WICO Mag diagram

The coil will have a small ground wire, obviously connected to the mag's case.

There will be another wire from the coil, and a wire from the condensor. These two wires meet at the insulated terminal on the breaker points. The "kill" terminal will also be connected to this common point.

Clear as mud???

However, you MAY have answered your own question. If the "kill" terminal is REALLY grounded, simply figure out why it's shorted, and repair it, then connect the wire back up.

Have you checked to verify that the "kill" terminal is still shorted, now that you've unhooked it, and taped up the wire?

The reason I ask, even on a properly working mag, at any time the points are closed, the "kill" terminal will show a dead short to ground.

Even with the points "OPEN", the low resistance of the coil's primary is between the "kill" terminal and ground, and will show up, more or less as a "short to ground", when checked with an ohmmeter.

It's possible the "kill" terminal is NOT grounded out at all, and when you were mucking around in there, you changed something else that made the mag work.

If the "kill" terminal is NOT shorted now, try hooking it back up, and see what happens.

IIRC, the original Wisconsin Engine manuals show some detail of the mags.

You might try asking "Glen_in_TX" on the Deere Board about a source for manuals. He is in the mag repair business.

Also, I&T, the publishers of the "famous" repair manuals, have a "Unit Repair Manual" covering magnetos.

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