Positive Ground on Ford/Ferguson

My Fergie has the Negative lead of the battery connected to the frame behind the dash, and the Positive cable runs down to a connection where the starter cable runs to the starter. Is this correct? It seems backward from the schematics I"ve been looking at. I"m pretty sure both tractors have the batteries hooked up the same.

Having said that, I have not had any problems with my 30 until this weekend when the starter will not turn. (It reads 12V when the starter is engaged, but nothing happens. I have taken it off and tried it with no luck. Probably needs a re-wire?). Dad has had some starting problems with his 9N (slow turnover, like a very weak battery). We have jumped the starter, as described in this forum to get it running, and it seems to run OK then, but very weak to start next time.

Any input or help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Regarding your TO-30, there are several reason's that the starter will not actuate. You could have a weak battery, corrosion on the battery terminals, damaged battery cable to switch, bad connection to the starter switch, bad starter switch, damaged starter switch cable to starter, bad connection to the starter,poor starter ground, and/or a bad starter.

Make sure the battery is fully charged. Then get a set of jumpers and connect the positive lead directly to the starter terminal. MAKING SURE THAT THE TRACTOR IS NOT IN GEAR, connect the negative lead to the negative battery terminal then touch the other end of the negative lead to the starter flange where it connects to the engine. The starter should turn the engine over. If it doen't the starter may need new brushes and/or a commutator cleaning. If the starter turns over, the connecting cables and the switch and the battery terminal connectios are suspect. The switch is adjustable so you can loosen the four nuts and slide it around until you get a good connection.

Regarding the 9N, make sure that the battery is hooked up correctly and the generator is polarized.(Short the armature connection on the generator to ground momentarily.) The 6V starters just naturally turn slower than the 12 V. if the battery is hooked up with the incorrect ground, then the coil does not have the correct polarity and the spark will be weak. The other thing to look for are the same things I mentioned above on the TO-30 viz. the cables to the starter and all the connections. The starter could also be bad. Run the same test as the TO-30 to isolate the connection from the starter. The 6V starters need big cables so you shouldn't have 4 gauge automobile starter cables on your 6V system. You need O or OO gauge cables.

Hope this helps you.

I've gone thru all the procedures you have outlined with the starter, and am going to take it to a rebuild shop. I actually disassembled it..... .. and well, it needs some attention.

Hopefully, will get over to Dad's later today or tomorrow and investigate the 9N.

Thanks again for your input and insight.

I suggest you take the earth lead off the back of the dash, clean it up and move to earth at the engine. The dash connection is notorious for a bad earth.

I think the wiring diagram is on this site in the Info Section (to the left), but if not, it is available from the FENA site.

I"m gonna run the starter to the rebuild shop and see what they come up with. I have 12V on the starter when I engage the starter switch, but absolutely no response. Hopefully a quick rebuild will get me back in the field. Thanks for the reply.