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Harry Ferguson Tractors Discussion Forum

fe35 ground.. negative or positive??

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Brad Greening

03-17-2007 10:48:55

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I was hoping someone could tell me if the ground should be negative or positive on the Fe35??
Also, if the serial number plate on the dash is missing, is their another way of finding it??

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John (UK)

03-17-2007 18:15:24

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Brad Greening, 03-17-2007 10:48:55

ALL FE35's and MF35's are POSITIVE ground, it was changed much later on the 135. Any Carburettor engine 35's should be changed back to Positive Ground and you may find that they run better.

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Dan S (NY)

03-18-2007 19:22:32

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-17-2007 18:15:24

John, when I rewired my MF50 I followed the diagrams on the FENA website and made it negative ground. Are their diagrams wrong? My 50 runs great so I probobly won't change it at this point, but maybe FENA needs to change their diagrams?

Dan

wiring diagrams

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John (UK)

03-19-2007 10:05:40

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Dan S (NY), 03-18-2007 19:22:32

No they don't need to change their diagrams they are correct, I should have added the following to what I wrote "for UK produced tractors" although I did think, that they (Detroit) changed over after the UK, just shows that you can't afford to rely on your memory all the time. The posting started off for FE35 which is UK produced and somehow we drifted into the US produced types as well. Must have been one of my "off days" I think. When you post any answers on here you have to think "is it different in another part of the world", will the statement you are going to make be ok worldwide or is there something different that you should mention...or can the statement you are going to make be misunderstood by someone, not always easy when you deal worldwide. Anyway, Thank you for bringing that up Dan and your tractor is ok as it is....John

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Dan S (NY)

03-19-2007 13:10:08

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-19-2007 10:05:40

Thanks for clarifying that John, I thought that might be the case.

Dan

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Cosmo

03-18-2007 03:08:29

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-17-2007 18:15:24

John(UK), I'll defer to your superior knowledge about the positive vs. negative ground. This is not meant to be a smart-azzed remark. I respect and appreciate the advice you give. Anyhoo, I think I'd open a can of worms to change my tractor to positive ground. I will leave well enough alone. If it ran any better I'd have to keep it chained to a tree. :) Regards, Cosmo

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John (UK)

03-18-2007 07:15:04

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Cosmo, 03-18-2007 03:08:29

hahahah....I can imagine that Cosmo in my mind...lol
The reason I said change it back to Positive Ground was because over quite a few months we have been asked about engines running ok...but not quite right, with a bit of a miss occasionally. When we have asked have they checked this and that it has come up a number of times that the battery is connected the wrong way around and when it has been changed to how it should be the engines have run perfectly....so draw from that what you will. I can't say that it will cure all ailments but it certainly looks as though there is some connection to the problem.
Always glad to receive your comments we have to remember that what does for one tractor or owner doesn't necessarily do for another....John

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toolman

03-18-2007 16:50:38

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-18-2007 07:15:04

Haha i think i opened that can of worms huh john.But i,ll be honest , i have tuned mine over the years both electrical and carb, then recently i turned the batterey around , or i switched it to positive ground,it has never run better,the battery stays charged, i don,t need a new genny, im so happy with it now, i just came in from moving a bunch of muck and snow and it ran better than it has since 87 and probably longer as it was negitive ground when i bought it.lol

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John (UK)

03-18-2007 17:47:30

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to toolman, 03-18-2007 16:50:38

You certainly did Toolman, we have had that before but you can't always believe what they tell you, when I saw it was you I thought at least you must know what you are on about. We didn't get this problem in the early days because all the other vehicles were positive ground as well so no one did it. It was only when cars and trucks turned over to Negative ground it started to show up....Thanks again for your input...John

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toolman

03-18-2007 18:02:54

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-18-2007 17:47:30

No the thanks all goes to you john, you have helped us all on the site, i don,t always post but i read everyday, and i have learned a lot from you .My tractor always had this nagging annoying MISS, new plugs, new points, wires , you name it , it would still have this miss, since i seen the info in my NEW book and then asked you guys on here and got the responces i did and when i saw what you said i knew i was onto something.Changing it postive ground made all the difference, like somebody turning a light on in a pitch dark room, my tractor runs soo smooth now, i was thinking of putting it out to pasture , it does new a clutch someday, i was going to forget about it because it had NO power and i was starting to think it wasn,t worth putting anymore money into , but now it has all the power i need , runs smooth , and it was such a simple thing to do haha .I was always told/taught to look for the simple fixes first, positive ground never ever came into the picture.Even the old school board mechanic have this negative ground for years, my poor fergie, she runs like a horse who has been couped up and finally let loose on the pasture lol.Thanks John.

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John (UK)

03-19-2007 09:46:24

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to toolman, 03-18-2007 18:02:54

Sometimes you can play around with them for so long until you cant see the wood for the trees and you don't really think straight anymore, when it gets like that I always used to leave it and go back to it later when I had a clearer head, usually it worked, it certainly helped anyway. When you would like to tackle the Clutch, just email me and I will send all the Info to you..Thanks again....John

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toolman

03-19-2007 23:11:55

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-19-2007 09:46:24

Thanks john, i,ll email you in a few weeks for the clutch info.

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Dean

03-17-2007 17:18:27

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Brad Greening, 03-17-2007 10:48:55

Brad:

My FE-35 diesel with the original 12V generator and regulator is negative ground.

Dean

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John (UK)

03-17-2007 18:17:24

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Dean, 03-17-2007 17:18:27

The FE35's were Positive ground it only changed on the 135's

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Dean

03-18-2007 05:04:45

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-17-2007 18:17:24

John:

I did not buy this tractor new so I cannot attest to anything that might have been done to it by a previous owner but this one is indeed negative ground. It has the Perkins diesel, a Lucas 12V generator, and a Delco Remy starter. I believe that the voltage regulator is a Lucas but it might be a Delco Remy. It does not have an ampmeter but perhaps it did at one time. The charging system works properly.

I believe that this tractor is relatively late in the series as it has an input screen on the hydraulic pump. The serial number is M242158.

Dean

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John (UK)

03-18-2007 07:34:34

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Dean, 03-18-2007 05:04:45

When it was new it would not have had a Delco starter, that must have been changed at sometime and it would have had an ammeter, you can fit one easily if you wish. It should of course be Positive Ground. Quite a number of the tractor are now Negative ground, this is just because the owners or operators are used to the cars and trucks being Negative Ground so they assume that the tractor is too. Tractor 242158 was made in 1961. It would appear that the hydraulic Pump has been changed too as that tractor didn't have a filter on the Pump when it was made. If you need the correct Information for operating that Hydraulic System, email me at:-
fergusontractors(at)tiscali.co.uk and ask me for them.....it is so long since this tractor was made very few know the correct way to use them now and get the best out of the hydraulic System

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Dean

03-18-2007 08:00:08

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-18-2007 07:34:34

Thanks, John. It could be that someone has replaced the electricals on my FE with 135 parts.
Perhaps they dispensed with the ampmeter and replaced it with a temperature gauge at the same time. It has an oil pressure gauge on the left, a tach in the middle and a temperature gauge on the right. There is no indication of charging system performance at all, and I thought that odd.

While on the subject of tachs, I replaced the non functional tach in this tractor as well as the cable. The parts are for a MF-35 with Perkins diesel, and I modified the tach mounting arangement a bit in order to make it fit. Unfortunately, the square end of the MF-35 tach cable does not engage with anything in the end of the camshaft at the rear of the engine.

When I took the tach cable adapter cover off to replace the seal and gasket I found a slotted "adapter" of sorts in the end of the camshaft without a square hole inside to match with a square tach cable.

Does this engine use an adapter that fits within the slotted "adapter" to engage the tach cable or do I need a different tach cable that engages the slotted adapter on the end of the camshaft? If so might you be able to provide the part number(s) of the parts that I need?

You sent me your instructions for proper use of the hydraulic system some time ago, and I find it helpful. It is easier to understand than the discussion in the MF operators manual.

Thanks in advance, John.

Dean

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Bill Brox

03-19-2007 14:51:22

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Dean, 03-18-2007 08:00:08

Hello there.

A FE 35 gas / petrol came from the factory with oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge only, no Ammeter.

The FE 35 diesel came with the same + Ammeter.

This is according to my FE 35 operator manual. In addition to this I see that tractors sold in Norway came with a different setup than tractors sold in England.
Normally if you got a deluxe FE 35 you got 2 stage clutch, tractormeter, and deluxe seat. In Norway you got tractormeter and deluxe seat on a Standard tractor, but no 2 stage clutch.

So, maybe the missing Ammeter is something special for wherever you are living.

Bill

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Dean

03-19-2007 15:13:54

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Bill Brox, 03-19-2007 14:51:22

Hi, Bill.

There appears to be lots of confusion about the supplied instrumentation on the FE-35. My FE-35 has a Perkins diesel engine and two state clutch but no power steering. It has 24" rims so no PA rims. It has an oil pressure gauge on the left, a tractormeter in the center and a temperature gauge on the right. There is no ampmeter nor hole for one. Nor is there a charging lamp.

I changed the non functional temperature gauge about a year ago and the gauge that I removed appeared to be original but who knows.

I had a discussion with another US FE-35 owner recently and he informed me that his FE with Perkins diesel that also appears to be original has an ampmeter but no termperature gauge.

Can't keep up with the players without a scorecard.

Dean

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John (UK)

03-18-2007 08:33:18

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Dean, 03-18-2007 08:00:08

I would have thought that the adaptor in the end of the camshaft would have had a square hole to match the end of the drive cable. Looking at the parts list there is something there but it is not very clear and I don't have a part number for it. I could send you the drawing from the list and you could take it to the MF dealer and ask him to look it up but I would need your email address to do that. I wouldn't have thought that the end of the drive cable would be anything but square, so perhaps something is missing, you would have to check just what you have with what is on the parts list. It is highly likely that someone has replaced the part with those from another tractor, it happens all the time.

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Dean

03-18-2007 09:39:40

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to John (UK), 03-18-2007 08:33:18

Thanks, again, John.

My local MF dealer, though well intended, has been little help. The place changed hands recently and everyone including the parts folks are new. Anything that you can send to me will be helpful. My email is open.

Dean

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John (UK)

03-18-2007 17:40:58

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Dean, 03-18-2007 09:39:40

I can't send it as I don't have your email address. If you email me you won't have to show your address on here, I can get it off your email.
fergusontractors(at)tiscali.co.uk
John

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Cosmo

03-17-2007 13:27:31

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Brad Greening, 03-17-2007 10:48:55

My FE35 gas has neg. ground. Don't know if that's original. My serial number is also stamped on the left side of the transmission case. HTH, Cosmo

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John (UK)

03-17-2007 18:18:05

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Re: fe35 ground.. negative or positive?? in reply to Cosmo, 03-17-2007 13:27:31

The FE35's were Positive ground it only changed on the 135's

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