Super H ignition

Sorry for the long message!
Basic specs.
Farmall Super H # 20241J I was told it was manufactured in 52
Converted to propane many years ago
Converted to 12 volt approx. 15 years ago
Used for mowing (tow behind one row shredder) on 100 acre wildlife management property ? no heavy work.
Converted to electronic ignition PerTronix Ignitor approx. 2 years ago

Problem History
Electronic ignition worked great until Sept 2016 (approx. 20 months). After mowing for approx.. 3 hours in 100 degree temp. the engine stopped. No splutter, no backfire, no misfire, it just quit running. After sitting for several hours (cool down), I was able to start it and get it back in the barn. I could not start it again after that. Spoke with PerTrtronix tech support RE electronic ignition. At their recommendation I ran a bunch of tests to determine if ground was good etc. They replaced the ignition module under warranty (I was surprised at that ? they have been very helpful). Put in the new module and the tractor worked perfectly first time. In Feb 2017 (4+ months on the new module), again after mowing for 3-4 hours at about 70 degrees, the tractor did the same thing i.e. quit without a stutter. At that point I put on new plugs, wires, cap, and rotor. After that, tractor ran very poorly constantly misfiring for about 10 minutes with barely enough power to move it in low gear. It then stopped and would not start again. Double checked new sparkplug wires for contact and firing order ? everything OK. After talking to PerTronix tech support, they gave me a much more exhaustive set of tests including a bench test of the module. The tractor passed all of the ground continuity, coil resistance, and other tests. Bench test of the module showed intermittent voltage drop (it should drop four times a revolution). Intermittent voltage drop would be consistent with the occasional ?pop? I would get trying to start the tractor. Got another new module but this time when I put it on the tractor did not start. Tried two other spark coils (one new one) and no start. Currently a spark tester inserted in the coil shows a good spark from the coil when the ignition switch is turned on and when it is turned off, which to me shows the coil is good. When the engine is cranked there is a very weak spark from the coil when cranking starts and when it stops. There is no sparking during cranking. The spark tester shows no hint of a spark at any of the plug wires.

Fuel system seems Ok. Won?t start even with starter spray.

I am at my wits end. I pulled the distributor thinking to reconvert it to breaker points but thought I would post on this forum first. I will probably also have to post again when I try to get the timing right ? I was expecting a distributor shaft with a key mechanism for orientation and instead it is a continuous gear. A Kubota is starting to look good!

Thanks in advance for any help.

If it has fire when tester is connected to the coil wire but not at plug wire the dist.cap or the rotor is bad. If no spark at coil wire problem is in the dist. Make sure at Top dead center rotor points to number one dist. post. Do you have 12 volts at coil plus when cranking?

After reading your post again I think you may have a ground between the coil minus and the unit, or the unit is grounded all the time.

Wouldnt be the first time your electric firing system is bad. Try another stock dist and see what happens. Your problem is fire from what you said ive seen the same problem happen and they went back to stock set-up and engine started an ran. Happenen to a tractor next to me at a show last summer endine was running when he parked it but a day later would not start changd bac to stock set-up and engine ran fine.

I would be putting points and condenser back in that thing just as fast as I could turn the screwdriver. To have two of them fail and a third one be no good out of the box, not to mention the countless other reports of similar failures, has convinced me that it's just not worth the risk. I can fix points and condenser.

(quoted from post at 04:37:00 03/22/17) I would be putting points and condenser back in that thing just as fast as I could turn the screwdriver. To have two of them fail and a third one be no good out of the box, not to mention the countless other reports of similar failures, has convinced me that it's just not worth the risk. I can fix points and condenser.

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YES! And considering how most of these old tractors are used anymore, the points and condensor will last for years and years.

Thanks for all of the replies!

I had thought that points and condenser sounded like the way to go. Your replies have confirmed that. I changed to an electronic ignition because there was so much "slop" in the distributor that it was very hard to gap the points and get the timing even close. I noticed last night that Yesterday's tractor has a new distributor for a Super H that is reasonably priced (cheaper than a Kubota). Unless someone has had a bad experience with one of these new distributor I am going to order one. My brother found a post with detailed instructions on getting the timing right so hopefully I will be up and running soon.

Thanks again for the advice.

I see the new distributor is

For tractor models A, AV, B, BN, C, Cub, Cub Lo-Boy, Cub 154 Lo-Boy, Cub 184 Lo-Boy, Cub 185 Lo-Boy, H, HV, I4, I6, I9, ID9, ID6, M, MD, MDV, MV, O4, O6, ODS6, OS4, OS6, Super A, Super A1, Super AV, Super AV1, Super C, Super H, Super HV, Super M, Super MD-TA, Super MDV, Super MTA, Super MV, Super W4, Super W6.

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I can tell you that those models didn't all start out with the same advance curve. Who knows what you will get. If possible, I'd fix what I have rather than put on a "universal" replacement. You would probably be ahead on all counts even if you have to have a machine shop drill the housing for a bushing.