# IH 454 ignition problem



## Wildgamenut (Jun 8, 2018)

I have a 1976 IH 454 gas 4 cylinder tractor that has developed what I think is an electrical/ignition problem. The tractor will operate just fine then shut off, if you let it sit over night it'll start again the next day, operation temp is is normal when it shuts off. One person suggested changing the coil, did that and the same problem showed back up. 
In doing some checking I'm only getting 4-5 volts going to the coil with the ignition on, but with the tractor running I'm still only getting 8-9 volts to the coil? And it is a 12 volt battery, any ideas out there? Should I have 12 volts at the coil to start with?


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

The 454s originally came with an external ignition resistor. If you installed an internal resistor replacement coil, you will need to remove the external resistor. One thing to consider is you may have a bad coil, seems about 20% of new coils are bad right out of the box.

If the tractor is shutting down when it is warm, and you have no spark, it is likely the condenser in the distributor that is causing that issue. Or moisture and fine cracks in the distributor cap, or a cracked rotor in the distributor.


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## Wildgamenut (Jun 8, 2018)

Thanks RC. I did put in an external resistor coil, so possibly that could still be bad. Can you think of a reason for the low voltage at the coil? 
Any good places to get cap rotor and condenser?


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

The external resistor drops the cold voltage to 8 VDC, and hot voltage even lower. Ebay and Steiner Tractor have the ignition kits, as does Case IH.


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