Hey all, been a minute.

My 48 8N didn’t want to start recently. Long ago I converted it to 12 volt and last year I modified the distributor to relocate the coil. It started and ran fine, and continued working hard for me. Amazing what a 77 year old machine can do eh?

Well it sat over the winter and when I tried to start it earlier this spring it wouldn’t fire. I tested and found no spark. After poking around with a test light and then my Fluke meter, it would appear that the OEM resistor has an open. The test light doesn’t light on the load side, and the Fluke gets no continuity across the resistor.

So my question is this.

Since I no longer have the original 6 volt ignition system with points, do I need the resistor?

Can’t I bypass it?

Thanks in advance, Bob in Washington (state, with all the trees and mountains).

Jump around the resistor. Will the tractor start? If so the problem is the resistor. If not, the problem is in the ditributor (points). If it starts and runs and you have a 12 volt coil it should be OK.

Thanks.

As I mentioned, the tractor doesn’t have the points ignition anymore, now equipped with a Pertronix kit and an external coil.