My John Deere M - Ignition Story

hillhuggr

New User
My restored Model M had been running well for 4 years. One day last month I had it idling and it just quit running suddenly. I pushed it into my shed and didn't get to looking at it for several weeks.

After a few days I finally investigated this issue. I wasn't getting any spark at the plugs. Also, no sparking at the points. I looked everything over in the distributor and the points adjustment was spot on (nearly new). I tested the coil (both sets of windings) for proper resistance. Same with the condenser. The points looked perfect, but I replaced them anyway. I went through all the checks for 6v power where power should be etc. I did all this several times and still I couldn't find anything that would prevent it from firing. I finally had an idea. Maybe it is not generating enough current. I inspected the wiring harness. Nothing apparent. Then I remembered that ground strap (positive in this case) was a bit tattered (the original). I pulled it out and I noticed green crusties on the braided portion. So, I sprayed it with electrical cleaner (got the crusties dissolved) and reassembled it to the tractor.

She fired right up!

My struggles may be useful to someone else who has ignition issues.
 
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I have learned the hard way to always check the ground first when having problems electrical related (should have said expensive way too).
 

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