Thanks to my local Buddy and the advice of others on the forum, I took the mag apart on the A.I wanted to be able to do this all myself, so I did not mind the time it took to be careful and slow, going step by step. So far, diesel injection pumps are the only thing I will treat as a "magic box" that I will not tackle myself. The kill wire screw was getting ground at all times and the condenser was not shorted.
After being told to go to the local Tractor Supply store, I drove there and looked for a tune up set.
The guy there shook his head and said that they did not sell those after a 10 second glance at the board of the various caps and rotors they had.
I told the guy at Tractor Supply that a local fella was just in here and he saw what I needed right on the rack. He shook his head and said "he must-a ordered it."
I thanked him and continued looking at the rack, which was very poorly organized.
I found the cap in about a minute. A couple more minutes of looking and there it was "IH magneto tune up kit" at the bottom of the rack. Points, condensor and rotor. :>) After making the guy at TS look at what "wasn't there," I made the wife pay for it and went on my way.
Condensor did not cure the issue. Points did not cure the issue. So I scratched my head.
After tracing everything and finding no ground-outs, I took everything out of the mag and retraced my steps.
Then, I scratched my head again. The little chunk of plastic/bakolite/resin??? (whatever you call that stuff) that the bottom of the points screws into turned out to be the culprit. Though it looked perfect to the eye, it had either become damp or had a tiny bit of wire in it during its manufacture??? I dont know. A razor and a strand of good old black electrical tape cured it. I made an insulator and cut the screw hole out of the middle. After it was all back together, I turned it over and a healthy SNAP was heard and seen!!!! When I replaced the coil wire on the cap, it did not turn 1/2 a revolution and it belched a bit of black soot and came to life. The cap and rotor are marked IH, so is the condensor. I don't know how old this makes them. At the end of it all, I did not take out the new parts. However, if faced with the same issue again, I would keep the old cap/condensor/rotor and trace it back to the little mounting block for the points. I could have fixed the whole thing with a piece of electrical tape. LOL After a quick check of the lube, of course, I could not resist a little spin.
Everything works just like I remember! Growling gears and all! There is nothing like working on an issue that scares you a little and finding the problem...then fixing it! With the black junk on my hands from the steering wheel, a sweaty/greasy shirt and a bit of victory in my head...I felt on top of the world! Thanks for all your help on the forum here and special thanks to Hal and Buddy for efforts on the phone above and beyond the call of duty. Now, I focus on the leaking hyd pump and making sure the timing is correct.
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