Ford 9N Electrical Issue

[Soundguy]

maybee, sort of. er.. no.


ballast resistros serve to reduce primary current thru the coil and points.

you have 2 basic setups. fixed and thermal coeficient type.

the fixed types use a fixed resistor inline with the coil, during starting, a seperate post on the solenoid provides straight power to the coil, not going thru the resistor, after you start, and the solenoid opens, the coil only gets power thru the resistor.

Ford N don't use that method!

N's use a resistor that is very low ohms cold, and as it warms up it's ohms go up. At startup, ohms low, current to coil and points high, starts. after a short runtime, the ohms rise and the current is reduced. No 4 terminal bypass solenoid needed!

In fact. 9n / 2n don't even use solenoids.. they have 1 of 2 different manual start switches, one interlocked, and early ones non interlocked. 8n's use a 3 terminal start solenoid.

Ammeter reads amps, not volts. 0 means not charging and not discharging. A voltmeter reads volts.

Possibly oops on that ramble about the ballast resistor. That is how it works on some of the cars I have worked on when I was a kids.

8N Maintenance and Repairs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJmODplxRs0

 

[Rockfootball47]

hard to fault the starter if you read no voltage to the start switch. and if no voltage to the switch.. hard to fault the switch!

so far i'm wondering if you are using your meter correctly.


and to answer a prev question. no.. the generator does not directly matter on starting.

you could remove the generator completely and just start and run off the battery.


I also question your wireing if the ammeter does not register ignition current.

reread my post and check your wiring.

also check battery and conenctions.. and make sure you are using your meter correctly.

Summary Post:

I have replaced every wire, including larger battery, ground and starter cables, on the tractor except the one running from the generator to the cutout. The connector on the cutout is severely rusted and the screw will not come out. The wire seems to be in good condition so I am leaving it for now.

I replaced all of the wires based on the following wiring diagram which seemed to match SoundGuys description.

The only wire I don't see on my tractor is the ground connection at the Cutout Relay.

Through my attempts at testing the voltage I have come under the impression that maybe the starter switch is to blame. I checked voltage to it (possibly incorrectly) and checked continuity to both switch posts when pressing the start button, which this test failed since I didn't hear a noise or get resistance.

I am unsure if I am using the multimeter correctly to test everything, so if you could tell me where to place the probes while on the 20VDC setting I can begin testing.

Oh and I am sure it doesn't make a difference but I did determine that my tractor is a 2N, not 9N.

 

[Soundguy]

the ground connection shown at the cutout is simply it's body grounded to the frame.

check from chassis to hot side of start switch using meter. with starter disconnected, check the other side with button pushed.

use a headlamp as a test load in place of the starter. ie.. press start switch see if lamp lights up.

 

[Xfaxman]

Summary Post:

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I am unsure if I am using the multimeter correctly to test everything, so if you could tell me where to place the probes while on the 20VDC setting I can begin testing.

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Watch one of these Tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=multimeter+tutorial

 

[Rockfootball47]

check from chassis to hot side of start switch using meter.

Reading -6.35V on hot side (where negative side of battery connects to starter switch) and chassis.

with starter disconnected, check the other side with button pushed.

Reading -6.35V with probes on chassis and starter side of switch (cold side?) with starter disconnected and pushing start button.

use a headlamp as a test load in place of the starter. ie.. press start switch see if lamp lights up.

I don't have headlamps on my tractor and can't think of anything readily available that runs off 6V for me to test with.

UPDATE:
My dads friend came over to look at our 8N restoration and he took a look at mine. He agreed that my wiring was correct and we tried to "jump" the starter. It didn't crank so he had me pull the starter. It was hard to get out which he thought was odd. He thought the internals looked good but thought it might not be a bad idea to look at the ring gear on the flywheel for damage to see if the mechanism on the end of the starter had been stuck. Once we got the starter out it seemed to turn fine by hand.

Does this sound plausible to you guys? I want to find a way to run it without it hooked up to see if it works.

 

[Soundguy]

it's possible the drive gear was hung int he ring gear.

the drive gear normally sets out at the end of the shaft and travels toward the starter, to engage the ring gear and start the tractor.

you can use jump cables to hook the starter case to chassis, and the starter power lug to the start switch. with drive gear attached, it likely will suck in when the starter turns. this will make it hard to install, but not impossible. i'd remove the drive gear by pressing down onthe big washer at the end then driving the small cross pin out, then slip the drive off, then spin test the starter.

reinstall of the drive gear is opposite removal.

you can clean the drive gear in brake cleaner or naptha while it is off.