Intermiitent spark with Pertronix ignition

Last spring, I took the hood off of my 2N and replaced the wiring harness and installed Pertronix ignition. New plugs, wires and etc. I used a 6 volt battery and it worked great all summer, even though I don't use the tractor much.
Here in Northern CA, we had a cold snap, and I couldn't get the tractor to start, so now its in the garage and sometimes I get spark, sometimes I don't. Some questions, should the wire to the coil be hot when the key is turned on? Can electronic ignition go bad? I tried an 8 volt battery and it doesn't help. My connections are clean and tight and I make sure the plug is grounded well. Where should I start?

(quoted from post at 01:03:58 12/20/09) Last spring, I took the hood off of my 2N and replaced the wiring harness and installed Pertronix ignition. New plugs, wires and etc. I used a 6 volt battery and it worked great all summer, even though I don't use the tractor much.
Here in Northern CA, we had a cold snap, and I couldn't get the tractor to start, so now its in the garage and sometimes I get spark, sometimes I don't. Some questions, should the wire to the coil be hot when the key is turned on? Can electronic ignition go bad? I tried an 8 volt battery and it doesn't help. My connections are clean and tight and I make sure the plug is grounded well. Where should I start?

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ure they can go bad. Anything can, sometimes (rare) even an anvil. Hot wire does not sound good. Wire gauge? How hot? Wire to screw on coil or pig tail...from where? Can you get ammeter reading? Still positive ground battery? Re-installed battery lately?

you ask......."should the wire to the coil be hot when the key is turned on?".......well, what do you think??? How do you turn yer engine off??? Ignition key, right??? No volts, no sparkies.

you ask......."sometimes I get spark, sometimes I don't......Can electronic ignition go bad?"......EI is a silicon fuse, it either works or it don't. Since you claim "sometime I get spark"......the silicon fuse ain't blow'd.

Pertronix EI is extremely voltage sensitive. Cold weather make even strong battery weak. (low voltage) Low volts and Pertronix don't work.

You say you tried an 8-volt battery. Did you install it correct polarity like yer 6-volt battery was??? Pertronix don't like reversed polarity.

Lastly, you pay BIG BUCKS for reliable EI. Call Pertronix for their advice. ......respectfully, Dell, who HATES Pertronix lousy instructions

Solid state can be intermittant.My old TV would go black screen every week.Traced it to a small transistor.I didnt have the exact replacement.My son found a transistor that should have worked.No more blackouts but 2 hum bands ran across the top of the screen.Ordered out a direct replacement and troubles were gone.Ive had scrs that self trigger, diodes with leakage,diodes that turn into zeners.I sure dont wont any transistors in my tractors.Ask Ford motor co about intermittant solid state ignitions.

The wire to the coil should not be hot. Sounds like either a coil issue or a short to ground in the ignition system.

I put the Pertonix on my 2N one time and took it back off. The 6 Volt is very picky. As soon as there is a voltage drop they won't work. Alot of times just when the starter is working it lowers it enough for the Petronix not to work. I have Petronix on other tractors with 12 vlt and they work fine..

Thanks for the replies. It's a positive ground system that was working well only three weeks ago. I replaced the wiring harness last spring, so at this point I'm trying to save myself some work and try to narrow down the problem to maybe a broken or faulty wire. More questions; With the key on, I have no continuity from the yellow (hot) wire to the single wire going to the coil, however, I do have continuity from the coil wire to ground. Is this the way it's supposed to be? Thanks, Gary

(quoted from post at 14:42:54 12/20/09) Thanks for the replies. It's a positive ground system that was working well only three weeks ago. I replaced the wiring harness last spring, so at this point I'm trying to save myself some work and try to narrow down the problem to maybe a broken or faulty wire. More questions; With the key on, I have no continuity from the yellow (hot) wire to the single wire going to the coil, however, I do have continuity from the coil wire to ground. Is this the way it's supposed to be? Thanks, Gary

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Sorry, Gary, but we have a communications problem here.
Continuity can be determined in many different ways. So, when you say, "With the key on, I have no continuity from the yellow (hot) wire to the single wire going to the coil..", I do not know what you are telling me. Are you saying that with the key on, that you have voltage on both key switch terminals, and that there is voltage on a wire leaving the key switch but not at the other end of that same wire , at the coil?

"I do have continuity from the coil wire to ground. " How did you determine that?

Hello i had a very similar problem on a farmall H. Pertronix told me that i needed High Surpression Ignition wires. I burnt out one pertronixs kit using brand new regular and cheap ignition wires.Sometimes i would get spark. I had to get a new pertronixs kit and new High Surpression wires.The Pertronixs kit is great and the tractor has been running for 1 year now.Never leave the ignition switch ON if the tractor is NOT running,could also hurt the pertronixs kit.