Ford LGT/Kohler K321 coil wire

I'm the original owner of 1973 Ford LGT 145. It has the K321 Kohler.

I was mowing and it just cut out dead would not start. Lucky I was close to the barn and pushed it inside before we got a thunderstorm.

I had rebuilt the carb two years ago and last fall put in new points and plug.

Plenty of gas in carb. 12.5 V on both sides of coil with key on. I didn't check coil resistance. Points looked good.

For some reason I decided to check coil wire. It is OEM copper core. Terminals were a little dirty so I cleaned them up and checked with ohm meter. No continuity. I rechecked terminals and fiddled with wire when checking again. Still an open. Insulation was in good shape, no cracks.

Never had a copper wire fail like this. I was a little shocked when I priced replacements. $13-42 USD. There is one place that has NOS OEM wire , I might go with that $19.

Wondering why these are so expensive, when I can get a whole set of Accel 8mm silicon/copper core for a V8 for $40?

I'll have to cobble up an old car wire to finish cutting the yard....

(quoted from post at 18:07:42 08/03/19) I'm the original owner of 1973 Ford LGT 145. It has the K321 Kohler.

I was mowing and it just cut out dead would not start. Lucky I was close to the barn and pushed it inside before we got a thunderstorm.

I had rebuilt the carb two years ago and last fall put in new points and plug.

Plenty of gas in carb. 12.5 V on both sides of coil with key on. I didn't check coil resistance. Points looked good.

For some reason I decided to check coil wire. It is OEM copper core. Terminals were a little dirty so I cleaned them up and checked with ohm meter. No continuity. I rechecked terminals and fiddled with wire when checking again. Still an open. Insulation was in good shape, no cracks.

Never had a copper wire fail like this. I was a little shocked when I priced replacements. $13-42 USD. There is one place that has NOS OEM wire , I might go with that $19.

Wondering why these are so expensive, when I can get a whole set of Accel 8mm silicon/copper core for a V8 for $40?

I'll have to cobble up an old car wire to finish cutting the yard....

Click to expand...

While nothing is impossible, the odds are about a million to one that a "copper core" plug wire didn't randomly fail and cause your K321 to stop. (Are you SURE it's not a "suppression wire"?)
Yes, it should show "0" Ohms, but an Ohmmeter test vs. what a spark can "jump" are two different things.

Try this, check for spark at the coil's high tension output terminal.

Will be interesting to hear what it takes to ultimately fix this, please let us know.

Coil wire is OEM from Kohler. I've had the tractor since new. I can see the copper wire on the coil end crimped into terminal connector.

I gave up last night as the rain started and the sketers came out.

I am going to check coil internal resistance, coil spark. And another wire, I need to see what I have from saved stuff in my used parts.

I'll try a different wire first, if it runs it confirms a short in coil wire, and is quickest easiest to do.

This has been a great little tractor. Shows it's age but has been well maintained. Has started to use a little oil but still starts/runs (except current problem) and has great power. I change oil and grease tractor/deck a couple times a year and keep air filter clean.

I checked coils resistance, primary reading a little high 4 ohms, secondary 9000 ohms. I'm not sure what spec is on this coil, it is OEM, but not too far off on expected primary/secondary resistance.

I found a new set of spare 8mm wire core plug wires for my Ford 2000. Did not have 90 degree plug boot but it fits under hood.

Started right up in 1 second with new wire. Problem was a a bad plug wire.

(quoted from post at 11:15:30 08/04/19) I checked coils resistance, primary reading a little high 4 ohms, secondary 9000 ohms. I'm not sure what spec is on this coil, it is OEM, but not too far off on expected primary/secondary resistance.

I found a new set of spare 8mm wire core plug wires for my Ford 2000. Did not have 90 degree plug boot but it fits under hood.

Started right up in 1 second with new wire. Problem was a a bad plug wire.

Click to expand...

At this point, I would have to cut the old wire open and verify it's actually a copper wire core and what happened to it.

Doesn't make sense that an actual copper wire could fail so completely that a high voltage spark couldn't make it's way from end-to-end!

Just terminology but Mad Farmer what you are dealing with is an open in the coil wire not a SHORT. A short is a connection to ground or something similiar.

When you said "coil wire" I thought you meant the wire running from the coil to the points. Small 16 ga wire. The spark in the plug wire from coil to spark plug is 30,000-40,000 volts, in an engine that oil there could be breaks in the copper strands the spark has to jump and it takes a spec or two of copper with each spark.
I actually use Accel copper core silicon covered yellow spark plug wires on my Farmall's and Kohler engines. I bought a set of Accel look-alike plug wires back around 1973 for the 307 V-8 in my Nova, had tin covered copper wife, solid copper terminals for the spark plug terminals and distributor cap terminals, the silicon insulation was not just a thin cover over the hypalon, it was full thickness, almost 4 mm thick. Can't remember the brand, but they beat Accel all to heck. But I let them get away from me about Febuary 1977 when I traded cars. My old Nova got wrapped around a telephone pole I heard, so my good plug wires got junked.

I've had a couple coils go bad on Kohler's, they start sputtering like running out of gas, but have gas. The coils will be hot. Let them cool a half hour and they restart and run for a short time and sputter and die. Buy a good coil, search for Dave Kirk Engines, he sells a Bosch blue coil that works great on a Kohler.

(quoted from post at 10:25:18 08/04/19)

(quoted from post at 11:15:30 08/04/19) I checked coils resistance, primary reading a little high 4 ohms, secondary 9000 ohms. I'm not sure what spec is on this coil, it is OEM, but not too far off on expected primary/secondary resistance.

I found a new set of spare 8mm wire core plug wires for my Ford 2000. Did not have 90 degree plug boot but it fits under hood.

Started right up in 1 second with new wire. Problem was a a bad plug wire.

Click to expand...

At this point, I would have to cut the old wire open and verify it's actually a copper wire core and what happened to it.

Doesn't make sense that an actual copper wire could fail so completely that a high voltage spark couldn't make it's way from end-to-end!

Click to expand...

Bob, one more time. It is the Original wire from Ford/Kohler. I can see the red stranded copper wire on the coil end where it connects to coil terminal. There is no way to see the wire on the plug end.

I'm sorry i used the word short to describe an open circuit.

If the wire was not the problem, changing it would not have solved it. I ran the tractor for about three hours yesterday, so it is not a coil going bad as it heats up.

(quoted from post at 13:01:05 08/05/19)

(quoted from post at 10:25:18 08/04/19)

(quoted from post at 11:15:30 08/04/19) I checked coils resistance, primary reading a little high 4 ohms, secondary 9000 ohms. I'm not sure what spec is on this coil, it is OEM, but not too far off on expected primary/secondary resistance.

I found a new set of spare 8mm wire core plug wires for my Ford 2000. Did not have 90 degree plug boot but it fits under hood.

Started right up in 1 second with new wire. Problem was a a bad plug wire.

Click to expand...

At this point, I would have to cut the old wire open and verify it's actually a copper wire core and what happened to it.

Doesn't make sense that an actual copper wire could fail so completely that a high voltage spark couldn't make it's way from end-to-end!

Click to expand...

Bob, one more time. It is the Original wire from Ford/Kohler. I can see the red stranded copper wire on the coil end where it connects to coil terminal. There is no way to see the wire on the plug end.

I'm sorry i used the word short to describe an open circuit.

If the wire was not the problem, changing it would not have solved it. I ran the tractor for about three hours yesterday, so it is not a coil going bad as it heats up.

Click to expand...

"I'm sorry i used the word short to describe an open circuit."

I didn't question your choice of the word "short", that would be "shinnery".

Dr Evil I have a 68 RS/SS camaro. It has a 69 370/350 LT1 corvette motor I rebuilt from a bored 0.030/decked block.

For ignition the distributor was recurved for better advance, Accel points so no bounce to 7000 rpm. Cap rotor coil are also Accel. Wires are the 8mm copper wire core Accel. That motor whips up to 7000 rpm fine.

Two other things that cause starting problems on these fords/jacobsens, are the neutral saftey switch and PTO switch.

But in my experience they cause the engine to fail to turn over.

I got stuck in the field when a PTO switch went bad. I got home by turning on key and jumping starter with jumper cables.

They changed to PTO switch and terminals over the years, by adding a "seat safety" to the switch wiring (got to have your azz on the seat).

You can use the earlier PTO switches in later tractors and vice/versa. But you need to connect the wires to the correct places on the PTO switch. I have this written down with a diagram from when I had to replace a bad PTO switch a few years back. The PTO switch is expensive, and I had a used jacobsen parts tractor.

If you have wiring diagrams and a multimeter you can figure this out.