I had an old motorcycle that had not had its points changed for 45 years. The fault I found was that the contacts were not making a connection to the spring to which they were riveted. The rust had just built up within the rivetted connection. Plugs, capacitors, and points need renewing every decade or so.... I think you also need a new ammeter.

My dad died last year and he left several Farmall tractors in the barn that hadn't run in more than 5 years. I'm currently working on getting them cleaned up and running. One thing I have learned is to clean all the electrical contacts thoroughly. Start with the coil and make sure it ohms correctly. I have a timing light so I checked the spark by grounding the output directly to a sparkplug and opening the points with a screwdriver. Once I have a good spark I will reattach the plugs to the distributor and check for spark on one of the plug wires. Be sure and check everything. One problem I had was a loose nut on the coil and another problem is I didn't have the wire fully seated in the distributor. These old tractors should be easy to troubleshoot but I found myself doing more than a little swearing.

Good video. I am going to be facing the same need for trouble shooting a potential electrical problem on my 1952 Super A so this is very informative.

Kevin, If I may make a suggestion about testing for spark, I find it much easier just to pull the coil wire out of the cap first. If I don't have any spark there, I check for voltage on the distributor side of the resistor. If there is voltage there, I open the distributor and then check the points, condenser and rotor button. If I have spark at the coil wire and none at the plug wire, I suspect the rotor cap or button. Then I look at the contacts of the cap, and using my pocket knife, I break the oxidation off the ends of the cap anodes. If I have spark at the end of the plug wire, only then do I bother checking the plugs. I like your spark tester, the one I have is made from a known good spark plug and I welded a clip to the side and I attach it to a good solid and clean ground and attach the plug wire to it. I try to position it to where I can see it while pushing the starter button. Keep up the good work, People enjoy seeing you work on the old iron! At age 75 and having worked on gasoline engines since I was in my teens, and working on tractors for over 30 years I've gained a pretty good working knowledge on these old machines. I currently own a super C, A Super M and an H, along with a Jubilee and a Massy Harris44. All of which have had the exact same issue that you are having with yours, today. If I can ever be of assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me. If I don't know the answer, I'll tell you right up front! Gene Newcomb

Boy, spark plugs 2&3 were really being stubborn, glad you got them out without damage. I look forward to more of this series. Be well my friend.

The big round switch is a four position light switch, if you don't have lights you might as well remove the wires to it. The resistor on top of the coil is to reduce the power to 6V from your 12V battery. I bought a Super A earlier this summer and I've been researching these things myself. I would highly recommend you order yourself a manual for the tractor, they can be found online pretty easily. Looking forward to more vids!

Love tractors. ...specially the older stuff. So much fun.

That bottom wire that was damaged came from the rear light and that wire goes on the bottom of the switch... the headlights goes directly above that, right beside the hot lead.

Just a hot tip. To avoid hot tips, etc. When working on the wiring, first remove the battery ground cable. THEN remove the hot wire. That will help you avoid any extemporaneous arc welding lessons.

When trying to set points on "Top dead center (TDC)", set the ignition switch to "OFF", put transmission in second gear, grab rear wheel and rock the tractor back and fourth a small amount. This will allow you to turn the shaft a small amount.

My dad had an old 140 that would shut off when he was at the far end of a row when bedding ground. It took some chasing but one of the old wires had no insulation and was grounding out!

Hello Kevin, I bought a similar voltage tester with a (light-up) light indicator inside of it, like yours. Do you know what brand is your tester ? Looks like a nice one. My parents bought retirement property in the 80’s, that came with a Super A with bush hog attachment. It still Runs good. ….really enjoyed your informative videos! …Thx

Try just a condenser. They go bad and ground the system out. The big switch is the light switch, the wire to the fuse supplies power to that switch. So the disconnected end goes to the power supply side of your ignition switch so that the light switch always has power to it.

The stud on the distributor is shorting out before it gets to the coil. all those years of metal filings have built a bridge to short out the negative charge needed to make the coil get busy. take it off, put some shrink wrap electrical material around it ( i put 2 layers) it will fire right up.

Fantastic we all get to go on a full blown series. Step by step great.

Check for voltage to dist.if ok pull cap turn ignition on pull coil wire from cap with points closed open with screwdriver holding end of wire slightly away from eng block should get a spark as you open and close points if not possible bad condenser or points shorted good luck

that white thing is a resistor used when the engine is cranked, when engine starts less volts to coil to keep from burning out. that white thing is not a relay. good video

File them points! I chased my tail on a 41 Ford 9n and from sitting the points contact faces simply needed a quick filing, boom fired right up.

Watched end of video noticed points appear to be burnt blue color is a give away. Also oil filter dated last serviced in 2014. Chase the threads on spark plug holes. Have fun

Looks like you have a 12V battery and starter, and a 6V condenser, points, and coil. The resistor is to drop the voltage from 12V to 6V, so as not to burn up the condenser, points, and coil.

Were you restoring this tractor? Were doing the same and got paint on the distributor. Clean the paint off. You got no ground. Just had this same problem. 😂😂😂If no paint clean everything

I have that same relay on my 77 Dodge D100 pickup. It acts like a circuit breaker between the ignition and the starter motor. I boosts the current to the solenoid and breaks the circuit when you let the ignition key loose. Seems like you should only have power to one side of that relay unless the ignition is on.

What battery size do you use? Meaning what is the group? I am looking to get a bigger battery and at the same time relocate it under the seat so I need to build some kind of hold down.

Get yourself a multimeter to determine where your voltage is bad.

Your farmall has been converted to 12volts it was originally 6volt. Thus the ballast resister on the 12volt coil

NorthernSeclusion has a Farmall tractor, he might be able to help you

Video wrong video I need a 47 Case tractor how the wires go from the plugs to the cap on the magneto to capture the mag

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My internet is having a temper tantrum, so I couldn't watch the whole video. Based on some of the comments it may be worth checking the ceramic resistor on top of the coil. You can jump a wire across the terminals of the resistor for a couple seconds without burning out your coil. If the resistor is the problem, the tractor should start right up. Just don't leave the ignition on too long, or you'll have to buy a new coil. It would also be worthwhile to just buy a tune up kit from your local ag supply store and get a new cap, rotor, condenser, and points. The fuse is for the light circuit.

Lights

Anyone else getting dr Steve Brule vibes