ford 1953 jubilee tractor will not start

I converted my 1953 ford jubilee naa tractor from a 6 volt to 12 volt and I got it started yesterday but this morning I tried to start it and it would not start, I get fire and gas. we checked everything else it all seems to be ok, so not for what is wrong. Does anyone have an answer, hopefully.

How did you by-pass the ballast resistor during cranking?

My Jubilee has no post on solenoid to by-pass
so I used a diode and connected the anode to the starter 12v.

Please tell what "I get fire and gas" means to you.

What set up do you have for an ignition coil? Do you
have the 6 volt coil and resistor, or did you acquire a 12
volt coil? Did the conversion include adding and
alternator? If so most alternators require a change to a
negative ground? If you changed the tractors battery
polarity did you also change it on the coil circuit? On a
negative ground system the wire from the distributor
points should connect to the negative terminal of the
coil and the power from the ignition or resistor
connects to the positive coil terminal. This being
reversed will not keep the tractor from running but it
does keep the coil from producing optimum spark.
Secondly, you may have flooded the engine. Now that
it spins over much faster the amount of time full choke
is needed may a bit less. I would suggest pulling a
spark plug or two and see if they are gas soaked or
dry. I see you first posted about this tractor in May 22
so the tractor has ran and been used since that time or
is it a continued work in progress? I am just asking this
because sometimes an engine that sets around and is
occasionally started for a few minutes here and there
can act much differently from one that see normal use
and longer run times. Also just looking over the past
few post you have made your feed back or answers to
questions posted by others is nearly non-existent.
There is no charge on this forum for number of posts
or words used.

George, I may be wrong but I would guess the use of ..anode.. is going to be ..Greek.. to the OP. In fact it is doubtful he will be able to understand anything in your post without more details.

The conversion kit came with an alternator, resistor and wiring, bought a new 12 volt battery. We kept the 6 volt coil and used the resistor. We moved snow yesterday and it was working great so like I said tried to start it this morning and no start up.

Sorry, I know I fired a lot of questions at you. Answers
about the correct coil polarity and whether you find
find the spark plugs wet or dry would be helpful. What
Geo-TH,In is talking about is when using a resistor in
the coil circuit there is a way to provide the coil with
full 12 power during cranking and then run on reduced
voltage after it has started. My Farmall M has been
changed to 12 volts and uses a resistor in the coil
circuit. It has ran and started fine without that extra
..step up.. circuit for 8 years or so.

When you checked the spark, did you check at the plug end of each wire?
Cranking, it should have a minimum 1/4 inch spark from the wire to ground
at the sparkplug end, not just at the coil.

Is it possible the gas was left on overnight, and the needle valve leaked,
flooding the engine? Might check the oil level for overfull and gas
contamination.

If you suspect it flooded, leave the plugs out, spin the excess gas out
and let it dry, put a spoon of gas in each cylinder, and spin that out.
Change the oil if you suspect contamination, then try again.

Check the choke function for fully closing and opening. Leave the filter
hose off to see if it floods again. A few drops of gas after a failed
start or shut down is normal, but continuing to drip is not.

What Geo-TH,In is talking about is when using a resistor in the coil circuit there is a way to provide the coil with full 12 power during cranking and then run on reduced voltage after it has started.


Tractors may have used the ignition switch or a place on the solenoid to bypass ballast.

My Jubilee has no such place so I used a diode as in the picture below. The picture below is self explanatory.
The cathode, white band, goes to the + on the coil.
The anode goes to the starter cable.

My tractor has no issues starting after I installed the diode.

My Farmall M has been
changed to 12 volts and uses a resistor in the coil
circuit. It has ran and started fine without that extra
..step up.. circuit for 8 years or so.

If your ballast is too small, you may not need to bypass the ballast.
If your ballast is too small you may burn points faster than I do.
If your cranking voltage drops too much, you need to bypass ballast or it won't start.

All cars, when I was a kid, the ballast resistor was bypassed using the ignition switch. Why people on YT think they don't need one is beyond me.
Someplace I read the old 6v Ford N's had ballast and bypassed them. This may or may not be true.

Sorry to be so late but you said you pushed snow yesterday. Did you check for moisture in or on distributor cap and coin top outlet?

Woody if you read through to the end of this reply there is some info for you.
George, this will be my last rebuttal as to not clutter up the purpose of this thread. I left it out but I intended to only imply that ..step up.. circuit may not be required. He has already proved it is not necessarily needed because the tractor already ran once in its current configuration. Is it an option to add later certainly. As far as ..All cars, when I was a kid, the ballast resistor was bypassed using the ignition switch.. A bit before that not sure of the exact time per your age most all vehicles were 6 volt with 6 volt coils and ..surprise.. they started. So the resistor makes the coil think it is in a 6 volt vehicle so surprise it should start and run. I realize that his coil and resistor measured resistance may not exactly be electrically ..on par.. but close enough for this example. Lastly diodes and their function may be ..old hat.. for you but for this guy it is ..likely.. that he is not quite that in the know.
For Woody here goes.. a diode is essentially an electrical one way valve when comparing electrical theory to water flow. Once the power for the coil passes through the ballast resistor it is theoretically reduced to 6 volts. The circuit George is suggesting takes power from the stud on the starter and connects through the diode to the positive side of the coil providing full battery voltage while the starter is cranking the engine. Once the engine starts the power to the starter drops off when the solenoid is de-energized. The coil is now powered by the ignition fed through the resistor. If this circuit was a solid wire the coil circuit would be trying to turn the starter. The coil circuit and in particular the resistor is not a heavy enough circuit to operate the starter motor which you would not want it to do anyway when the engine is running. To eliminate this the diode is installed in the circuit. The cathode side of the diode connects to the positive side of the coil, the one way attribute of the diode does not allow power to flow back to the starter so the problem is solved. However the diode does allow current to flow towards the coil while the starter motor is energized. Hopefully this explanation is adequate.

Did you test the following?
Check the compression?
Use a timing light to make sure the timing is right?
Did you pull the plug on the carb bowl and see if what comes out
is clean, no water and good flow?
I had to replace the gas tank on my Jubilee.
Little rust, the inside tank coating was flaking off and choking
the screens in the fuel line. A hidden screen is the brass 90
where the gas line connects to the carb. Pull the 90 and look at
the screen.
When points are closed what is the voltage on the + terminal of
the coil?
When the points are open, what is the voltage on the + terminal
of the coil?
What is the cranking voltage?
Did you mess with the spark plug wires and have them out of
place?

I have to have my throttle at an idle and full choke to start
mine. Fires on first or second crank.
Are your plugs wet or dry?
Wet means you have gas, dry means no gas.

Please let us know what you find.

HiYa Woody, it's best to post your questions on the FORD Forums, where it gets more views than Tractor Talk, but I will answer them here so you don't get a lot of
misinformation that may only add to your dilemma and problems. First, know that 99.98% of all non-starting issues are due to incorrect wiring regardless if using the
6V/POS GND system or a 12V switcheroo job. Just because your battery is 6V or 12V for that matter, do not assume the system is wired correctly for that setup. Many,
newbies and oldies alike, attempt to fashion their own wiring not knowing how to do it correctly. There are maybe three or four ways to wire a 12V setup correctly and
a thousand ways to do it incorrectly. It's important to invest in the original (or copies) of the ESSENTIAL MANUALS to fully understand and maintain your tractor. They
are the best investments you can make. You must understand the 6V/POS GND electrical system first. Many don't understand and think that the 'cure' is to swap out to
12V. There's nothing wrong with 12V (or 6V) as long as it is done correctly, and for the right reasons. 12V has advantages like faster starting, which helps if you
have a worn engine; burns brighter lights; and operates 12V utilities like sprayers and your 8-TRACK player. Just to switch over to 12V because you can't figure out
the 6V setup is not a logical approach. Next, the word 'Ballast Resistor' gets tossed around a lot and used incorrectly. There is NO Ballast Resistor used on the FORD
Tractors after 1950. An external in-line 1-OHM ceramic resistor is used in the coil circuit ONLY if you you switch to 12V and are using the original 6V Coil. Delete
that extra resistor, my choice, by swapping out to a 12V coil. Simple. There also is no Solenoid involved in a 12V switchover. The solenoid is mounted on the starter
motor and is really a relay that has three wires -see diagram. It doesn't get messed with at all, stays the same for both 6V and 12V setups. Note that lights were
never a factory feature until the 800 model, just a dealer optional accessory, and many were wired wrong too, often with non-starting issues due to shorts. When
troubleshooting I advise to disconnect the lights first.

6V/POS GND WIRING after 1950, with side mount distributor, uses: 6V GRP 1 battery, 6V Coil, 3-wire 20 AMP, B-Circuit GENERATOR with a belt tensioning bracket, Voltage
Regulator, 3-Wire Starter Motor with a Relay (Solenoid), Terminal Block Connector, AMMETER, Safety Start Pushbutton, and all wired correctly.

12V CONVERSION WIRING uses: 12V GRP 25 or 35 battery, 12V alternator - 1-Wire or 3-Wire will work, and must have a belt tensioning bracket, the coil can be 6V or 12V
but if 6V must use the extra ceramic resistor or switch to a 12V coil, NO Voltage Regulator -it gets removed with the GEN, 3-Wire Starter Motor with a Relay
(Solenoid), Terminal Block Connector, AMMETER, Safety Start Pushbutton, and all wired correctly.

One big non-starting issue is a week or dead battery. Get it tested first under load at a shop. Don't think you can just attach a trickle charger to it and it's good.
The other main root cause is the generator or alternator's lack of a fan belt tensioner. Without one you will never charge the battery. The OEM 6V GEN used a saddle
mounted bracket on the unit itself. All 12V conversions use a specially made tension bracket, some included in the 12V kit sold, but not all do. Any non-starting
issues you encounter, always first check the battery condition then the wiring. Battery cables are important as well. 12V uses thick-as-your thumb cables and I prefer
the OEM style flat, braided strap ground connector. 12V uses smaller diameter cables like on your truck or car. Have the correct fan belt too.

OEM FORD NAA AND UP ELECTRICAL 6V/POS GND WIRING DIAGRAMS:



NAA 12V WIRING PICTOGRAMS by JMOR:

The GM/DELCO 10-SI 12V Alternator has been a proven reliable, preferred unit to use for the FORD TRACTOR 12V conversions. It uses 1-wire so is an easy hookup. There
is a 3-Wire unit used too as shown.



NOTE: Firing Order on the 9N, 2N and 8N is CCW. The NAA/Jubilee and after all used a CW Firing Order. Wiring is all the same otherwise on a 12V setup. Observe the
extra in-line resistor, used only if coil is 6V.



OEM FORD 9N-12250 BALLAST RESISTOR, ON RIGHT BELOW AMMETER, USED '39-'50 ONLY WITH THE FRONT MOUNT DISTRIBUTOR:

AFTERMARKET EXTERNAL CERAMIC 1-OHM RESISTOR, ONLY USE IF COIL IS 6V:

FORD DASH TERMINAL STRIP USED AFTER 1950 ON ALL SIDE MOUNTED DISTRIBUTORS:


FORD TRACTOR NAA ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:


Tim Daley(MI)

Its a simple thing but does it have gas in the tank and is the shut off turned on?