M not starting

OK--- This will sound strange, but on Friday I started my M to rake hay and drove it about 100 yards to get the hay rake and it quit. I was on a mission and
didn't have time to fool with it so I got another M to rake with. Yesterday, Sat. I started the tractor that quit the previous day and raked about 11 acres
without an issue. This has happened before. About the tractor-- all new electrical, 12 volt, neg ground, with electronic ignition. It is getting fuel, no gas
cap issue, gas tank is clean. This is really hard for me to trouble shoot. Give me some wild guesses. Thanks, Ellis
 
did you remember to turn the fuel on? This darned fool did that 1 day & when it quit. I automatically turned it off without thinking, later I turned it fully on then realized that when I turned it off I only turned it a part of a turn when it stopped turning so it was fully off,. I hadn't turned it far enough to flow enough gas when I was in the hurry up mode.
 
When its not starting, I would try to pull the center wire from the distributor cap and place it close to ground, ideally 1/4" away. Then crank the engine. That is a visual way to see if you are getting a number of sparks, they should be quite rapid since this is the pathway for all 4 cylinders' worth of sparks to travel. They can be hard to see in bright sunlight sometimes.

That's a nice "division" in the system to see if its a incoming 12v/points/module/coil issue or if its something to do with rotor/cap/wires/plugs.
 
If the spark is the blue/white it should be it should be able to be seen in the brightest sun light plus one should also be able to hear it. I know I have never had any problem see a good spark. Now a poor yellow spark well that can be hard to see but it is also not a good spark
 
To trouble shoot something like that one has to run it and the moment it has that problem jump off and check for a good blue/white spark at the center wire of the distributor and at all the plug wires. Spark has to jump a 1/4 inch gap or more and you should also be able to hear it. A problem like that can be as simple as a loose wire or the electronic module going bad. I have never ben a fan of those ignition systems on a tractor.
 
Probably wouldn't hurt to check to see if the inlet screen on the carburetor isn't filled with crap too. Sometimes they come completely unattached and are just floating freely inside that inlet as well.
 

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