Ferguson TO20 lost spark

I need some help with a TO20 that I am working on. Here is a little back ground. I drove the tractor into my garage to give it a good going over (see my other post "Freshing up a TO20") and have repaired and got it all back together. However now I have ran into a new issue. I have lost spark. First off I would like to admit that I am no mechanic my strengths are simply replacing broken parts with new ones and my diagnosis skills are weak but I'm willing to learn.

Let me describe my problem and maybe I should have left well enough alone. I rewired the tractor. While rewiring it I took one wire off at a time and replaced it with a new one. I soldered the ends on. After rewiring it I tried the start the tractor and found that I had no spark. So I replaced the points and condenser. Tried again still no spark. Then I burned up the starter. Got a new starter. I then put on a new coil, resistor and starter switch. Still no spark. Now I am out of ideas.

Some other things of interest: I am getting voltage to the points. I found this out while setting the points with the key on. I put the gauge between the points and got a little zap. Also this tractor was converted to 12V by the previous owner. It has 5 wires coming off the alternator going to various places mostly to the voltage regulator.
 
Did you set points with high point on distributor cam opening them, replace dust cover and rotor? You should have a 12v coil with internal resistor or 6v coil with external resistor. The alternator should make it a negative ground system. The negative terminal on your coil should go to the distributor. If all of the above is correct and you have the correct voltage to your coil. Getting fire at the points should get you fire at plugs. For a test you can open distributor, get points open by turning over engine, remove coil wire from distributor cap, place coil wire so it will jump to ground, turn on ignition and momentarily short across the points with an insulated screwdriver and observe the spark at coil wire. It should jump 1/4 inch or more, make a snapping sound and be blue. A reddish color would mean a weak spark. A bad distributor cap can prevent spark getting to your plugs. Also, copper spark plug wires work better than graphite. If spark plug wires were removed from distributor cap and not replaced correctly your engine will not start.
 
I believe I got the points set correctly but I will give them another look. I forgot to mention that I replaced the plugs and wires, cap, dust seal, and rotor. Every electrical component has been replaced except the distributor its self, the voltage regulator and the ammeter.
 
(quoted from post at 16:50:06 01/28/15) I believe I got the points set correctly but I will give them another look. I forgot to mention that I replaced the plugs and wires, cap, dust seal, and rotor. Every electrical component has been replaced except the distributor its self, the voltage regulator and the ammeter.

Check and make sure the rotor is really in there. It's a mistake I make all the time, and would exactly explain your issue....
Jim
 
i'm glad to report that I now am getting spark. I reset the points with the guide on the lobe. I had been under the impression that they were to be set with the guide on the flat part of the cam. I had been doing it that way up until now. It is a wonder any of my equipment ran.

However it still will not start. I found that the carb is flooding and gas was running out of the air intake. I will have to adjust the float. The other possible issue is the timing. I have no idea how to set this. the manual I have for the tractor has direction on how to set the timing but I can't seem to make sense of it. I cannot see any marks on the flywheel and I'm not sure how to get the #1 cylinder to the correct position. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help.
 

If it's the same as a TO35, you can follow what I just did to find to find the timing marks this morning. I couldn't see them at all through the normal viewing port; the timing gear was all rusty. However by removing the starter (an excellent suggestion I received on this forum), you can track them down. Wiith spark plug #1 out and my thumb on the hole, I turned the engine by pulling on the fan until I felt compression. Then, without my thumb on the hole - so I could lie on the floor and look at the flywheel - I turned the motor just a bit until I was just able to spot something that looked like a digit, and got in there with a ScotchBrite pad and cleaned off the rust. Voila! there they were, the timing marks. See photo.
Next, looking in the viewing port just below the starter, I turned the engine until 6 degrees was just lined up with the little slot in the left side of the hole.
If you follow this (check whether static timing should be 6 degrees on a TO20 though), you can now set the timing. Turn the distributor so that the points just open, and clamp it down. I did it by using an ohmmeter, to avoid playing with sparks.


mvphoto15646.jpg
 
I got it running! It isn't running well but it runs. I just called it quits for tonight but I'm sure with some more tinkering I should have it running like a top in no time. Thanks for all your help.
 

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