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Farmall H Question

S

Spanky1

New User
Bought a 1948 Farmall H through an online auction. Was told it was running when it came in. When I went to pick it up, no go.
I am new to old tractors so I wll have a ton of questions. This tractor had a 12v negative ground battery in it. Upon checking it out it looks like it has the original generator and starter as well as a 6 volt coil. Starter only clunks when you puch the button.

Did these guys cook the starter or anything else by using a 12v battery? Shouldn't it be a 6v positive ground?

Are there any options for an electronic ignition with the horizontal distributor cap?
 
12 volt's did not hurt the starter,check and see if the battery has got 14.2 volts or close !! yes it did come from the factory with Pos ground !
 
6 volt starter with 12 volts is so common it is like try to find one that is 6 volt and not been switch. All but one of my tractors have 6 volt starters and are now 12 volt system. As for a clunk good chance the starter drive is hammed in the flywheel ring gear so loosen up the starter to free the drive up and good chance it will then spin over
 
14.2 volts would be over charged battery. A charged 12 volt battery will have around 12.6 volts if full charged
 
Many people do not even know the difference that these tractors were 6
volt + ground. Saw lots with a 12 volt battery stuck in them trying to start
them. Auction sales as an example. WNt hurt the starter , but check the
points , might be burnt. If you got spark fire her up and do your thing to it
 
Welcome to YT! Did you try jumper cables? Another thing that happens on old Farmalls is the the starter drive
gets bound up and stuck in the flywheel teeth when they get a little chewed up. Just loosen the starter
mounting bolts a little and wiggle the starter. If you here a little clunk then the drive has slipped out. Tighten the
starter back down and see if will go then. Probably be good for another 25 to 50 starts before it locks again. If
you are on a hard surface sometimes you can get it free again by putting the transmission in 5th gear and
rocking it back and forth by pushing on the rear tires.
 
Good going Rich, Congratulations, " A charged 12 volt battery will have around 12.6 volts if full charged" you finally basically got it. There's still some wiggle room such as at what temperature and it MUST be at rest and stabilized for those voltages to be somewhat accurate.

I hope is all well down your way with you and your mom and wife

Take care God Bless and best wishes and Merry CHRISTmas

John T
 
If the original 6 volt generator is there, then the 12 volt battery will never get charged to its fullest potential. Convert
it to a 12 volt 1 wire alternator, put in a 12 volt coil, change the light bulbs to 12 volt, and you're off to the races. As
others have said, your 6 volt starter will be fine on 12 volt.

Congrats on your new tractor. Put some work into it to make things right, else, you'll have a tractor that isn't reliable.
Fluids. Wiring. Fuel system. Spend a few days on it to make this stuff right. Was told many years ago that completely
rewiring a tractor every 25 years will eliminate a lot of problems down the road.

Pete
 
Clunk could also mean loose/dirty battery connections or low battery. Enough juice to engage the bendix but not enough to turn the engine over.
 
Everybody has pretty well covered it so the only thing I can say is if the starter is not stuck and still no go you could try draging it to see if it will start and run. If not then I would be talking to the auction company about things. If it was sold as a running tractor and now will not start.Might ask them how they started it.
 
A Delco 10SI does not fit well under an H hood. A 10DN with an external
Chrysler 1 wire regulator is what we have done. There other options. We
have always used Delco on the old tractors.
 
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