(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

magneto question

C

Charlie M

Well-known Member
You see the occasional mag that has an external coil to work like a distributor.Do people do that because the coil on the mag is bad or do they think they have made an improvement by converting to a distributor. My Cub I just bought has a mag with an external coil and I'm thinking about getting it to work as a mag again so I can get some clutter out from under the hood. Is there a way to know if the coil on the mag is any good.Someone also wired a condenser externally so I have some mag work to do.Hoping to get the tractor home by Monday as I just bought it.
 
That doesent make it a dist it just replaces the internal coil. The impulse still works to fire on tdc when cranking and then goes to 32 or so deg when engine runs where the dist can be timed with advance spark when starting and a gradual curve advancing as engine speeds up.
 
When I was in my mid to late teens (long time ago), a magneto coil cost the equivalent of 2 or 3 days wages, and would last 3 or 4 years. A distributor type coil cost about 2 hours wages and normally would last 10 or 15 years. If you were barely getting buy on the farm, it was not a hard decision as to which way to go when the original coil failed. I walked about 3/4 mile from the middle of a corn field to the house, took a coil off an old junk car we had and waled back to the tractor carrying it and some wire and replaced the mag coil with a distributor coil and temporary wiring right in the middle of the corn field and finished cultivating the corn.
 
The coil for that magneto cost about 70 bucks back in the 70's so the reason people put on a battery powered coil was expense. Today, you can buy a coil for about 50 dollars for the magneto. If the impulse works good, strong snap every time when turned by hand, and the rotor drive is not all worn out, flopping around, I would say you can repair the magneto economically and clean up the wiring. I personally would put a proper battery ignition unit on but it is not my tractor. Your call.
 
I too. would leave it be until I could track down a good used distributor.
Then put your money into that.
With magneto coils still being..."How Much!?!"
I put round coils on and either leave it, or find a distributor.
And with new parts being what they are today.....
good chance that if you spend the big money for a magneto coil, it will be junk......
 
The mag may have weak magnets due to the age of these tractors. I had a garden tractor that had
weak magnets. Hal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
Farmall C kicks back when starting
Replies
11
Views
552
Janicholson
Janicholson
63mercragtop
Farmall A 1941 Magneto Conversion
2
Replies
26
Views
909
teddy52food
T
I
42 H Magneto question
Replies
5
Views
436
buckeye al
B
R
Magneto question
2
Replies
22
Views
1K
WeirdDeere
W
J Hamilton
Magneto repair shop
Replies
9
Views
713
J Hamilton
J Hamilton
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top