WD45 electronic ignition

[Elliott22]

Father in-laws wd45 died on him the other day. He had someone look into why it died and they put a new electronic ignition coil and module and also new plugs and wires. It fired right up then died again a few hours later only to not start again. Put another module on it and it fired back up then died and again and won’t start. What would be frying the module? Thanks for any input

 

[Jim.ME]

Too many unknowns for anyone to help you much. some things that may help get you some suggestions are:

Original 6-volt positive ground or has it been converted to 12-volt and negative ground?

What EI unit? Is it for the same voltage and ground as the tractor is?

Some units are sensitive about the type of plug wires. Do the new plug wires match the unit's spec?

Does the coil match the EI's spec for ohm rating?

 

[Elliott22]

Too many unknowns for anyone to help you much. some things that may help get you some suggestions are:

Original 6-volt positive ground or has it been converted to 12-volt and negative ground?

What EI unit? Is it for the same voltage and ground as the tractor is?

Some units are sensitive about the type of plug wires. Do the new plug wires match the unit's spec?

Does the coil match the EI's spec for ohm rating?

12v negative ground. Pertronics II coil and module. It’s had the electronic ignition for years. Just died one day and got new plugs wires coil and module. Then dies again. I’ve read where the wrong plugs and wires can fry your module.

 

[used red MN]

Does the tractor have an alternator installed? Here is one thing I have come across. Assuming it has an alternator does the feed wire to the terminal stud on the back of it have power whether the key is on or off? If the power switches on and off with the key then it is not wired correctly. This puts to many amps through the ignition switch and the contacts burn. The alternator then can’t control its voltage and it goes high. If the electronic ignition is being fed to much voltage ‘poof” So it may have worked for a while wired like that but when the contacts in the switch start failing this problem comes on. I would need to find out more about your wiring configuration to inform you how to wire it correctly, mainly does it have an ammeter?
Secondly, is a less complex scenario, do you know if the ignition coil and module are constantly getting power? The ignition may be wired right but somewhere there is a bad connection, could even be the contacts in the ignition switch. Either test this or power the ignition with a separate hot wire from the battery as a test. Of course this would mean that the EI modules really didn’t fail they just didn’t have power.
Another question is what type of plug wires did you install? If they are wire core conductors this may be what is taking out the modules.

 

[olddavid]

Another question I would ask is did the "someone" wire everything back up correctly? And are the replacement parts all the same as those that were taken off?

 

[Elliott22]

Does the tractor have an alternator installed? Here is one thing I have come across. Assuming it has an alternator does the feed wire to the terminal stud on the back of it have power whether the key is on or off? If the power switches on and off with the key then it is not wired correctly. This puts to many amps through the ignition switch and the contacts burn. The alternator then can’t control its voltage and it goes high. If the electronic ignition is being fed to much voltage ‘poof” So it may have worked for a while wired like that but when the contacts in the switch start failing this problem comes on. I would need to find out more about your wiring configuration to inform you how to wire it correctly, mainly does it have an ammeter?
Secondly, is a less complex scenario, do you know if the ignition coil and module are constantly getting power? The ignition may be wired right but somewhere there is a bad connection, could even be the contacts in the ignition switch. Either test this or power the ignition with a separate hot wire from the battery as a test. Of course this would mean that the EI modules really didn’t fail they just didn’t have power.
Another question is what type of plug wires did you install? If they are wire core conductors this may be what is taking out the modules.

It has an alternator. One wire type. Don’t know what plug wires or plugs were installed. Father in-law had someone working on it for him. They got it fired up then died a few hours later. I put a coil and module on it. Got them from Steiner tractor and they were both rated for each other. Father in-law did put a new ignition switch on it. That’s the only things that have been done to it for years. New plugs wires coil module and ignition switch. No problems for years till now. I don’t know much. Just trying to help out my father in-law. Don’t wanna throw money at parts that only fix the problem for a little bit

 

[used red MN]

It has an alternator. One wire type. Don’t know what plug wires or plugs were installed. Father in-law had someone working on it for him. They got it fired up then died a few hours later. I put a coil and module on it. Got them from Steiner tractor and they were both rated for each other. Father in-law did put a new ignition switch on it. That’s the only things that have been done to it for years. New plugs wires coil module and ignition switch. No problems for years till now. I don’t know much. Just trying to help out my father in-law. Don’t wanna throw money at parts that only fix the problem for a little bit

Okay, check into what I said about the alternator wiring. Wiring for the one wire terminal on the alternator should be its own dedicated wire. Should go to the ammeter; a wire on the opposite side of the gauge should go to whatever the positive battery cable connects to starter or solenoid. This powers the alternator continuously and does not run charging current/amps through the ignition switch. This is how all modern car/truck/tractors alternators are wired. Here is a generic wiring diagram that shows how it should be wired. Disregard the circuits going to the 1 & 2 terminals on the alternator those are for a 3 wire alternator. Generic 12 volt neg ground alt wiring

 

[Elliott22]

Okay, check into what I said about the alternator wiring. Wiring for the one wire terminal on the alternator should be its own dedicated wire. Should go to the ammeter; a wire on the opposite side of the gauge should go to whatever the positive battery cable connects to starter or solenoid. This powers the alternator continuously and does not run charging current/amps through the ignition switch. This is how all modern car/truck/tractors alternators are wired. Here is a generic wiring diagram that shows how it should be wired. Disregard the circuits going to the 1 & 2 terminals on the alternator those are for a 3 wire alternator. Generic 12 volt neg ground alt wiring

Thank you so much for your help/input. Hopefully I can get it figured out for him

 

[Janicholson]

Thank you so much for your help/input. Hopefully I can get it figured out for him

Charging voltage at 1/2 throttle should be 14.2 to 14.6 volts. if higher it alone can cause module failure. Jim

 

[Charlie M]

Have you verified the ignition modules have failed - checked for spark? If sure of no spark can you test to see if there is power to the module? Is there a possibility of a connection problem somewhere?

 

[wore out]

Father in-laws wd45 died on him the other day. He had someone look into why it died and they put a new electronic ignition coil and module and also new plugs and wires. It fired right up then died again a few hours later only to not start again. Put another module on it and it fired back up then died and again and won’t start. What would be frying the module? Thanks for any input

Getting a machine running with good 'ol fashioned breaker points and then "upgrading" (LOL) to an exotic ignition shystem may be a good plan.

On the other hand, a good set of breaker points can last a LONG time with no electronics drama.

 

[Dingo3]

Father in-laws wd45 died on him the other day. He had someone look into why it died and they put a new electronic ignition coil and module and also new plugs and wires. It fired right up then died again a few hours later only to not start again. Put another module on it and it fired back up then died and again and won’t start. What would be frying the module? Thanks for any input

Does it have the correct coil resistance?

https://pertronixbrands.com/cdn/shop/files/coil-chart.png?v=1679920230&width=1200

If wires are solid core it could mess with the module but not sure it would fry it. You need carbon or spiral suppression wires.
Are you sure it’s an ignitor II, if it’s a basic ignitor leaving the ignition switch on with the motor off will fry it.
Go to pertronix site, lots of info.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

The Hoover dam was completed two years ahead of schedule by vehicles using breaker points

 

[4wdtom]

The Hoover dam was completed two years ahead of schedule by vehicles using breaker points

But I hear that a lot of the foreign made points today don't hold up like the old U.S. made ones.

 

[Elliott22]

Does it have the correct coil resistance?

https://pertronixbrands.com/cdn/shop/files/coil-chart.png?v=1679920230&width=1200

If wires are solid core it could mess with the module but not sure it would fry it. You need carbon or spiral suppression wires.
Are you sure it’s an ignitor II, if it’s a basic ignitor leaving the ignition switch on with the motor off will fry it.
Go to pertronix site, lots of info.

 

[Elliott22]

Okay, check into what I said about the alternator wiring. Wiring for the one wire terminal on the alternator should be its own dedicated wire. Should go to the ammeter; a wire on the opposite side of the gauge should go to whatever the positive battery cable connects to starter or solenoid. This powers the alternator continuously and does not run charging current/amps through the ignition switch. This is how all modern car/truck/tractors alternators are wired. Here is a generic wiring diagram that shows how it should be wired. Disregard the circuits going to the 1 & 2 terminals on the alternator those are for a 3 wire alternator. Generic 12 volt neg ground alt wiring

It’s been converted to 12v for 8 plus years and it’s the same alternator and been electronic ignition the same amount of time. Just recently died and got new coil module plugs and wires ran for a few hours then died again and would not start again. Put new module on and it started right up and ran a few hours again and same problem. Won’t start again.

 

[Janicholson]

It’s been converted to 12v for 8 plus years and it’s the same alternator and been electronic ignition the same amount of time. Just recently died and got new coil module plugs and wires ran for a few hours then died again and would not start again. Put new module on and it started right up and ran a few hours again and same problem. Won’t start again.

Alternator electronics do fail. the voltage controls can drift in value, and cause overcharging. Do check the voltage when running. you could put points and condenser back in it for testing assumptions. Jim

 

[used red MN]

It’s been converted to 12v for 8 plus years and it’s the same alternator and been electronic ignition the same amount of time. Just recently died and got new coil module plugs and wires ran for a few hours then died again and would not start again. Put new module on and it started right up and ran a few hours again and same problem. Won’t start again.

I want to help you out, but we can’t play the game “it can’t be the wired wrong it’s worked that way for 8 years” I have been down that road and it just draws out the process. I requested you to check certain things and respond, if you can’t do that it may get tough for me to hang in here. There are probably 50 ways to wire it but only 1-2 maybe 3 are acceptable for long term reliability. So checking if the terminal on the alternator has constant power or does it switch on and off with the key is where we’re at. When it dies are you checking for power feeding the coil and EI? There could be breaks in the wires that reconnect when you move the wires around installing the new parts. Without diagnosing I can’t tell you, what is causing your problem. It seems you want us to tell you a simple fix like “sit in the seat backwards and it will work perfectly” any answer to the problem has to be figured out through your input.

 

[Elliott22]

I want to help you out, but we can’t play the game “it can’t be the wired wrong it’s worked that way for 8 years” I have been down that road and it just draws out the process. I requested you to check certain things and respond, if you can’t do that it may get tough for me to hang in here. There are probably 50 ways to wire it but only 1-2 maybe 3 are acceptable for long term reliability. So checking if the terminal on the alternator has constant power or does it switch on and off with the key is where we’re at. When it dies are you checking for power feeding the coil and EI? There could be breaks in the wires that reconnect when you move the wires around installing the new parts. Without diagnosing I can’t tell you, what is causing your problem. It seems you want us to tell you a simple fix like “sit in the seat backwards and it will work perfectly” any answer to the problem has to be figured out through your input.

I totally understand what you mean! Just going by what my father in law is telling me. Kinda playing the middle man here. I will check the alternator to see if it’s wired correctly!! Thanks again!! I really appreciate it!! Might be a couple days to get over and check it tho. I will respond when I do!!

 

[used red MN]

I totally understand what you mean! Just going by what my father in law is telling me. Kinda playing the middle man here. I will check the alternator to see if it’s wired correctly!! Thanks again!! I really appreciate it!! Might be a couple days to get over and check it tho. I will respond when I do!!

Sorry if that was a little strong, easy to forget you’re a middleman. I am used to dealing somewhat direct here.