tried gapping points took pics to see if i was doing it right. have concluded that there is no electric coming out of the dist. cap as tried pulling a plug wire off and checking for a spark with an old plug and got nother on multiple wires. any ideas on why i am not getting electric to dist? could the wires be one the coil backwards? thanks

can you check if you have spark in wire going to dist. sounds like maybe a broken or loose wire that is where a volt meter is helpfull

your point gap should be 18 thousands, I only see one wire in the distributor, the one from the condenser to the points, is the one from the neg side of the coil, if you have a generator, positive side if alternator, hooked up? if so, you might have a bad wire or resistor.

656 was negative ground from the factory.

Andy, The Super C I purchased had a break in the wire running from the switch to the coil under the battery box which is one possibility. If you have a voltmeter you can start checking the entire circuit from the battery through the switch to the distributor. I am mostly a letter series Farmall guy with tractors older then your 656 but the switch on your tractor I believe is more then the push - pull switch of the earlier tractors. You should check at the switch for voltage and then see if you have voltage coming out of the switch as the switch could be the bad component. From there if you have voltage from the switch check at the coil and make sure it is making it that far. If not you will need to check the wiring and whatever electrical devices are in the circuit for continuity as well. I wish I had some 656 experience to share but I'm just going on the tractors I'm familiar with which are pre-656 models. Someone who is more familiar with the later models will chime in on your thread as there are several of us on this forum wanting to help you through this, Hal.

The gapping looks great. A volt meter is needed (or test light)
With the rotor and cap on, and points open as though you were setting the gap,and plug wires in and on the plugs, turn on the key and check for voltage at the coil small negative terminal (Key side) then check at the Positive side. There should be voltage at both terminals. Next close the points and try the same test. There should be voltage on the key side of the coil, and none on the distributor side. Jim

Keep diagnosing. you can run a jumper wire from the battery to the coil or the R terminal on the solenoid to see if that makes spark at the coil. Are you using a spark tester or plug on block or just assuming a no start is no spark? Also check voltage at the R terminal of the solenoid, as it is fed with a resistance wire with the ignition switch on If it isn't 8-12 volts there, you have rewiring to do. The R terminal should goto 12 volts when the starter is engaged. any add on stuff like a Murphy Switch or electrical implement controls or cab stuff can cause all kinds of problems whether they're wired properly or not when there is some aging.

I rewired our 656 Farmall gas from scratch about 8 years ago. Even though I basically followed the factory wiring, I did cut some corners in supplies that I now regret but it does work flawlessly (I learned some new things afterwards). The original wires were rotten. Mine has an alternator from the factory, and I reused the original externally regulated type.
What electrical system do you have?

The final straw was when i had the cowls off for a TA adjustment and I saw a corroded bare wire showing through rotted insulation which then broke while attempting to tape it--tractor wouldn't fire after that. There are some redundant, overly complicated, and overloaded wires in the harness. But it's not really a bad design--If you get an original type harness, I would recommend eliminating the lights from it and modifying accordingly, even to the extent of relays for a work tractor. Also if you have a generator and are thinking about an alternator, a harness for a 666-686 gas might make it easy as they used a 3 wire 10si Delco that is internally regulated. Those models are 99% mechanically a 656 plus different stickers. There are a few vendors out there that specialize in the IH harnesses and most know what works when you are attempting to interchange. If you want to wire from scratch I'll help you: whether you want to copy stock or simplify/improve the wiring. If you simplify, it's basically Bob M's H/M diagrams plus a few more wires for the dash and fuel solenoid. The improvements would be proper gauge wire for critical circuits, 12 or 10 gauge wire from bat post of starter feeding a terminal for the lightswitch, lighter, etc.; then minimally 1 relay for the field lamps (rear worklamp and front floodlamps), and redundant ground wires from fender to chassis. Do not eliminate the clutch switch for starting. I did not use a resitance wire (hard to find anyway) from switch to solenoid R terminal, rather I used a normal wire and a 12 volt coil. The R terminal still helps at starting imho. Couple years down the road I ended up installing a pertronix so the resistance wire would have had to be removed for proper operation.

So if you would like detailed help, send me an email (shows in modern view) as I'll have to dig out my notes and put it together in writing. For now, diagnose

karl f

Andy
Good job !!! Keep at it and post back here and in no time you will have that 656 purring like a swiss watch .
I am so pleased to see a young guy tinker and learn !! I split a ford 3000 when I was 16 and put in a clutch , had no idea what I was doing , but we sure needed that tractor .
Applause ----my son builds rock crawling jeeps !!!
Griff

It looks like this tractor has seen a lot of moisture. How is your ignition switch and wiring under the dash?

in both positions there electric on both terminals of the dist.

well has a loader on it used for pitching manure and what ever else. is alwaays shed keept.

Good news Andy,
The solution is at hand.
The points open and close breaking the connection to ground. If the distributor side of the coil stays with voltage when the points are closed, the distributor is not doing that make and break action.
The coil is a high voltage transformer. It converts a rapidly collapsing low voltage current into a spark jumping 10 to 25000 volts. The primary coil winding is turned on when the points close. This is when that rubbing block is between cam lobes in the distributor. It is called dwell. It is measured in degrees. A current flows through the coil building up magnetism in a field that includes the secondary (high voltage) windings. When the points break (open) the primary voltage stops flowing and the magnetic field collapses. The condenser in the circuit acts like a shock absorber and reduces the arcing on the points, as well as resonating with the coil sustaining the spark.
The collapsing magnetism creates the dramatic voltage. This voltage continues to increase until the spark can breakdown the resistance of the spark plug gap. It then discharges across the gap igniting the fuel and air.
Yours is not connected.
With the cap off, points closed, the tractor in Neutral, and the ignition on, test for voltage at the terminal on the side of the distributor. There should be none. If there is then probe inside to see if there is voltage at the nut and washer that holds the point conductor and condenser conductor and point spring. If there is voltage there (there should not be) test the movable point if there is voltage there, test the stationary point. There should not be voltage there either.
Fixing is a function of making sure there is no crud or dirt in the points holding them apart. Nor disconnected components making an open circuit when it should be closed through the closed points. Filing or sanding then cleaning the points may be all it needs, but a broken wire is also a possibility. Jim