Please just kill me now/weird electrical system, 8V neg grnd

So, we are talking a 3+ hr on friday, and 3+ hr on saturday ordeal. Then, after correcting the rediculous cockpit error and mounting the thing, I was so excited, it was time to start working again, finally. Well, I got it started and drove about 30 ft when the engine died. Could not start it for the life of me, you can really crank that sucker a long time without killing the battery. Lotsa of pondering and trouble shooting ensued, getting gas to engine ok, no shorts that I could find, power getting to distributor terminal, etc. There was no spark from any plug wire, must be distributor or coil??, I got that figured out, but, I also found that I have an 8V, negative ground system???

OK, here is the real problem, in tracing wires etc, trying deperately to figure out for sure what was going on, I found that the wire to the coil, which is supposed to come off of one leg of the resistor/terminal block, was wired to the middle terminal, the one not on either side of the resistor, there was nothing attached to the reistor leg that the coil was supposed to attach to. Can anyone tell me the implications of this? Is this the probable cause of the failure of the dist/coil after only about 5-6 hours of tractor operation since I bought it? I put it the way it is supposed to go, but still no spark, so my brand new toy is sitting blocking the driveway, and I have to leave town for a couple of days.

Hope this wasn't too long a post, thanks
rob

ps: I am sure you will be hearing a lot more form me.

If you look back through the archives, there is a good post by Nolan on the effect of CLEAN connections. Maybe someone has it saved and can dup. it or can give you the URL.

The second problem was a partially shorted starter motor. A new 6v battery would turn it over but got drained very quickly. Knew that should NOT happen. Especially since I drove an old 1950 Plymouth to college. It had a 6 cylinder flat head with a 6V battery. Last year I was in Iowa (Ames - ISU) I got it to start every morning but one during a 10 day cold snap. That morning it was -28F. Engine was cranking and wheezing some but after about a minute or little more I got smart and quit. Rather get it started later when I knew I could. It had been -20 or lower every morning that whole 10 days. I came back at noon, still -20, and got it started so I could be sure the battery was charged back up.

Back to the 8N, I also have an 8N some (idiot - my opinion only!) had converted it to 12v. So I swapped the starters. End of problem. Of course, I have the new battery posts AND clamps on the new cables completely encapuslated in RTV. This is my "permenent" fix for post/clamp corrosion. Been using it for 30 years with excellent success. Meaning 4-5 years out of 3 year batteries.

Sorry to hear that someone's quick fix has ruined your coil. While you are at this point, you should look at all the wiring harness. For less than $20 (if the prices are still the same as a few years ago) you can put in a BRAND NEW wiring harness an know that that is not going to give you a problem. Besides cleaning the connections with a wire brush, you could try what I do to keep down corrosion at electrical connections. Go to a hardware/eletrical supply house and get a tube of the electrial grease that is used (code required) for aluminum connections. It is conductive and being a grease will keep out moisture which is what causes corrosion. Just put a small dab in between the post and wire lug.

Get a manual so you can be sure the wiring is correct. It is only $10 - or at least the last one I bought last year was.

More questions, you know you are at the right place.

Regards,
Larry

• Neil's Site