12 volt conversion...now my starter won't work.

05victorylly · Jan 13, 2016

Hey Guys, I did a 12 volt conversion kit tonight. I bought the kit here and everything seemed to go ok, but not I cannot get the starter to turn over. When I first tried to start the tractor the starter cranked for a split second but nothing since. I have double checked everything and I am sure I have it wired correctly.

The starter in the tractor is an a aftermarket 6v starter that worked fine yesterday before the conversion. Is it possible that running 12v killed it. Even when I try and jump the solenoid nothing happens.

Any thoughts? I was really hoping to plow snow with it in the morning.

HFJ · Jan 13, 2016

12 volts should not hurt a 6 volt starter. mine's been running that way for several years.

JEK1 · Jan 13, 2016

Did you move the ground lug location? If so, It needs to be located on the main body of the engine or casing. Check to see if the ground lug is tight, clean and making conductivity.

Dell (WA) · Jan 13, 2016

05victorylly.........ya know it always helps to include what model of tractor yer talkin'bout. But with the hint "solenoid", tells me yer talkin'bout an 8N. Many neubie shadetree mechanic wanna bees, install the solenoid BASSACKWARDS. The little middle terminal must be facing the block where it is hard to gitt too. Surprizingly enuff, the 6-volt starter motor and 6-volt solenoid work just fine on 12-volts and negative (-) ground that the alternator DEMANDS. .......HTH, Dell, yer self-appointed sparkie-meister and electrician

Bruce (VA) · Jan 13, 2016

" Even when I try and jump the solenoid nothing happens. "

You need to tell us what model tractor you have.

8N's & up did have solenoids. 2 & 9N's didn't, but many folks incorrectly call the starter switch a solenoid.

As Dell said, if you do have a solenoid & hooked it up backwards, it won;t work.

And 12v didn't hurt the 6v starter.
75 Tips

teddy52food · Jan 13, 2016

Dell: Are you sure it doesn't need to be polarized?

pinball · Jan 13, 2016

If the starter did turn over as stated then it would seem some where you have lost a connection. lot of folks has used 12 volts on there 6 volt starters with no problem. Doubt if starter went out. First thing I would do is take your neg battery cable off where it bolts on to the frame and clean it with a wire brush. Do the same thing where the positive cable goes to your starter. I am assuming you have already did a good job of cleaning your terminals and if you have one of those universatle battery connections make sure its been cleaned and the small bolts are as tight as you can get them without stripping them. I personally tried to start my 8n for 2/3 hours once because I had the same problem. Jumpered my starter and anything else I could think of. fFinally when I took my neg cable off and cleaned the connection on the tractor it self then its been fine every since. Clean connections are a critical part of the tractor starting circuit. I do suspect you just have to find your connection problem. Let us know what you found. Have a good day.

old · Jan 13, 2016

You polarize a generator not a starter. And if you tried to polarize an alternator you will fry it in a heart beat

old · Jan 13, 2016

When you tried to jump across the solenoid you say you got nothing. As in no sparks and it did not do any thing?? If yes you have a poor connection or the starter is bad. You said it spun for a moment that says poor connection some place which could even be the starter mount since the mount is its ground

souNdguy · Jan 13, 2016

pull the starter, remove the drive ( unpin ).

now test the starter with your bat.

does it spin?

if yess, just install it with no drive and double check the solenoid makes it spin up.

if all works, clean up all mating connections, etc.

re pin the drive gear on and reinstall.

05victorylly · Jan 13, 2016

Hey guys, its an 8n side mount distributer. 1950 i believe.

Voltage seems to drop from 12.6 to 2ish when I hit the starter button...not sure why.

Also when I tried to jump the starter with the 20 amp battery charger it sparked but didn't move at all. I had the neg. on the starter bolt and the pos. on the starter wire stud.

Kinda confused by this one. I have a test light that indicates ground or power and when I test the solenoid it indicated ground, when I push the starter button it no longer indicates ground, but it does not become hot either.

Not sure if I am helping narrow this down or not.

Thanks for all the response!!!

souNdguy · Jan 13, 2016

well, lets break down your observations.

1, 20 amp bat charger on a device that can consume 80-150a is not going to do much but make sparks, like you saw. In reality, even a larger booster might not do much without some sort of battery in parallel.

2, 12v drops to 2? sounds like an awfully dead battery don't it? 2v won't spin a starter. Of course, I'm guessing you measured this at the battery. if measured elsewhere, say so.

if bat is 12 and don't drop much, but you see a huge drop somewhere else, then that somewhere else has a very bad connection.

3, not uncommon to read 'ground' on a starter or solenoid stud hooked to the starter using a test meter, when compairing chassis ground and the stud. between that stud and ground is some very large copper, and the meter is reading that as a very low ohm load.... like it is. That's why a starter can draw 80-150amps depending on application... it's a very LOW ohm load.

teddy52food · Jan 13, 2016

Yes Rich, I know . But Dell keeps telling to polarize the cut-out.

old · Jan 13, 2016

As sound said 20amp charge would be like trying to pull la semi with a VW bug it just isn't going to happen. A starter will pull up wards of 70 amps or more. What you can do it try a jumper from the Ignition side of the battery to the big starter stud. If it spins over then that says you have a problem from the battery to solenoid to the starter. If it does not spin then you have a dead battery or a poor starter ground or a bad starter

oldman570 · Jan 14, 2016

Make sure that the trans is in neutral, and that you get ground at the small post on the solenoid when the start button is pushed down. It takes that ground to energize the solenoid. There are wiring diagrams for the convergin on this site, and some of the other sites for 8N's online.

Dell (WA) · Jan 14, 2016

uh? Teddy.......would it surprize you to learn ALTERNATORS don't have cut-outs???........respectfully Dell

teddy52food · Jan 14, 2016

Not surprised at all.

ZANE · Jan 18, 2016

The starter drive gear could be hung up in the ring gear.

Put it in fourth gear and rock it back and forth with the rear wheels. Get some help if you can't shake it. The fan should move easy if it's not stucki. If it is stuck the fan won't move till the starter drive releases.

Zane

HFJ · Jan 18, 2016

(quoted from post at 15:40:54 01/18/16) The starter drive gear could be hung up in the ring gear.

Put it in fourth gear and rock it back and forth with the rear wheels. Get some help if you can't shake it. The fan should move easy if it's not stucki. If it is stuck the fan won't move till the starter drive releases.

Zane

i've had to do this several times with my 2N. of course, i don't use 4th when i do it

12 volt conversion...now my starter won't work.

05victorylly

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