eletronic ignition/ info needed

HAS ANY ONE SWITCHED OVER TO ELETRONIC IGNITION, AND HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT. I AM THINKING OF CHANGING MY IH 230 OVER.[STILL 6V] HOW HAS IT WORKED FOR YOU. DID YOU KEEP IT 6V OR CHANGED TO 12V. EITHER WAY HOW IS IT WORKING. DOES IT TAKE LESS CRANKING TO FIRE OR ABOUT THE SAME. DOES IT HELP THE MOTOR RUN BETTER. THANKS

A lot of people will tell you it's not necessary. I know all my tractors start just fine with the old points ignition.

If you're replacing the points ignition with electronic to cure a starting problem, there are other less expensive ways to improve starting.

Bob, yours is a wide open question to which there are as many "opinions" as posters lol mine certainly included. Kind of like Fox News "We report you decide" I will lay some basic engineereing info on you and then YOU DECIDE.


1) Many who convert to elec ignition report improved starting and idling, which although antecdotal, is based in sound engineering. So long as the elec ignition is working properly???????????????? it provides fast positive coil current switching as opposed to the bouncing and ringing of mechanical and ever burning carboning and pitting contact points.

Sure points are fine and have worked and will continue to do so fine and economical for years and YES an elec ignition is expensive and can FAIL. Im ONLY saying "as long as an elec switch is working" it pretty well stays the same and provides fast positive efficient coil current switching versus points which continually burn and carbon up and pit AND BECOME LESS EFFICIENT AS TIME GOES BY. BUT elec ignitions fail grrrrrrrrrr and are more expensive !!!!!!!!

2) Will it gain HP ??? Probably not much if any at all versus a good set of clean properly adjusted mechanical points.

3) ONE BIG PROBLEM with an elec ignition is if it stops youre dead in the field while if points go bad you can clean n file them n get back to the shed.

4) ELEC IGNITION IS NOTTTTTTT ANY MAGIC CURE ALL ELIXIR to fix other problems. If the engine has other problems the installation of elec ignition alone DOES NOT FIX IT.

5) In modern autos their high energy elec ignition systems can last for years n years n miles n miles trouble free but the tractor change over systems just dont seem that reliable.


NOW HERES THER DEAL: To get the most bang for the buck and utilize all the advantages an elec switch has to offer I SUGGEST YOU COUPLE IT WITH A HIGH ENERGY COIL (i.e. not just the old stock coil) . If that is done then you can indeed DISCHARGE MORE SPARK ENERGY ACROSS THE PLUG GAP then with the old stock coil and points n condensor. In higher compression and pulling tractors that becomes more advantageous then in our putt around and parade tractors.


Soooooo they cost more and if they fail youre dead (versus points you can file n get home) but improved starting and idling can take place SO LONG AS THEY WORK and if coupled with a high energy coil you can indeed discharge mnore spark gap energy. A good set of points is fine and can start a tractor even at extreme cold temps just fine IF ALL ELSE IS OKAY and are cheap and worked for years. You likely will NOT observe any noticeaBLE HP gain.

I REPORTED NOW YOU DECIDE !!!!!!!!!!

Good question, God Bless all here

John T Too long retired electrical engineer
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I installed them on three old tractors; two IH 140's and a cub. I like them better than points/cond. Also used the 40,000 volt coil and opened the sprk plug gaps to .040". Had to upgrade my plug wires because were jumping everywhere on one of the tractors.

Since I was doing a restore/refurbish anyways, changing points,plugs and wires(old and cracked) I went electronic Myself. New coil and wires and plugs also and opened the gaps on the plugs. Does fire off a lot quicker than of old and more reliably in cold weather. Could be just cause everything was new but the last 5 years since it still hasn't missed a beat! But certainly don't throw away old parts! Come in handy for emergencies! Done the same thing in My '68 Volkswagen beetle and that was a big difference also in it's operation. Plus I hate adjusting points!

I just have a 1966 140 (born 12V, owned since new). Went electronic in 2006 and it's been great. Starts better and distributor caps last longer--they used to die every winter. I have no idea why. I keep the old parts handy, if it ever fails I'll be running again in ten minutes. Points worked, but they needed attention. I'm a believer in electronic.

WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR IMPUT. I DON"T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS PER SAY WITH THE STANDARD SYSTEM, JUST THINKING ABOUT IT IN CASE I DECIDE TO CHANGE OVER,DOWN THE ROAD,[PUN INTENDED]LOL. FOR AS MUCH AS I USE THE TRACTORS. ALSO THINKING ABOUT COST, HAVE OTHER TRACTORS ALSO. OF COURSE AS THE OLD SAY GOES, AIN"T BROKE, DON"T NEED FIXING.

I installed a Pertronix on a Ferguson 35 and it worked fine until.... After a heavy snowfall, I started the tractor to let it warm before moving some snow. I let it run while I did some other chores. After one half hour or so I noticed the tractor was no longer running. I thought maybe iceing as it was single digit temps so checked everything and saw nothing wrong. Tried to restart and no-go. Too cold to further trouble shoot. After the weather moderated, I pulled the distributor cap and noticed a burned plastic odor. Inspection showed a pile of melted plastic in place of the module. Changed back to original points and condensor. Still no fire. Changed coil and started right up. Bottom line, I have no idea what caused the meltdown.

(quoted from post at 13:22:18 02/16/11) I installed a Pertronix on a Ferguson 35 and it worked fine until.... After a heavy snowfall, I started the tractor to let it warm before moving some snow. I let it run while I did some other chores. After one half hour or so I noticed the tractor was no longer running. I thought maybe iceing as it was single digit temps so checked everything and saw nothing wrong. Tried to restart and no-go. Too cold to further trouble shoot. After the weather moderated, I pulled the distributor cap and noticed a burned plastic odor. Inspection showed a pile of melted plastic in place of the module. Changed back to original points and condensor. Still no fire. Changed coil and started right up. Bottom line, I have no idea what caused the meltdown.

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I wonder if coil, module, or battery voltage had a mismatch somewhere. The modules are definitely likely to die if this is the case--points would just wear faster. It appears that a coil failure killed the module, or vice versa, and a mismatch could have caused this.