International 300 Not Running

Hi,
I am new here because I've exhausted my mechanical abilities which I thought would get me through this.

I parked my tractor last winter and it was running just fine as it has been for 5 years. This year it wouldn't start. It turns over just fine.

When I tried starting it the coil wire got hot and let out some smoke so I assumed I had a short somewhere. I've replaced the coil, cap, rotor, wires, points, and condenser. The plugs are a bit sooted but no worse than they were when it was running. I ran a new coil wire from the battery to the coil using a wing nut on the terminal as my ignition switch.

The previous owner had disconnected the generator so I just switch out the battery when it dies as he did.
He was also running 12 volts without modifications so I continued. It ran well like this for my 5 years of ownership until this summer.

Even after replacing the listed parts the new wire still gets hot so I assume I have a short somewhere.
This is such a simple system yet I can't figure out what's wrong.
Any ideas out there?

A 12 volt battery and a coil without a resistor, is a poor combination. A coil will burn out if you forget to turn the ignition switch off, and it sits with power to the coil, while the engine is not running.
A tractor that does not start after a long time of not bring run, is usually a fuel problem. You should always use a premium grade fuel or one that does not have any ethanol in it. Ethanol draws in moisture and then it evaporates and the moisture that is left behind, will gum up the fuel system.
Good Luck
SDE

Thanks for the response.
12 volts I know is not great but it was working and the battery is always disconnected when I get off. My truck had a resistor until I went electronic.
The gas wasn't new but it did have stabil and the ether should have at least popped if I had spark.

Pull the distributor cap off and rotor and turn the engine over till the points are open. Then run a hot wire from the battery ignition side to the coil ignition side and watch for a spark when you hook the wire to the coil. If you get a spark when you do that then you have a short in the distributor. Could be as simple as the condenser wire shorted to the housing or the insulator going in the side of the distributor has shorted out

(quoted from post at 17:47:27 10/22/17) Pull the distributor cap off and rotor and turn the engine over till the points are open. Then run a hot wire from the battery ignition side to the coil ignition side and watch for a spark when you hook the wire to the coil. If you get a spark when you do that then you have a short in the distributor. Could be as simple as the condenser wire shorted to the housing or the insulator going in the side of the distributor has shorted out

Click to expand...

I like the thought of the insulator failing. Guessing it's original. Condenser is new.
I am not entirely clear on the directions.
Got the open points part.
Hot wire from/to where?
As I understand you are saying to connect one end of the coil supply to the battery and then touch the other end to the coil terminal and look for a spark. This makes sense but not sure if I am reading your intent correctly. Short means flow/spark when open points shouldn't allow??

(quoted from post at 18:33:19 10/22/17)

(quoted from post at 17:47:27 10/22/17) Pull the distributor cap off and rotor and turn the engine over till the points are open. Then run a hot wire from the battery ignition side to the coil ignition side and watch for a spark when you hook the wire to the coil. If you get a spark when you do that then you have a short in the distributor. Could be as simple as the condenser wire shorted to the housing or the insulator going in the side of the distributor has shorted out

Click to expand...

I like the thought of the insulator failing. Guessing it's original. Condenser is new.
I am not entirely clear on the directions.
Got the open points part.
Hot wire from/to where?
As I understand you are saying to connect one end of the coil supply to the battery and then touch the other end to the coil terminal and look for a spark. This makes sense but not sure if I am reading your intent correctly. Short means flow/spark when open points shouldn't allow??

Click to expand...

Following my possibly correct logic from above. If i open the points and leave the hot supply connected to the coil and measure the volts between the battery terminal and disconnected battery end of the coil supply wire I should get 0. Any measured voltage means I have a ground. Correct?

If the pass through on the side of the distributor is touching the hole it goes through, it is shorted. If the coil has been running on 12volts and it is a 6 volt coil (original voltage) it can overheat and burn the insulation inside the cover where it can't be seen. A 6v coil should have 2 to 2.5 ohms (disconnected) measured between the two small terminals. A 12 v coil will have 3 to 4 ohms. If the coil is internally shorted, the wire will get hot, and the points will burn up quickly. Jim

My version: open the points (stick a plastic knife in between them) Connect the jumper wire (ignition hot wire, or the way you are
doing it now that is getting hot) but not connected at the wing nut mentioned earlier. (measure volts between the wing nut and the
wire you connected there. If voltage, the coil is shorted to its case, or the connection to the coil is shorted (possibly at the
pass through). An internally shorted coil (not to ground) will also cause the issue of no spark and excess current. That is why
measuring the coil ohms is important. If it is way low, (or even at 6 volt resistance mentioned) it will overheat and fail with no
resistor. A resistor for a mid 1960s Chevrolet Biscayne 6 cylinder will do. You can also purchase a standard 12v coil that
requires no external resistor. Jim

Either spark or fuel is the problem. Take a spark plug out. lay it against the block with the plug wire still attached and try to start your motor. As long as the spark plug is grounded and your electrical system is okay you will see spark jump across the plug. If it does then you need to look t your fuel side for the problem. just saying

(quoted from post at 20:12:57 10/22/17) My version: open the points (stick a plastic knife in between them) Connect the jumper wire (ignition hot wire, or the way you are
doing it now that is getting hot) but not connected at the wing nut mentioned earlier. (measure volts between the wing nut and the
wire you connected there. If voltage, the coil is shorted to its case, or the connection to the coil is shorted (possibly at the
pass through). An internally shorted coil (not to ground) will also cause the issue of no spark and excess current. That is why
measuring the coil ohms is important. If it is way low, (or even at 6 volt resistance mentioned) it will overheat and fail with no
resistor. A resistor for a mid 1960s Chevrolet Biscayne 6 cylinder will do. You can also purchase a standard 12v coil that
requires no external resistor. Jim

Click to expand...

Thank you,
I hope to get home before sunset and forecasted rain tonight and give this a try. Coil is a new 12 volt with about 4 ohms when measured yesterday.
I am placing my money on the stud pass through insulation. The tractor sadly lives under a tarp so corrosion around the stud could easily be allowing some creepage or it could be completely dried up and cracked. Spark plug on block is next if this test passes.