8N battery shorted to gas tank enclosure

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Hello fellas. New to this forum as a member, but have browsed and enjoyed the info shared here in the past.

I have an all original 1951 8N (I am 2nd owner) with 1993 hrs on it. It is very clean and runs like a top.....or it did up until now. 😩

I am a fairly new hand at tractors, so bear with me....... I was pulling a brush hog this evening and the strap holding the 6v battery in place
broke and the battery slid to the side and the negative post grounded out against the framework that encloses the gas tank. The tractor died
instantly and would not restart/click/nothing......... It took me a while to comprehend everything that happened.....I would guess a good minute
passed before I realized the problem. I removed the battery and charged it. Well, now I have a tractor that will not even click. Where to
start for trouble shooting? I tried jumping the solenoid directly with pliers....no results. Could the solenoid be froze up? That would be a
relatively easy fix......

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Tim
 
I had that happen on an old Chevy grain truck. Same situation. I found that the direct ground had ruined the battery internally. Don't panic until you have that battery load tested.
 
Yep like notjustair said a dead shoer could have damaged the led connections inside the battery,have it load tested and also check the battery cables when you put a battery back in it.Good thing it didn't short against the gas tank and burn a hole through it (WOOF-BOOM) Burnie!
 
You are VERY fortunate.

8N tractors have caught fire from loose batteries shorting to the fuel tank support.

Get a proper battery hold down.

Dean
 
" I have an all original 1951 8N"

AND

" the strap holding the 6v battery in place "

You either have one or the other.......

It did not come from the factory with a " strap holding the 6v battery in place ".

Consider yourself lucky. Very lucky.

After you load test the battery, put it back the way Henry designed it.
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75 Tips
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it.

I charged the battery and load tested it - it showed weak. It did not have enough power to turn the motor over, but did make the solenoid click. Hooking up a 6 V charger with 40 A boost, I was able to get the tractor running and drive it back to the garage so I can work on it near my tools.

It did not appear that the amp meter was showing anything when I drove it back - so that has me concerned. I will be able to check further into it when I install the new battery.

Yes - I agree I was overstating a bit when I said "all original". I didn't intend to mislead. Rather, I meant to imply that the tractor was in original form and nothing has apparently been "upgraded". It was still in original configuration to the best of my knowledge (not counting the battery box having been removed or the new rubber). Original lights, grill, dash, working gages, etc.... The original post was in error, though. It has 1593 hrs on it, 19xx hours was a mis-type. Plenty of surface rust and some grime/dirt, but no dents or broken components.
 
That's a nice looking tractor. I've bought 5 8N's over the years & only one came w/ a battery box. My guess is that the first time the battery got replaced, most of them got tossed.

This site or nnalert's will have all the components you need to get it right.

Use the flow chart to figure out the cause of the charging problem.
RevisedFlowChart.jpg

75 Tips
 
Thanks Bruce! I installed a new battery and it ran fine with no charging showing on the ammeter. I shut it down and then re-polarized the generator. That solved it. Back in business.

Thanks again for all the help fellas.

Tim
 

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