8n no spark

Will a bad condenser cause a no spark problem on a 6 volt front mount distributer? I have set and checked the points at .015 about 20 times now. Sometimes I can get spark for a little while but it never lasts. I have not checked that the voltage drops and rises when engine is cranked. I am going to check that right now but was wondering about the condenser.

It sure will. Change it out.

I guess I will do that. I always thought that the condenser was to keep moisture out of the distributer. Was thinking that I should be able to get it to run it but it might not last very long if the condenser was bad.

A condenser does not just go bad all at once and most will last decades. What a condenser does is works as a buffer to keep the points from burning up fast. That said not likely to be a bad condenser but could well be a bad ignition switch of poor connection some place. I would try a hot wire from the battery to the coil and if that makes it run then you know your problem is from the coil back to the battery if it still does not run then the points may need cleaned or you have a short in the distributor which is easy to do when installing new points etc.

Ok I just stretched the pigtail on the coil out a little bit and it started to get spark. I have been checking spark with a in line test light. Is that a good enough indicator of spark or do I need to test with a old spark plug like they suggest on here often?

Ok here is everything that happened with this tractor from start of the problems to right now. I am fully prepared for a barrage of people telling me how I messed up the ignition system as long as you also help me fix what is wrong. This is my dads tractor. It is a 8n front mount 6 volt system. It was running rough and my dad wanted me to put in new points. I did that and had a hard time getting them adjusted right but it finally worked. After that it was hard to start, we needed to jump it to start it. It would run fine after it started. My dad never understood the positive ground so he switched around the cables and it actually started better after that. I was very surprised. It ran fine for a week or two and then one day during a rain it quite on him. The battery is now installed as a positive ground but the battery has been charged backwards and currently has a reversed polarity. I have not been able to get it to run right since. I have run a wire straight from the battery to the coil and still cannot get good spark. The points Are fine plugs and wires are fine. It is getting fuel. Please at least give me one piece of advice for every insult as to how much I messed up this tractor. Thank you!!

Tom........you do know ittza 2-bolt, 15-min job to remove the weird front mount dizzy and change/adjust the points (0.015") on the kitchen table, don't you???

Nuttin' wrong with using a "specialized" sparkie test lite. The old sparkie test scheme is fer shadetree mechanics without fancy sparkie test lites. ........Dell, yer self-appointed sparkie-meister

Yes I have had it off several times.

Rub your points with some 320 wet or dry until they're shiny. Then see if the engine will start.
If it won't start get a volt meter set on Dc volts and see much voltage drop you have during cranking. If the starter is pulling too much voltage there may not enough voltage for your ignition. You could try pull starting if you have another tractor as this won't lower your battery voltage. Hal

I have cleaned the points several times. Mabey pull starting is the way to go.

That tractor's been around for 65+/- years, you won't kill it.
Pull starting an N is near impossible unless you have added weight.
The rear end is so light it just slides along the ground on dirt.
You got your points set. Did you check the gap on all 4 lobes?
The front bushing in the distributor can get bad and make them wobble.
That wobble makes the points not fire on every cylinder.
Any side to side movement of the shaft is too much.
Battery negative or positive ground. Your starter won't care.
Your ignition won't really care either.
Your generator will work either way too, as long as it's polarized
that way. Nothing really to worry about there.
I would put it back the way it was (pos ground) just so you don't
have to mess with it in the future.
That would not affect the points, condenser, starting though.
More likely when it got changed around the battery connections
got cleaned up, made better connection and it ran better.
Could have been a big part of the problem all along!
When you don't have spark, do you still have voltage to the top
of the coil? I know you said you ran a jumper, just double checking.
Do you have a working ammeter in the dash?
If so, when you roll it over you should see that ammeter bounce.
It will discharge when the points are closed and go to zero when
they open. If it stops doing that, the points aren't opening and
closing properly.
Could be the wobble I mentioned, could be other things too.
Let us know what you find!

I have not checked the gap on all 4 lobes. I will do that. It may
be a week or so before I get back on it but I will let you know
when I get the thing going. Will ask again if I cannot get tractor
running.

Ok this was the problem. If you put the whole assembled coil
cap and distributer body on it is really difficult to get slot to line
up perfectly. If you are off just a little it will push up the rotor
and in turn push up the snap ring that holds the inside of the
distributer to the body of the distributer. That snap ring then
grounds out the pig tail on the coil and you get no spark. It will
test ok without the coil on the bench, and even test ok with the
coil on sometimes. I was advised to put the distributer on as a
whole assembly but I found if you put it on in three parts, the
body, the cap, and the coil you have better luck. Yup can
finger tight the bolts and turn the rotor by hand until it snaps in
to place, you will deffenitly feel when you have it right. Thanks
for the advice guys!

Glad you got it going!
I know they're a little harder to get on as an assembly, but I have
a hard time getting the cap on right if I have good gaskets in place.
As long as its working, don't fix it until its broke!