Crazy Horse
Well-known Member
I posted this question on the Tractor Talk forum, since it's a Farmall I'm asking about, I'll post it here as well. I've got a Farmall A with stock factory wiring, all rewired with new wire and terminals. Everything is wired properly with the correct-size wire and size #1 battery cables with good terminals. Six-volt positive ground, third-brush generator with a working cutout relay on the generator case. Charge control is done through the IHC type 4-position light switch on the dash (controled charge, full charge, full charge with dim lights, full charge with bright lights). My battery is a bit iffy and shows only about 5.7 volts when sitting while the tractor is not running. It has enough oomph to start the old girl but not much more.
So here's my problem. Once the tractor fires up, the charge rate is much too high even on the first "charge controlled" position of the light/charge control switch. At anything much more than idle speed, it pins the amp needle to +30 amps. At idle it drops to about 26 amps, still too high. Moving the third brush to different locations inside the generator has no effect on the charge rate, too high no matter where the third brush is positioned. When the tractor is running, the battery keeps its low 5.7 Volt reading.
Any suggestions as to what might be causing this? I'm getting a ton of amps, seems like the voltage isn't up to par. Should the battery not be showing something like 6.5 volts or more when the tractor is running? How about the excessive charge rate, any suggestions?
So here's my problem. Once the tractor fires up, the charge rate is much too high even on the first "charge controlled" position of the light/charge control switch. At anything much more than idle speed, it pins the amp needle to +30 amps. At idle it drops to about 26 amps, still too high. Moving the third brush to different locations inside the generator has no effect on the charge rate, too high no matter where the third brush is positioned. When the tractor is running, the battery keeps its low 5.7 Volt reading.
Any suggestions as to what might be causing this? I'm getting a ton of amps, seems like the voltage isn't up to par. Should the battery not be showing something like 6.5 volts or more when the tractor is running? How about the excessive charge rate, any suggestions?