8N generator ????

Forum,
Have been fine tuning the give away '48 8N. It has a 6 volt generator system which has been giving me headaches one generator at a time. Thought I had it figured out but I can not get things going. I am going to take three generators to a shop tomorrow to have them checked out. I am not too excited. If they continue to fail I may switch to a 12 volt system with alternator. Question what do I need to change besides the alternator. Any and all thoughts are welcome.
Mr. T. Minnesota
 
You say you have tried three generators all with the same result. So maybe it's not the generators? You can do a simple motoring test yourself, but your local starter/alternator shop can bench test all your components, usually for free. It may be the voltage regulator. It may be the wiring. It may be something else altogether or a combination of all of the above. The 6-volt/positive ground system is not rocket science. Have you double checked the wiring? BING JMOR's Wiring Diagrams and see what Mr. Morris put together on just about every conceivable wiring config for N-Series tractors there are and star there. Have a good, fully charged battery; a good generator -one tested under load; good VR; and good ammeter. I suspect your root cause is one of the issues I described. Just throwing a 12 volt convulsion into the mix doesn't always fix the problem let alone give you peace of mind. Me? I like to know why something isn't working and get to the bottom of it. If you decide the heck with it and go down the dark path to 12 volt, I'd be interested in your generators...my email is open...

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)
 
TP,
Thanks for the reply. One of the generators I had checked out a week or two ago. It was fine. Reinstalled it and it worked a while. Then it charged less and less. Last resort check I direct wired the generator to the battery. Bypassed the VR and grounded the field to the ground and armature to battery. Had it going through the ammeter and had a sweep meter voltage connected to the system. The ammeter read 10 amps to the negative and the voltage dropped below 6 volts????? The next one I ran and it didn't charge. Both of these generators motored as they should:) The third generator has a weird terminal set up. It has a ground, field, armature and dial to high and low knob. Will ask about that one tomorrow. Any other suggestions are welcome. May be in the market to move them!!!
Mr. T. Minnesota
 
Take the voltage regulator with you or be prepared to buy a new one. If they are any kind of shop at all, they will have a regulator there they can sell you. Then they can hook them all together and get it all adjusted.
 

[b:030ecf7f57]"Question what do I need to change besides the alternator."[/b:030ecf7f57]

lights. coil is optional.
 
(quoted from post at 23:12:33 01/15/17)
[b:a060296842]"Question what do I need to change besides the alternator."[/b:a060296842]

lights. coil is optional.
And a bit of wiring. If you want to do a little more wiring you
can even use the 6V lights. Although I don't do it that way.
I change the coil so I don't have to deal with an added resistor.

Mr. T - the main reason I have been converting mine is because
I can't find a reliable 6V voltage regulator. At ~$45 a piece and
three of them failed within a year, one within an hour, it was
cheaper for me to convert to 12V. Your mileage may vary.
 
Forty years ago I worked in one of North New England's best overhaul shops. The only way we would test/clean,etc. was to make sure the customer always brought in both generator and voltage regulator. In this way we were sure that it was done right and not a shade tree repair.
 
Ditto, except I paid for a fourth regulator before I got smart. I have no problem with six volt - it's the trash regulators I have no time for. I have a
freshly rebuilt 8N generator on the shelf that's only seen about five hours run time. And four regulators.

An alternator is the price of one regulator. Give it one shot and give up. It's money well spent in the days of cheaply built six volt charging parts.

I've got one thing left here that's six volt and it still uses its 82 year old cutout and cloth wiring and works just fine. It has earned its special
battery!
 
(quoted from post at 09:26:33 01/16/17)
(quoted from post at 23:12:33 01/15/17)
[b:d2f7a1de43]"Question what do I need to change besides the alternator."[/b:d2f7a1de43]

lights. coil is optional.
And a bit of wiring. If you want to do a little more wiring you
can even use the 6V lights. Although I don't do it that way.
I change the coil so I don't have to deal with an added resistor.

Mr. T - the main reason I have been converting mine is because
I can't find a reliable 6V voltage regulator. At ~$45 a piece and
three of them failed within a year, one within an hour, it was
cheaper for me to convert to 12V. Your mileage may vary.

I would have thought by now a solid state voltage regulator would be available they have been available for over 30 years for other vehicles/motor cycles that used a generator.
 
(quoted from post at 21:23:50 01/16/17) A guy in NH used to make them, but IIRC, he passed away.
es, and Mr. Bob Jeffers (Wilton Auto Electrics) was a really nice person, too. Great guy & really knew old generators/regulators. You know that, if I learned something from him! :)
 
(quoted from post at 13:03:49 01/16/17)
(quoted from post at 09:26:33 01/16/17)
(quoted from post at 23:12:33 01/15/17)
[b:e3ef38aa5f]"Question what do I need to change besides the alternator."[/b:e3ef38aa5f]

lights. coil is optional.
And a bit of wiring. If you want to do a little more wiring you
can even use the 6V lights. Although I don't do it that way.
I change the coil so I don't have to deal with an added resistor.

Mr. T - the main reason I have been converting mine is because
I can't find a reliable 6V voltage regulator. At ~$45 a piece and
three of them failed within a year, one within an hour, it was
cheaper for me to convert to 12V. Your mileage may vary.

I would have thought by now a solid state voltage regulator would be available they have been available for over 30 years for other vehicles/motor cycles that used a generator.

Most likely it's too expensive. At least against the cost of converting to 12 volt. That means a limited, extremely limited market.

Rick
 

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