HIPO Giddyup
Active member
Hi everyone!! , new to this site.. Here is some background history: I have been around tractors all of my life. My father was a farmer when he was younger and always had a knack for fixing things , thus a lot of running tractors instead of projects, lol. He had many tractors over his 74 years. Everything from Farmalls, John Deeres, Wheel Horse, Cub cadets, etc. and he worked on everyone one of them. He was quite the mechanic! When my father passed away in 2012, I enherited his collection. Currently I have a restored 1954 John Deere 60, a nice 1968 Charger 12 Wheel Horse, a 1974 1650 Cadet, a 1969 JD 140 with loader and hydraulics, and last but not least a IH 184.
The story goes... back in 2013 my parent's neighbor's Ford riding mower died (one that my father used to work on). Since my dad had recently passed, my brother -in -law let the neighbor borrow and use the 184 since my brother -in -law was mowing my mother's property with his zero-turn. The neighbor took care of the 184, but all the sudden it stopped one day while he was cutting grass. My brother-in-law , who was a gas/diesel mechanic, pulled the 184 into the garge but never was able to figure it out as he passed from heart issues, only a year and 1/2 after my Dad.
I am decent with car repairs as I have several restored cars but not so much knowledge with tractors. I want to get the 184 running so I can use it and instead of it just sitting. My father kept all of the tractors in tip-top shape so none were ever abused or neglected. I know the tractor is well worth getting it to run so that is my job this spring. Here is what I have found, my brother -in-law replaced the points, condensor, rotor,cap, and wires with new IH extras that my Dad had in stock (he always bought IH parts and extras just to have). He replaced the plugs with Autolites (not what my Dad would have used), but either way, the tractor would not start. So I am starting where he left off but, I have changed the ignition pieces with a pertronix kit since I have had great luck with pertronix on my classic cars. Even with the points and condensor pieces in place, I had voltage on both sides of the coil with the key on and while starting but no spark coming from the coil to the cap.
I have since installed the pertronix, installed a new rotor, new Champion D21 plugs, new Pertronix 3 ohm coil, flushed the gas tank, and checked the timing (when the crank mark is under the pointer the rotor is under the #1 wire tower), still no spark from the coil to cap. I bypassed the foot safety switch just in case, no difference. I am at a loss at what to check next? This one really has me stumped. Oh, and a few other checks I forgot to mention: The carb is sucking if you put your hand over it, and the exhaust is puffing out, while trying to start.. I have a new Zenith 68 carb and the carb is getting gas (starting fliud makes no difference ). I checked the distributor and the rotor cap and shaft are spinning when the starter is engaged. I am hoping some knowledge here might help me find the culprit. I noticed a resitor on the alternator but not sure if that would affect spark at the coil? I unplugged the wires but no difference. I think it only affects the alternator charging, not the system starting? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you, Bill
The story goes... back in 2013 my parent's neighbor's Ford riding mower died (one that my father used to work on). Since my dad had recently passed, my brother -in -law let the neighbor borrow and use the 184 since my brother -in -law was mowing my mother's property with his zero-turn. The neighbor took care of the 184, but all the sudden it stopped one day while he was cutting grass. My brother-in-law , who was a gas/diesel mechanic, pulled the 184 into the garge but never was able to figure it out as he passed from heart issues, only a year and 1/2 after my Dad.
I am decent with car repairs as I have several restored cars but not so much knowledge with tractors. I want to get the 184 running so I can use it and instead of it just sitting. My father kept all of the tractors in tip-top shape so none were ever abused or neglected. I know the tractor is well worth getting it to run so that is my job this spring. Here is what I have found, my brother -in-law replaced the points, condensor, rotor,cap, and wires with new IH extras that my Dad had in stock (he always bought IH parts and extras just to have). He replaced the plugs with Autolites (not what my Dad would have used), but either way, the tractor would not start. So I am starting where he left off but, I have changed the ignition pieces with a pertronix kit since I have had great luck with pertronix on my classic cars. Even with the points and condensor pieces in place, I had voltage on both sides of the coil with the key on and while starting but no spark coming from the coil to the cap.
I have since installed the pertronix, installed a new rotor, new Champion D21 plugs, new Pertronix 3 ohm coil, flushed the gas tank, and checked the timing (when the crank mark is under the pointer the rotor is under the #1 wire tower), still no spark from the coil to cap. I bypassed the foot safety switch just in case, no difference. I am at a loss at what to check next? This one really has me stumped. Oh, and a few other checks I forgot to mention: The carb is sucking if you put your hand over it, and the exhaust is puffing out, while trying to start.. I have a new Zenith 68 carb and the carb is getting gas (starting fliud makes no difference ). I checked the distributor and the rotor cap and shaft are spinning when the starter is engaged. I am hoping some knowledge here might help me find the culprit. I noticed a resitor on the alternator but not sure if that would affect spark at the coil? I unplugged the wires but no difference. I think it only affects the alternator charging, not the system starting? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you, Bill
