Rather than drag a bunch of tools
out to the hay barn Pops helped me drag the tractor to my workshop.  The points were fouled the last time we needed to use it and
while Pops was making a run to the parts store for a new set I took the old ones out, cleaned the contacts, and had it running by the
time he got back with the new set.  I tossed the new points on the shelf and we went about our business.  Got the job done, parked
it in the hay barn, and forgot about it until this weekend.

That said, it made sense to look at the points first, and sure enough they were the problem.  But not the same problem as last time.
This time the spring was snapped in two.  First time I can recall ever seeing that happen.  I grabbed the new set off the shelf, put them
in, set the gap, and it was back to running like new.

Got the pastures seeded and put it away until next year.

Greg

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of John Hall
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2018 3:51 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: [AT] Make repairs or payments

I've heard it said before, you are either going to make repairs, or make payments. Applies to anything I suppose, houses, cars, and especially OLD TRACTORS.

We've got two Farmall Super A's. Both run 15-20 hrs a year. One is on dedicated sickle mower duty (cutting hay), the other spends most of its time hooked to a PTO drive Allis hay rake. The rake tractor has been getting hard to start, so decided it needed a going over this winter. I pulled it in the shop for presumably a new battery and cleaning up some connections--starter would barely turn over. Well the battery is 9 years old and even though it load tested just weak enough to be classed weak, I didn't want to fool around with it so I bought a new one. Before I put in the new battery, I decided to test some voltage readings. I had just over 6 volts on the old battery, 6 at the starter, and 6 at the coil. 
The moment I engaged the starter, voltage to the coil fell to just over
3 volts. We happened to have a newly rebuilt starter on hand (its been here for a few years actually) so I put it on. I think the old one is drawing too much current. I actually ran a temporary hot wire straight to the coil and it only dropped voltage to around 5.5 when starter was engaged. While I was at it, the hot wire from the starter to the ammeter, and the wire from switch to coil both had bad insulation. The wire to coil actually snapped in half when bent. So I made new wires there, and from the amp to regulator and back and replaced one wire from generator to regulator and wire from coil to distributor. Basically I left one wire from the generator to the back of regulator and the light wires. While I was at it I decided to check the plug wires---good grief the coil wire was practically gone. The end that went in the coil was broke in half and corroded worse than a battery cable. The spark plug wires looked like they had been arcing in the cap. Going to use a plug wire kit and make new wires--I'll take the time to solder the ends on. 
Going to put in a new cap and rotary button. The points and condenser are less than a year old, I'll leave them. Probably put in new plugs. 
Hopefully with an oil change this one will be ready to go. I'll check rear end grease levels as well and air up the tires.

Get this one done and there are only 4 more to go!

John Hall

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