Jumpstarting a Super A with jumppack

Been hearing mixed reviews on the safest way to jumpstart these old tractors. Backstory: my tractor battery is a 12v (positive grounded), however it still has a generator and 6v system. I don t know why the previous owner put a 12v battery on it and not a 6v.... anyway.. the other day I threw the cables from my jump pack on it to start it. I put the positive cable on the positive node on the battery and the negative onto the frame of the tractor. It started right up with a little spark from the negative clamp. Now this is close to the gas tank, I want to eventually do a full 12v conversion and rewire the whole tractor... until then I m going to be jumping it with the jump pack. Thoughts on what s the best way?
 
ALWAYS jump positive to positive,negative to negative. Irregardless of 'polarity'.However,safer to put the jumper to the starter,and the other end to the frame. Don't hook to the battery at all. Hook at the tractor end of the battery cables,not directly to battery.This is especially true when jumping a 6 volt with a 12 volt. Helps prevent explosions.
 
So you re saying hook up to this point with the negative on the jump pack?
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Then throw the positive to a pedal on the tractor or something to ground?
 
Yes. Ground to a bolt on the frame or engine. AND make damn sure it is in neutral. It can start in gear. Not good!
 
(quoted from post at 06:31:21 05/10/19) So you re saying hook up to this point with the negative on the jump pack?
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Then throw the positive to a pedal on the tractor or something to ground?

NOT NECESSARILY!

In order to say that for sure you need to figure out how the battery is connected. If the previous owner slapped a 12V battery on it, most likely it's connected in the conventional NEGATIVE GROUND way.

If you connect the negative of your jumper pack to the post on the starter, and the positive to a spot on the frame of the tractor, you will create a 24V SHORT CIRCUIT. Hopefully you realize your mistake before one of the batteries explodes.

Regardless of where you connect the jumper pack, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ensure that the + is going to the + and the - is going to the -. Anything other than that is trouble.
 
Hooking 12 volts to a 6 volt battery can cause the 6 volt battery to explode and if your close it can cause you to loose your eye site. I seen a battery explode more then once due to one being 6 volts an jumping form 12 volts and the out come is always bad
 

The cable from the battery going to the starter is negative.


The cable from battery going to the ground is positive (on side of hydraulic block)

Now, I can t get it started by trying to jump it directly from the starter. Not sure if I need a better grip or my jump pack is just pathetic
 

Tried starting it the same way I did yesterday.... no luck. I m thinking the battery is fried at this point. Any recommendations for a new battery until my starting/crank rod comes in the mail? Guess I ll be starting it by hand once the rod comes via mail.
 
Buy a 12 volt battery and a VR-1 ballast resister from O'Reilly's and install the resister in the wire going to the ignition side of the coil and run it that way. A good battery will run a tractor many hours before it gets to low to work. I ran a Ford 841 for years with a bad alternator on it and when t would not start I would charge the battery and be god for weeks
 
Ok, good you are aware which is connected to which.

By "didn't work" I assume you mean that the starter would not crank the engine? A jumper is only designed to assist a weak battery, not start the entire engine, especially if connected essentially in parallel to a dead battery.

For a 12V, any "Group 25" battery is a good fit in the battery box. Buy the brand you are familiar with and like the best, or just get a cheap $48.88 one from Walmart.
 
ok, you wouldn t recommend a 6v battery for my 6v system? I honestly have no clue what I m doing when it comes to electrical.. I m going to be flying by the seat of my pants when I order items to upgrade to 12v. Right now I have a deka gold 535 90rc battery on it. That s the one that is dead.
 
A nice (12v) battery for a Super A is an Interstate Megatron MT-35. Not sure if it fits all of the original tin but it does fit.

I recommend the 30A "Denso" alternators one can buy on ebay. Perfect for a tractor. Come with a pulley, just invent the brackets.

Have to buy new B+ lead which must be longer than original and I like the woven ground strap.

There are wiring diagrams all over the internet and people willing to help here.
 
Ok, so I m not wrong to throw a 12v battery on the 6v system the way it has been? I ll looking for a group size 25 or 35 battery tomorrow and hook it up!
 
(quoted from post at 01:08:15 05/11/19) Ok, so I m not wrong to throw a 12v battery on the 6v system the way it has been? I ll looking for a group size 25 or 35 battery tomorrow and hook it up!

I like the group 26 battery. It's the same size as the old group 1 (6 volt) just a little bit shorter
 
(quoted from post at 01:08:15 05/11/19) Ok, so I m not wrong to throw a 12v battery on the 6v system the way it has been? I ll looking for a group size 25 or 35 battery tomorrow and hook it up!

I recommend a deeper dive into what you have there.

There are a couple of issues yet to be resolved. The original Farmall ignition is a 6v supply, a resistor is typically used or you have to source a 12v coil.

The original lights are 6v units. There are 12v sealed beam bulbs available (expensive). I'm looking to see if I can run them in series instead of parallel but that may lead to one being brighter than the other.

Its well worth it to make a wiring diagram of the tractor as it sits and then draw your own diagram. At the day its very simple and just needs the heavy-amp circuit for the starter, the charging circuit, the ignition circuit and the lighting circuit. So there are just 4 circuits on a SA.

In a 12v negative ground, one-wire-alternator setup the voltage regulation is internal, so the generator-based external voltage regulator is eliminated. That leaves a lot of empty wires right there which don't easily cross-over, which is why I recommend starting over with a new wiring harness.

This is my drawing, the part numbers written below are for glue-based heat-shrink butt-splices. I also am using a weatherpacked Hella ignition relay which uses the classic push-pull button but doesn't require it to transmit full current, only milliamps. This could potentially be eliminated but I felt like it was a step forward in technology and was easily hidden behind the "fuse panel".

 
Why not try charging the old battery before you junk it. It might be good and only need a charge. Then switch it back to negative ground for ease of getting charging components. I would go to a 3 wire alternator rather than the single wire. As for the wiring you could sue a lot of the old wire only need to modify the charging circuit. The rest will pretty much be the same except for the coild and amp gage switching the wires to read right and not reverse feed the coil. Basllist resistor inline with the wire to the coil for a 6 volt coil and not even need to change that.
 
thanks for the help everyone

I already hooked the battery up (unfortunately) before I saw these posts about going to negative ground. When I upgrade to 12v I ll likely buy a new battery when I do it all over. Guess this is just a temporary solution because I m impulsive and needed to use the tractor yesterday.

When I go to 12v, this seems simple yet very confusing. I ll figure it out but am going to need some help... couple questions...

1.) the pre-built wiring harnesses that they sell on external link/ this website; do they have excess wires for front/rear lights/misc lights?? For some reason my tractor has zero lights or even light mounts. Which means I ll have to buy a bunch.

2.) I ve noticed some of the coils for sale have an internal resistor, which eliminates the need for an external resistor. Thoughts on what s better?

3.) Do I have to upgrade my push/pull "starter switch" or can I use the original one on a 12v conversion?

4.) Do I have to upgrade my distributor at all?


5.) What s the difference between a 1 wire alternator and the 3 wire alternator?
 

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