not getting fire

woody56

New User
I have a ford 8n tractor I'm trying to restore.I've replaced all of the wiring and can't get any fire to the points. I've bought a coil that has + and = instead of bat. and dis. Being 6volt pos. ground what side hooks from battery and what side to distributor?
 
With a (+) ground system the coil's (+) terminal connects to the distributor.

But you should have spark either way.

With it connected CORRECTLY, spark is a bit more efficient during operation though.

ASSUMING you have power to the coil the most likely cause of your "no spark" condition is oily or oxide-coated breaker points.

With them on a high part of the cam/open clean them with electrical contact cleaner and allow to air dry, then turn engine over to close them and burnish them with a nice clean strip of white cardstock.

Doesn't hurt to again open them and finish the job with some nice dry "canned air" to remove any paper fuzz.
 
Welcome to the forum Woody.
Since you mentioned your coil has + and - terminals, I'm going
to assume you have a later model 8N with a side mount distributor.
It would run with the coil in either way, so I don't think that's
the cause of your trouble right now.

Do you have a multimeter and/or test lamp? Follow the voltage
to the coil, then to the distributor, then to the points.
With the points open, you should have battery voltage all the
way there. When the points close it should drop to zero at the
distributor side of the coil.

If it is always zero at the distributor side of the coil something
is wrong in the distributor. Often the little copper strap to the
points has gotten grounded or the insulator that goes through
the side of the distributor is broken and grounded.

If it is not always zero but never drops to zero, that same
copper strap may be broken or the points may not be making
contact, whether mechanically or electrically where they just
need to be cleaned. Lots of possibilities. Help us narrow down.
 

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