SHOOT HER ROLL HER INTO THE POND, in that order.

Basically, if you have a 12V system, and you're not getting spark to the plugs you need to start at the battery and follow the wires with a light meter to determine where you are not getting current. A voltmeter is way beyond my expertiese but I think it has to do with a fella named Kerchoff. Don't ask me, but he's to blame for your woes.

But once you've eliminated all the other places and your're at the top of the coil (crack open a beer and sit down and chuckle...(just kidding again)) and current is there, purchase a digital meter type. They are easier to read and folow the advice below.

Anyways for me, I have 12V system that I plan to remove and put on the shelf forever. But on it, I have a new keyswitch and ammeter gauge. I also have two dropping resistors to the 6V coil. One is a larger ceramic resistor and I don't have the part number. I then have the lead from that going to one side of standard dropping resistor that mounts on the backside of the left dash and from the other side of it that lead wire goes to the top of the coil. They call this resistors in series.

I will have to send you my wiring diagram to help you trace it, but it is working out great for me. I do have a 12V coil as a spare, but it has been so long that I cannot remember if it requires a dropping resistor. I will have to dig into my notebook and figure that out.

But I am in the habit of changing points, setting gap and timing, and checking plugs as basic maintenance. I completely removed every old wire switch, and gauge and rewired it to give me piece of mind.

I am being very general here without the aid of my notes I kept during that process. Dell, CLaus and others here are the best and can lead you there. I'll follow your progress and chime in to help decipher some of it for you. If I could post my wiring diagram it would be easy to explain it to you.

But guess what? once it starts...I guarantee that you will smile...but getting there is perplexing and a good education. Just remember to blame a guy named Kerchoff. 9n'er

If'n you measure the frontmount ignition coil wire while it is dangling out in the open and not connected to your coil with your volt meter, you will indeed read battery voltage. Which is not the answer that you want, but it is the truth of electricity.

And yes, you want to read about 10 volts at the coil terminal to keep from burning out your expensive 12 volt coil. And to complicate things even more, your alternator will put out about 14.7 volts which I guarentee will burn out your 12 volt coil.

So whats an electrically challenged person gonna do?

Pay attention now. You gotta slow down them thar volts with a power resistor before they get to your frontmount terminal.

There are 2 ways to do this.

1) go to radio shack and get a 0.4 to 0.5 ohms, 20 to 25 watts power resistor. Get the clerk to help you find one. Exact values are not too critical, 20% tollarance in electronic parts anyways. I don't think you will ever find this part at a tractor parts stor or an automobile part store, so don't even bother.

2) OR...pay attention here because it really gets trickkey...If'n you still have the infamious OEM "ballast resistor" mounted on the backside of your dash, you can connect another OEM ballast resistor in "PARALLEL" (which means side by side, like dual tires). So the electricity gets split-up and about 1/2 goes thru each ballast resistor and joins together again and goes to the new 12 volt frontmount ignition coil.

Whichever way you choose, you should then get about 10 volts at the ignition coil terminal after it is connected up and the ignition points are closed. If'n the ignition points are open, you will get battery voltage. It electric theory again.

Which ever way you decide to do it, make a pencil drawing of how you think you are suppost to wire it. Then if it doesn't work right, make another pencil drawing of how you actually did it. and compare.

Hope this helps..... ...Dell

You eather use just the radio shack resistor alone scheme.

OR you use the dual ballast resistor scheme.

DO NOT USE BOTH!!!!

That means do not feed the radio shack resistor through the ballast resistor BECAUSE if you do, you will have sparkie problems.

And yes, that little black block on the back of your ignition panel is your OEM ballast resistor as used in the original 6 volt frontmount ignition scheme.

And as Claus explained, if'n you don't have a complete circuit, you won't get a voltage drop. And that means that the ballast resistor is just doing what electrical theory sez it should be doing, nuttin, because you don't have a complete circuit. Therefore, you will read battery voltage even through the ballast voltage dropping resistor.

Hope this helps..... ..Dell