John Deere 60 Help Needed! (PICS)

Hello everyone! I am in need of some assistance. I am trying to start my 1956 John Deere 60 that I purchased about a month ago. I am not getting any spark to the plugs and I need to figure out why. I changed the spark plugs and wires and sanded the points. Inside the distributer it looks good. The wirings is a real mess as you can see in the pictures. I was thinking about rewiring it.

I am in need of a wiring diagram so I can figure this all out, so if someone could post one that would be great!

Also in the first picture there is a handle that has the words on and off in it. This is located on the left side of the tractor. What does this handle do? I am new to John Deere 60"s.
This tractor was used daily by the previous owner up until about 5 years ago. I finally got some time to do some work on it today. I cleaned out the oil bath air filter and found 5 dead mice in it! That was a very nasty surprise! There was about an inch of dirt at the bottom of the oil. Look at the before and after pictures. Nothing a little work couldn't clean up!

Thanks for reading and for all the help!
From Denton, Nebraska.
Andrew Kean

The little handle turns the hydraulic pump on and off. On the firing, start at the begining. Check the points to see if they are firing, or check if there is any current to them. Turn on the switch and ground the insulated side of the points and see if it sparks.

A good place to start is to call Agri-Services and they will make you up a complete new wiring harness and will send it to you with complete directions of where every wire goes. 716-937-6618.
Before trying to start I would also investigate the condition of the oil in the crankcase. If there is any signs of water or sludge I would change it before starting.

Andrew,
You need make sure you have voltage from the battery to the switch, then the switch to the coil. Use a voltmeter and check for current in these places first. Once you have confirmed you have voltage at the coil, then pull the cap, turn it over and make sure that your points are also firing. You may need to clean or polish with some emery paper. After that, check and clean up the contacts in the cap then check for spark. HTH. Good luck!
Gordon

A tip for the handle on the hyd pump. Do not,I repeat, DO NOT turn the pump on with the tractor running. It will shear a pin and you will need to take it off for repair. Don't ask how I know.

I've got a pic of the wiring diagram for a 60. Give me an email address and I will send it to you.

As someone already said, the little lever is to turn on the hydraulic pump for the 3-point and hydraulic outlets.

Andrew,

Besides the good advice from what the others have said, the owners manual and shop manual are still available for your tractor. There is much good information available there. You can get them from Deere or at about half the cost from a place like Deerley Departed.

Kurt

if this were in my backyard this is how I would get started. First cut or remove all the mickey mouse wiring and make sure the tractor would turn over. Then I'd run one wire with a resistor ballast to the power side of the coil. Remove the plugs and get good ones, get a good set of wire center spark plug wires, turn fuel off( no need for a fire) don't install plugs but then see if I had proper fire to each side. Then, I'd install plugs if good spark. Turn gas on, and make make make sure you throttle is partially open, get someone to hold then turn over choke see if I could get it going. Don't let the governor open it up till you get it going, your carb probably maye be messed up...don't know who did it but it looks like the previous owner has dogged this tractor around jury rigging everything...when you get it going you'll need to properly rewire everything....

i would call agri- services..get a new harness..put new points, condenser,plugs,coil...drain gas tank and flush it out good

Bad coil?? Not enough wires hanging off the thing.

Just click on the box in the right corner that says "send email" he will get your info..

new battery
new points./condensor
new plugs
new plug wires
new cap and rotor
new wires that go to where they are suppose to go
and it will run....

Andrew, I had a 1954 John Deere "50" All Fuel that I wanted to get running to see how well it ran, or what unseen problems existed so I could adjust my budget for the tractor ( first things first ) The distributor needed extensive repair, there was no generater or battery, so I got something I had plenty of, magnetos, I took a magneto off a working tractor and easily bolted it to the "50" and got it running. The starter worked fine so I used a set of jumper cables from my 92 Ford F-150 each time I wanted to start it but, I used a flat belt from another tractor the first time as I wanted to see how well the oil pump worked with the spark plugs out and the engine turning over slowly. I even had the radiaror bypassed with a piece of iron pipe as the core was shot and could run the tractor until the coolant in the pipe got hot enough to boil over. Any way there is a way to get the tractor running before you completely rebuild ( or prtially ) the electrical system. Do either of your "B"s have a magneto?

FYI, Beatles, you shouldn't have a fuel shutoff on your bowl. I have the bulletin sent out by Deere & they switched our 60s over to auto-shutoff around '54.

I'm going to be popping my carbeurator off sometime coming up so I can get it rebuilt, cleaned, etc. by poppinjohn & haven't yet taken a look to see where I'm going to shut the gas off from the tank.

Arnie

there should be a oil pressure switch( round and flat) between the tank and carb..it will only open the gas flow when the pressure is high enough..??? maybe you dont have one either..???

Hopefully I do. I'm still learning my way around...LOL. I'll take a look tomorrow.

Thanks for the info.

Arnie