9N without power

Under any load at all it just bogs down. Where to next... How do you go about troubleshooting the governor? Or do I go back to the ignition and carburetor?

This has been converted to 12V negative ground which contributes to just an average spark due to the coil having its' polarity reversed from design (or so I am told). Don't really want to do a Frankenstein conversion to a round coil, but will if it will make the tractor usable. My feeling is to move on to the governor, but am looking for reassurance from the experts here.

Thanks,

Kirk

Danny - Tractor lacked power before, it also had starting issues thus the tune-up. Firing order is correct.

Bohemian - Coil polarity is ocasionally spoken of on this board which is where I have heard of it. Carb Adjustment seems OK at this point, but I will point out that the idle mix adjustment seems to have a very minor effect. Governor: I notice some increased effort when running to move the connecting rod, but not very much. Fuel flow is good as well as spark. Can't say that I have a fat blue spark, but it might be thin and blue when running. This is what has prompted me to research the coil. I did replace the switch which was a big improvement. Also went through the previous owner's wiring and removed a rat's nest of splices/terminals/etc. Have not looked at compression or a known good carb.

Dell - Went back and gave the main jet another half turn, goosed throttle did not see black exhaust, gave it another half turn and got some black exhaust so backed it off again. This is my FIL's tractor, and he geve it a carb rebuild about 1.5 years ago. He readily admits to being mechanically challenged. I used the tractor this morning to drag our horse arena with no improvement. An 8'x8' drag can almost bring the 9N to a stop in first gear going up a very slight grade.

Plucky - See above, I have reasonably good spark on all four cylinders.

Thanks to all for helping. Hope I am not headed for a rebuild yet.

Kirk

You say your 9N has had a tune-up and now has no power. Are you positively sure your plug wires are in the right order. I had 2 plugs on my 48 8N that were fouled and not firing. It would start fine and did not sound like it was missing. When I put a load on it, it would bog down. Check your firing order again: 1243 from radiator.

Good luck,
Danny

Hmm. Sounds like something a seller would say to disguise a worn out engine!

The coil having its polarity reversed should not make THAT much difference

If you've adjusted the carb out per Dell's procedure, and it responded properly as you made the adjustments, you've almost (but not quite) elimated the carb as the source of your problem.

To quickly check the governor: start the engine and grab the rod that runs to the carb and controls the butterfly valve. Try to move the rod; it should ''fight'' you. If it doesn't, you've found your problem.

Governor ok? Check the fuel flow by pulling the plug on the bottom of the carb. You should see a good steady flow about the diameter of the fuel line.

Fuel flow ok? Check the spark yourself. Take a good spark plug and bend the electrode out to 3/16 inch. Clamp it to ground and hook a spark line onto it (only remove one at a time! Don't mix them up!).

You should see a fat, blue spark on all four cylinders. (Many people automatically replace the ignition switch at this point, whether the spark looks good or not; Ford ignition switches are VERY problematic and tricky to check properly with a voltmeter or test light.)

All these things check out? Quickly evaluate your compression. Everybody has their favorite method. I like a hand crank, but if one isn't available, crank using the starter with ignition off. If all four cylinders don't sound pretty much the same as the starter pushes them past TDC, you might want to run a more scientific compression test.

Finally, borrow a carburetor from a tractor that is known to run well (neighbors and parts counter guys know where they are) and substitute it for yours. If the problem goes away, the carb is once again suspect.

Over the internet, it is difficult to diagnose a problem that is apparent when one can see, smell, and feel the tractor. But the above tests can be run very quickly, and will isolate most common problems with the Ford (or other) tractor.

About that governor: I should have described the test more thoroughly. Start with the motor OFF. Grab the rod that controls the butterfly valve (throttle valve) on the carb. Move it back and forth; you should feel little resistance.

Now, start the engine; you should feel greatly INCREASED resistance.

Right now, it ain'chur governor (yet) or yer 12-volt conversion..... ...Dell