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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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'50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on it

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tony

07-29-2003 16:16:26




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i replaced the starter over a month ago, ran it several times, replaced the battery 6 months ago, i finally got out to cut the fields, after i had stopped and went to start it again, it would not crank, now this tractor is wired different from what i have been reading here and i ordered the service manual yesterday, the battery + is wired to a start switch, then to starter, but everything i have been reading says it should go to the starter first, with a test light check, i have power to the switch but none going to the starter when i push the button, the start button is new also and battery charged, any ideas, also i removed the starter and hooked cables to it and it cranks,

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tony

07-29-2003 19:02:25




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 Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on it in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 16:16:26  
thanks guys, i did write that i replaced that start switch too,,, i drew a schematic of it, it runs battery positive to start button and branch to starter and ammeter, ammeter to regulator to generator,,, the positive wire from battery is also attached to the on/of switch to ballast to coil to another ballast to distributor, do this wiring sound within reason, it has a 12v battery with a generator not an alternator

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tony

07-30-2003 05:31:51




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 Re: Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 19:02:25  
well i sure got a bunch of replies, thanks to everyone, i will try to get at it again today use some ideas here, i have new battery wires on it too but eveything else is as i bought it, if i get it going, i will inform you here to what it was, and as we all know, when you find the problem, it always turns out to be something simple that you are just not seeing, thanks again



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tony

07-30-2003 12:15:30




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 Re: Re: Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starte in reply to tony, 07-30-2003 05:31:51  
it now starts, i got my meter out this morning and check all wires individually, and switches and starter ground, everything checked out ok, i did charge my battery but i do not have a load tester to verify the condition of that new battery so i took the battery out of my truck and hooked it up and away she went, i brought that one back to advanced auto and got a replacement, it is always simple when you find the problem, thanks everyone

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here, try this

07-30-2003 04:38:25




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 Re: Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 19:02:25  
sounds about right. if it worked before it ought to work now. Did you check your battery terminals?



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Steve - IN

07-29-2003 20:25:05




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 Re: Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 19:02:25  
Tony,

Couple of things --

A new switch is not necessarily a good switch. I got one of those replacement switches for my H, and it lasted about a year (probably made in China). It's not unreasonable to suppose it could be dead out of the box. I'd run a battery jumper cable from the batt to the starter, and if that works, test the switch, and the switch to starter cable individually (not clear from your post whether you're running your test light from switch to ground or from starter terminal to ground). Do all these science experiments outside so, as skipper wisely pointed out, you don't invite big explosions with sparks. Anyway, the basic problems are limited to cable, switch, or connection between the two. You could also have an old, dry starter which doesn't like to turn anyway, but cleaning the brushes and lubing the bushings should help that a lot -- but that's secondary, not the main cause of your problem.

You say you're running from batt to on/off switch to ballast, to coil, then to ballast before distributor? Sounds like there may be one too many ballast resistors there. If you have the original 6 volt coil, it wants to see no more than ~7 volts coming in. If you get a cheap multimeter, you can measure that voltage level. If it has a 12 volt coil, you don't want any ballast. But all of this is secondary to getting it started. Even without a multimeter, you'll see something wrong from a missmatch if the coil is running very hot, or the points burn out in short order. Or, on the opposite side, if the tractor suddenly stops running because the coil isn't getting enough juice.

If you use the search feature on the board here, and enter the terms "schematic" or "diagram" or "BobM", you'll find a link to some schematics that BobM has drawn with some CAD software and offered up to Farmall owners out of sheer goodness of heart, and which are MUCH more "readable" than you'll find in the owners manual or service manual. I think most of his work is for stock H or M setups with pos ground and 6 volts. But in your case, there may be a 12V with alternator setup is probably closer to the truth. After you get the starter turning reliably, and the coil/points happy with the voltage/amperage they're getting; you'll want to get the battery charging to keep things going.

The old genner should put out 12 or more volts if it's really happy, but the VR may not cooperate and charge your 12V batt. That's another few paragraphs, so best to take one thing at a time. Post back once you get it started, and if you're not getting it charged for more advice and confusion from everybody here.

I think you'll find the guys here are more than willing to help -- and from my experience, that willingness to help is because some of the best times you can enjoy are out in the middle of a big field on an old H (or whatever flavor machine) that you've made purr and run well all by yourself.

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49 Cubber! Something els

07-29-2003 19:32:14




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 Re: Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 19:02:25  
Your starter needs a good clean area to mount to for ground,maybe itd just not grounding good.Clean the area where it mounts good and try that.



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49 Cubber!

07-29-2003 19:30:45




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 Re: Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 19:02:25  
Battery to switch,then switch to starter,this is the push type switch which looks brassy right?What size cable you have on those two?You could have corroded up cables.Then you should have,in some sort of configuration a wire to your on/off switch,then to coil,from coil to distributor.IF the coil is a 6 volt coil,you need the resistor between the switch and the coil,not between the coil and distributor.

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CNKS

07-29-2003 18:28:46




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 Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on it in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 16:16:26  
Your tractor was originally positive ground. If it has been changed, you need to repolarize the generator, unless somenone did a complete 12 volt conversion, then it is likely neg ground. The correct cable wiring is switch to starter, and battery to starter. I agree that your starter button may be shot.



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skipper

07-29-2003 18:00:09




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 Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on it in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 16:16:26  
now what i would do is short across the switch terminals with my plier but this could cause a spark and set your tractor on fire and kill you. That is my disclaimer.



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Mike ISW

07-29-2003 17:50:50




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 Re: '50 farmall h, no cranking, new starter on it in reply to tony, 07-29-2003 16:16:26  
From what you wrote I believe you answered your own question. You say you have power going to switch but with button pushed you have nothing going to starter. I would question starter button. You can test it with an ohmmeter.



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