Stillman Mike
Member
I recently replaced the points/condenser on my 4020 with an electronic ignition. I found some helpful stuff on the different forums but not the complete picture.
My tractor s/n is less than 91,000 which makes a difference. It s been converted to a negative ground, 12V system.
After discussing with Petronix , we determined that the correct ignitor for the 4020 was the Petronix 1163A. This ignitor is suppose to be paired with a 12V 3 ohm resistor which my tractor did not have. The recommended coil is a Petronix 40511.
The pre 91,000 s/n tractors have the resistor in the ignition switch. To work properly, this resistor needs to be bypassed so that the coil receives 12V all the time. This easiest way I found to bypass the resistor was to replace the standard spade connector on the ignition wire (white going to coil) with a piggy back connector. Then remove the red wire on the F terminal (see wiring schematic) and replace it with the white wire with the piggyback connector. Then reinstall the red wire onto the piggy back spade. With this change, both the white ignition wire and the red wire going to the indicator lamps will be coming off the F terminal. The F terminal sees 12V during engine cranking and after the engine starts.
Lastly, Petronix recommends that carbon core (suppression style) wires be used with their ignitors. I found a ready-made set of plug wires from Brillion. The part number for the wires is #B1028-059.
Instructions for installing the ignitor are provided in the package. The instructions are easy to follow. The grommet for the ignitor leads is bigger than the original grommet so you will need to carve out some space in the distributor cap. I used a dremmel with a router style bit.
Not sure how many gas 4020s are still out there that have points and condenser, probably not many. But if you ve got one and want to convert it, I hope these tips will help. The tractor runs much better than it ever has and no more bad condensers to deal with.
My tractor s/n is less than 91,000 which makes a difference. It s been converted to a negative ground, 12V system.
After discussing with Petronix , we determined that the correct ignitor for the 4020 was the Petronix 1163A. This ignitor is suppose to be paired with a 12V 3 ohm resistor which my tractor did not have. The recommended coil is a Petronix 40511.
The pre 91,000 s/n tractors have the resistor in the ignition switch. To work properly, this resistor needs to be bypassed so that the coil receives 12V all the time. This easiest way I found to bypass the resistor was to replace the standard spade connector on the ignition wire (white going to coil) with a piggy back connector. Then remove the red wire on the F terminal (see wiring schematic) and replace it with the white wire with the piggyback connector. Then reinstall the red wire onto the piggy back spade. With this change, both the white ignition wire and the red wire going to the indicator lamps will be coming off the F terminal. The F terminal sees 12V during engine cranking and after the engine starts.
Lastly, Petronix recommends that carbon core (suppression style) wires be used with their ignitors. I found a ready-made set of plug wires from Brillion. The part number for the wires is #B1028-059.
Instructions for installing the ignitor are provided in the package. The instructions are easy to follow. The grommet for the ignitor leads is bigger than the original grommet so you will need to carve out some space in the distributor cap. I used a dremmel with a router style bit.
Not sure how many gas 4020s are still out there that have points and condenser, probably not many. But if you ve got one and want to convert it, I hope these tips will help. The tractor runs much better than it ever has and no more bad condensers to deal with.
