I have a 1949 8N running a 6-volt system with a front mount distributor. The tractor has started without problem and has run well for the year that I’ve owned it. Earlier this month I was using the tractor with a shredder when it quit running in the pasture and wouldn’t start. I checked fuel flow, no problem. I checked the plugs, no spark. I towed it to the barn.
In the barn, I dissembled the electrical components and discovered that the battery was connected NEGATIVE to ground and the resistor block had been bypassed. Some of the wiring was frayed, the plug wires were brittle and the distributor cap alignment pin was sheared off.
I completely rewired the tractor and installed new points, condenser, rotor, distributor cap, plugs and plug wires. I installed a new OEM resistor block and replaced the old voltage regulator with a new after market one and polarized it for POSITIVE ground.
The first time I tried to start the tractor it turned over slowly, clicked and then nothing. The battery read a charge of 6.28 volts. I jumped the battery and it started right up but the dash mounted amp meter occulted wildly between + and – and after a couple of minutes settled at 0. I put a meter on the battery and it read 7.80 volts indicating that it was getting a charge. After the engine warmed up the voltage across the battery dropped to 5.60 volts, and less, with the amp meter still sitting at 0. The amp meter does read a negative when the key is first turned on.
Bottom line; I CAN NOT start the tractor without jumping the battery. After that it runs fine but when the engine warms up the battery quits being charged and voltage across the battery reads anywhere from 5.60 volts to 4.50 volts.
What would cause this problem?
In the barn, I dissembled the electrical components and discovered that the battery was connected NEGATIVE to ground and the resistor block had been bypassed. Some of the wiring was frayed, the plug wires were brittle and the distributor cap alignment pin was sheared off.
I completely rewired the tractor and installed new points, condenser, rotor, distributor cap, plugs and plug wires. I installed a new OEM resistor block and replaced the old voltage regulator with a new after market one and polarized it for POSITIVE ground.
The first time I tried to start the tractor it turned over slowly, clicked and then nothing. The battery read a charge of 6.28 volts. I jumped the battery and it started right up but the dash mounted amp meter occulted wildly between + and – and after a couple of minutes settled at 0. I put a meter on the battery and it read 7.80 volts indicating that it was getting a charge. After the engine warmed up the voltage across the battery dropped to 5.60 volts, and less, with the amp meter still sitting at 0. The amp meter does read a negative when the key is first turned on.
Bottom line; I CAN NOT start the tractor without jumping the battery. After that it runs fine but when the engine warms up the battery quits being charged and voltage across the battery reads anywhere from 5.60 volts to 4.50 volts.
What would cause this problem?