Wiring of negative Ground 12 volt Ford 600 series (650) HOW?

Hi to all
So, this is my first post--please forgive any indiscretions...
I have a Ford 650, which has been working fine until i tried to fix it--so, i took off a lot of parts to paint them, put them back on, cleaned up connections, installed a new battery and a new coil...
this is how I installed the coil

solenoid to T-shaped ceramic Voltage regulator-in--then out headed forward on regulator then Positive side of ignition coil--Center ignition coil heavy wire to center distributor
small low wire out of Neg on Coil to a screw on bottom of distributor near the oil thing...

So first question--is above correct? cuz my tractor's not starting--
Turns over great--new battery.

I have positive energy at both ends of the Ceramic regulator and at the positive on the Coil and negative on the coil and at the place where the little wire attaches to the bottom of the distributor...

But i have no spark...

is there a good way to test to see if any electricity is coming out of the center (heavy) line on the solenoid (it probably is because the solenoid is brand new) I tried attaching a spark plug onto it and holding it beside the engine ground.

anyway, it would be weird that the distributor would quit at the exact same time that i painted the tractor--it was working great until then) but there is for sure no spark comign out of the spark plugs...
I don't feel comfortable with my ability to replace the points...

any ideas?
thanks!

was this tractor 12 volt negative ground when you tore it apart, or did you convert it just now?

I know its possible to use a resistor in a 12 volt conversion depending on coil, however none of my 12v conversions use the resistor. You would need to tell us the resistance of your coil for us to know if your wiring is correct.

Sounds like you tried to check for spark. is the engine block freshly painted? you likely wont get a ground on the block. I like to use an adjustable spark checker on mine. I just pull a wire off a plug and use my spark checker.

Also, If you are saying you don't trust yourself to change points, why in the heck did you tear a tractor apart?!?!

is there a good way to test to see if any electricity is coming out of the center (heavy) line on the solenoid

Click to expand...

I believe that you are asking about the coil here. There is no "center (heavy) line" on the solenoid. The solenoid should have two heavy wires connected to two large posts, neither of which is near the center. If you want to check for spark coming from the high tension (heavy center line) of the coil, leave that end of the heavy wire connected to the coil and disconnect the other end of that wire from the center of the distributor cap and hold the disconnected end of the wire near (but not touching) a good clean ground point, and crank the starter and look for a good bright blue/white spark that will jump at least a 1/4" gap to ground.

GAACK!

that hurt to read.

Since you are 100% unfamiliar witht he proper part names.. come back with some pics to illustrate what you are talking about.

wiring these tractors is so super easy.. no reason to complicate it.

bat terminal from regulator to one side of ammeter, other side of ammeter to battery hot.

regulator side of ammeter to key switch, from other side of key to coil primary, other side of coil primary to distribuitor side.

secondary of coil to distribuitor cap.

wiring on start relay will depend on if you have a 3 wire or 4 wire. in either case, to use the interlocked thumb button you have to have an isolated base relay.

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