Front mount coil

No plug wires installed! what are you using to create an arc? or are you just looking on a scope or hi voltage probe? Hmm why not put all wires and plugs on and repeat your bench test.

Phil,

Try a Spark plug at .030 and then increase the Gap in .005 increments until arcing Stops. This will tell you the Coil Output, but the N's coil cannot output 60,000 Volts regardless of how much current you sink.

JMHO

BJ

Otherwize, you just may have "trashed" your ignition coil with 12 volts and don't have enuff sparkies left to jump the gaps at #1,2,3. You should have the same airgap all around the cap but gaps can vary some and not affect your running except when you have "low sparkies" and they just won't jump the slightly wider gaps. The "cure" is an new ignition coil, sorry..... ....Dell

BJ, you never said what the original problem was you were trying to fix. From your list of replacement parts (no coil listed) it is possible your coil was poor or bad before you started the R & R process on the dist. I agree with Dr. Dell's diagnosis (he has helped all of us on many, many occasions!!!!) - but my un-educated guess is a bad coil.

MHO, Jim

Uncontrolled current will overheat the ignition coil and melt the insulative tar and shortout the primary turns and reduce the secondary sparkie volts to a low 'nuff level it won't jump any gaps anywhere.

Bottom line, on the tractor or on the testbench, 12 volts or 6 volts, you MUST control the coil primary current, usually with the infamous "ballast resistor".

If'n you know how to measure current with an accurate ampmeter (not the dashboard ampmeter) nominal is 3 amps, 5 amps max, anything greater is going to overheat your coil and melt the insulative tar and short out the primary windings and you end up with bad sparkies..... ..... Dell