Ok, this is going to be long, but I want to provide all of the facts.I have a Ferguson TE20 that I purchased from someone I now know to be an incompetent yutz. I know the mechanic who at one time rebuilt this tractor and also had to come in to splice the wiring back together when the previous owner decided he was a mechanic. The other day, I couldn't get the tractor to start and determined that I was getting no spark. Since all of the wires were pretty shabby, I decided to replace them (one at a time so that I know that I put them back exactly as they were) to include all wires from the ignition switch to the solenoid (which is a Ford solenoid, by the way) and from the solenoid to the resistor and resistor to the coil. I also replaced the battery cables for good measure. Now, this tractor has been switched from 6V to 12V negative ground somewhere in the past, so you know. Well, once all wires were replaced, I still had no spark and used my electrical tester to figure out that the resistor was bad. To confirm, I bypassed the resistor and it started right up. This leads to question 1 of many: how bad is it to bypass the resistor? Then I had to use it to drive to the barn for a load of firewood or freeze to death. I drove it down and it ran like a champ all the way, but when I cut it off, the copper wire that the previous owner used to tether the key to the tractor with started sparking and it melted the insulation off of the wire from the ignition switch to the positive side of the solenoid. It only did this once the switch was turne off. I pulled the key out and removed the wire, started it back up and drove up to the house without a hitch. I then replaced that wire and am making sure that the key is not grounded, but I can't for the life of me figure out why it would do that. My other questions are: Is this a bad ignition switch? Could it be that the tractor should still be a positive ground? Does anyone know where I can get the appropriate solenoid for a 12V system and also a new resistor, if in fact it is a necessary component? I assume it is because manufacturers don't usually put something on unless they determine it is needed. I have checked the online catalog here and also my Draper Tractor catalog and turned up nothing.
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