# Need some info on a Farmall H magneto.



## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

I have a 47 Farmall H that has been giving me grief for some time now. It doesn't like to start and seems like the spark is too far advanced when cranking it over. The starter will turn the engine over, but then when it tries to fire, it kicks back against the starter and it can hardly turn it past. I have to start it at idle to even have a chance of it starting. The problem comes and goes, so I know its not a internal engine issue. I set the distributor to the fully retarded position, and its still acting up. I'm starting to think that the spark advance system is in need of repair. Does anyone know of a good repair guide for these things? I'd like to know the specs on everything so I can check for worn parts.

What got me going on this was I just rebuilt the distributor on my 574 and found that the flyweights and springs for the spark advance were badly rusted and stuck in place. I freed them up and got it lubed, and now the tractor is like a whole new machine. It instantly responds to the throttle and it has a lot more pulling power than it did. I'm hoping I can get the same results with the H. The tractor runs smoothly, its just such a bear to get started.


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## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

From your description, it does sound like the timing is advanced but how/why is it happening? Have you actually checked the timing? If so, how does it look?

You shouldn't have any problem finding a manual for the mag. Just need to know where to look. I'd start checking out web sites that cater to old engines and or machinery. This past week I purchased a manual for the mag on a recently purchased hit-n-miss. The manual was for a WICO mag type PR. Found it on ebay. It's a reprint but who cares? When you're looking things for an 90 yr old engine, you can't be too picky.

Have you done a search on the mag brand/model? That should turn something up. Good luck


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Haven't had much time to do any research yet. My dad informed me that he had bought a magneto manual for the tractor years ago and he "thinks he might know where it is", so we'll see. From the troubles I've been having, it almost seems like the timing sometimes gets stuck in the advanced position when starting and sometimes doesn't. I'm hoping its just that the flyweights or whatnot are just rusty/sticky and need to be cleaned. I haven't checked the timing with a light or anything yet, but when I rebuilt the tractor in college, I made sure everything was lined up and the engines instructor double checked everything because he had a lot of experience with the old Farmalls from his farming days.


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## Mickey (Aug 14, 2010)

Country Boy said:


> Haven't had much time to do any research yet. My dad informed me that he had bought a magneto manual for the tractor years ago and he "thinks he might know where it is", so we'll see. From the troubles I've been having, *it almost seems like the timing sometimes gets stuck in the advanced position when starting and sometimes doesn't.* I'm hoping its just that the flyweights or whatnot are just rusty/sticky and need to be cleaned. I haven't checked the timing with a light or anything yet, but when I rebuilt the tractor in college, I made sure everything was lined up and the engines instructor double checked everything because he had a lot of experience with the old Farmalls from his farming days.


That's what crossed my mind.


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