# 8N ran then just quit



## Mrspooky (Mar 21, 2017)

Hi, this is my first post and first 8n. I just got a 8n last weekend. I did all the inspections (that I could think of) prior to purchase. Everything seemed fine, the man I got it from ran it through all gears and even mowed a little with it while I was there. 
Heres the problem. I got it to my property and was mowing with it in between new planted pines. the dog fennel was a good 7' tall so every lap or 2 I would shut the tractor off and brush out all the "fuzzy" crap that was on the radiator. After about 7 rows, I shut it off, brushed out the fuzzy crap and fired her back up. She ran for about 20 yards and just quit like you pulled the plug. Didnt sputter or anything like it was ran out of gas (but the gas was low). So now I got a tractor sitting in a field with a tarp over it. From what I gathered readin different forums, Im leaning twards electrical. I took off the fuel line at the carb and gas flowed. I took out the drain bolt on the carb and the gas flowed. I havent checked for spark yet because I didnt have the right tools, and I know you gotta have the right tools for the job so I walked away. Sense my property is kinda far from anything, I thought about getting a handful of parts here in town and throwing them at it. Im thinking a resistor, a key switch, points and maybe a coil. This is a converted 12V front mount dist. Any help or Ideas???? 
Thanks in advance


----------



## willys55 (Oct 13, 2016)

grab a test light and see if you have power at the distributor with the key on and cranking, the test light should blink on each revolution


----------



## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Bring some gas back with you as well!


----------



## Mrspooky (Mar 21, 2017)

We (wife and I) put some hours on it today and still nothing. First I need to correct myself in a bad way. I said that was a front mount and infact its a side mount dist.. I never bothered to google, I thought that if the dist was on the "front" of the engine it was a front mount. Took a 12v square coil to do a round coils joband had to take it back first thing. Anyway.. We checked all the wires, the coil was getting 12v on both sides. We checked the resistor and it seemed to be working. Even put a new coil in, still no spark. Checked the switch and everything seemed to work except maybe one thing. The white wire is the one that goes to the alternator. There is no volts going to it when the key is off, when you put the key in "accessory" position it has 12v,,, but when you crank the engine the volts drop off to nothin. Is it suppose to do that? At this point, all I know to do is put a new key switch on it.


----------



## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

If you have the typical 12 volt negative ground conversion you should have voltage to the coil on start and run. Most of these have a dropping resistor on the coil that allows them to start on 12 volts, then when in the run position at the key switch the resistor drops the voltage to around 8 VDC. 

I would expect two wires to the ignition, one from the key switch run position to the resistor that is inline with the coil, and one directly from the starter solenoid to the coil. That way when starting you have 12 VDC, and when running the reduced voltage is what extends coil life.

Not knowing what sort of alternator conversion was done, I would speculate that you have a hot wire from the voltage regulator to the key switch. That being the case that wire will remain hot from battery voltage if the battery is good, the regulator is good, and the alternator is not shorted. If you have the more common single wire GM alternator with built in regulator conversion, you should only have one wire from the alternator to the battery, and usually through a fusible link or a 50 amp fuse. Then a battery hot side feed to the ignition switch.

If your wiring has been working, I would check your battery terminals for corrosion between the clamp and the battery post. What happens when those corrode is the voltage drops so low that the engine will not run, and when a load it put on the electrical system the battery voltage goes to zero.

If you have a wire from the alternator to the key switch, then I do not know what sort of conversion was done. I would expect a wire from the BAT terminal on the voltage regulator to the key switch, or if it is a modular Delco alternator with the single wire to the battery there may be a second connection on the alternator output that is tagged + or BAT that would go to the key switch as the common electrical feed, and that should be fused or through a fusible link to prevent fire.


----------



## Bushpig (Jul 17, 2017)

Take off distributor cap. Turn key to run position, use an insulated screw driver to manually open and close teh points. If there is spark, Electrical is not your problem. Just a good place to start.


----------

