I am trying to get our IH 656 gas tractor started after a year (maybe more?) so I can do some yard work with it. My husband is too busy to help me this time of year and he'd probably just try and talk me out of it anyway, so....

It looks like I have a black battery cable going to the starter and a red one going to somewhere else...maybe just the frame somewhere, I can't tell. The tractor didn't try and turn over (just clicked), so I took the battery off, and when I did so someone had a red plastic cover over the NEGATIVE cable connection, and I'm almost convinced that cable was connected to the POSITIVE battery post. Is this possible? I am second-guessing how I should hook up a new battery or a charged battery because when I attempted to connect it the other way I got a spark. Maybe I had the key on and that's why?? I'm sorry for my negligence on all this but you know, girls are never encouraged to try and understand this stuff :) But anyway I'm afraid to hook it up the wrong way, so how do I know what way is right?? Thanks for your patience and I hope someone can help.

Yes well tractor vet we all know you march to the beat of a different drummer. Most people have smartphones these days for better or worse, and the fact that so many people are becoming addicted to them just goes to show how weak-minded people really are in general. Probably myself included because the first sign of addiction is denial, and I don't think I'm addicted.

Anyway, if you've got it you may as well use it, and most people have 'em. If you don't got it and can remember which battery cable was attached to which post, then more power to ya.

Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see

First step might be to get the battery load tested. Most auto parts stores will do this.

Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see

First step might be to get the battery load tested. Most auto parts stores will do this.

Thank you all for taking the time to comment. I charged the battery and hooked it back up with confidence (the black cable must be positive & red one neg) and it doesn't want to turn over. It makes a wimpy little half-turn sound. Guess I have bigger problems that I'll have to get help with 😡

These guys have you covered on the battery cables, but I'd like to offer a suggestion for "next time." You've got a great tool right in your pocket for keeping track of things like this: Your smartphone! Before you take something apart snap a picture with your smartphone, and if you forget or want to double check your work, it's only a swipe away.

Smartphones also make great makeshift trouble lights with the flashlight feature.

Yes! I wish I had!

A SMART PHONE , don't have one , don't need one . since they came out i believe people are getting dumber and become addicted to them . I do have a CELL PHONE that does what i need it to do and that is make and receive call's , no texting , no camera , no intern net just calls . My phone can take a beating that them new fancy ones can't it get take a dip in water and still work , it can go two weeks with out a recharge and if and agin IF i get real talkative i can talk for over nine hours . and it is SMALL. It stays on my belt and has never gotten in the way where i have had to remove it and set it down some place to be safe and forget to pick it back up when done with what i was doing then figure out that where i had left it and waist half a day looking for it like someone i know has done far tomany times .

I have a $4 track phone. Have yet to use it.

Ok, so your working on a 6656 gasser , the battery cable going to the starter is the pos. one , don't care the color here as when new they were BLACK . Now as for the _ neg. cable the org. one was a Bare basket weave one , now over time GOD only knows what all was changed and by WHO . So make sure the cable going to the BIG post/ Terminal on the starter is the one going to the + / pos post on the battery . IF you have a battery post /terminal cleaner brush before you hook the cables up use the pointed MALE end of the brush and clean out the inside of the cable terminals nice and clean. Then use the female end of the brush and clean up the battery opsts , do this even on a NEW battery . IF you are going to just tryand recharge the battery then when you hook up the charger place the red or +_ clamp on the + / pos post and the Black /Ned clamp on the _/Neg. post of the battery and let it charge for a couple hours. The time to recharge a battery depends on your type and out put of the battery charger. 656 gassers use a group 24 battery with around 625 or better cold cranking amps.

Welcome to YT. I’m not sure why they keep telling you to follow the cables to there destination when you clearly stated you have done this. The cable to the starter should connect to the positive battery terminal. Many times the repairs to our farm equipment where made with used parts we had salvaged from other equipment. So on our farm a red cable may have been a negative. We were just taught when jumping to make sure you went by the plus and minus symbols on the battery not color. The spark was probably from the key being on.

The 656 has the negative ground, on the battery look for a - by one of the post and a + by the other post the - is the negative and the + is the positive, the positive goes to the starter and the negative goes to the frame of tractor, the red cable should be positive and the black negative , but someone could have switched them ,, be sure you hook positive to the starter and negative to tractor frame

The positive and negative posts are slightly different sizes. The positive being the larger of the two.As was said,red is commonly pos,black is commonly neg/ground.They are often switched. to be sure,trace the cables from the battery to their final 'destination'.