Another 8N battery going dead question

01BIRDDOG

Member
First off i will admit i have seen the error of my ways in that of using a 8volt batt. and will get a new 6volf tomorrow. Having said that the battery will go down where it will not start the tractor-----sometimes in ten days, sometimes in like three days. I tried a motoring generator test and it will do this i have however never seen the amp hand move even the slightest amount toward the + side. Usually just hangs on "0" Direct me to a study guide of trouble shooting this or should i put batt. on and get a new regulator and see what this does ? This 8volt is only two months old and i can remember us using them like a million years ago with no problem. Thanks for any help in what to do next.
 
(quoted from post at 10:32:54 12/31/12) First off i will admit i have seen the error of my ways in that of using a 8volt batt. and will get a new 6volf tomorrow. Having said that the battery will go down where it will not start the tractor-----sometimes in ten days, sometimes in like three days. I tried a motoring generator test and it will do this i have however never seen the amp hand move even the slightest amount toward the + side. Usually just hangs on "0" Direct me to a study guide of trouble shooting this or should i put batt. on and get a new regulator and see what this does ? This 8volt is only two months old and i can remember us using them like a million years ago with no problem. Thanks for any help in what to do next.
t may work fine with the 6v battery. Specifications call for the VR to open the field contacts at 6.9 to 7.4 volts, so if that functioning to spec, then with an 8v battery, the VR would not call for generator output under normal conditions, but should when & if it ever discharged down to 6.9v.
This assumes that someone hasn't been inside the VR & tried to tweak it up to 8+ volts.
 
If you don't have a hand-held volt/ohm meter and/or don't know how to evaluate the measurements for electrical trouble-shooting, find a friend or neighbor who does have this capability and ask for some help. The 8 volt battery is not the root cause of your problem, and until you identify the source of the battery charge loss, you will be throwing money and time in a bottomless pit.
 
I've been using 8V batteries in my Ford tractors for years with no failures & only (1) headlite burnout . Did you tweak your VR for that extra needed from the genny ? Also be sure all contact points of your heavy cables are clean , shiny & brite . I also smear some dielectric grease on all my cable ends to prevent any corrosion . An 8V charge system gives much brighter lighting & faster start-ups , so don't give up now . How old is the battery ? Maybe give it an over nite trickle charge will spruce it up . Plus during cold weather , it helps to trickle charge it once in awhile . HTH ! God bless, Ken
 
" I've been using 8V batteries in my Ford tractors for years "

How many of those tractors are N's w/ front distributors? N's w/ side distributors?

Not all Ford tractor electrical systems are the same.
75 Tips
 
Bruce , I first had a 9n with an 8N front mount in it . Now I have a 640 & a 1952 8n Funk conversion with 6 cyl OHV engine . All of them I used 8V batteries in .God bless , Ken (only 1 tip so far)
 
I do have test eqpt. and the VR specs. you gave me will let me do some checking. I have charged it all night at a 2 Amp charge and it is a two month old battery. I will double check all cables for size and good contact and report back. Will also check contacts in VR for proper condition. Thank you.Failed to mention it is 1952 side mount.
 
I"ve got a "49 front mount, and it starts fine with 6 volts even though its compression is questionable. There are threads on this forum about how to trouble-shoot your problem. It"s almost certainly either the generator or the voltage regulator. I would suggest using a 6 volt battery. Have a electricity-savvy friend with a Volt-Ohm-Meter show you how to run those tests. Also have your friend show you how to measure voltage, but never current, in parallel with the power source. Measure current only in series with the power source or load.
 
Too many years ago I had a 50 Oldsmobile. Went to
8volt battery. The guy at the battery shop
tweaked, (bent a tab to increase spring tension)
as I recall. It worked really well for as long as
I had the car.

I think if you can take the cover off and get
under the dash with a small wood stick and
close/open some points you may have an ah ha
moment. But then again you could cause some
problems.

If you take the cover off, try connecting and
disconnecting the battery while watching the
regulator. ... I think something is getting
switched on by the 8 volts. Just might be a tweak
to keep that from happening till say 9 volts,
which would be when the gen is spinning up good.
hth
 

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