1958 MF 65 Gas Electrical

HELP PLEASE...Just finished some major updates and work to my 65. Rewired the whole tractor was very pleases with myself until... The original battery was a little weak so I placed it on charge, initial start up went fine up to temp. and then shut it off to inspect. on restart battery was dead (or close) battery was 12 years old. New battery next day, when I installed it noticed an arc (not just a spark at the neg. cable) when hooking up. decided to place the new battery on charge for a few minutes before starting, walked away within a couple of minutes smelled wires burning and smoke. Every wire melted, generator was very hot to the touch. I retraced all wires and everything is exactly as it should be, I did not polarize the generator or V.Regulator (had no ideal what this was) I did remove the cover of the V.R. and immediately could smell burnt and noticed one set of points welded shut. So moving forward what have I missed? With the generator getting very hot should I have it checked out? Obviously new VR. I would greatly appreciate someone walking me through the polarization process for the VR and generator and why this is done. Thank you all in advance.
Respectfully,
Maryland Massey 65

Was the charging system working before you rewired it, or did you rewire it to try to get it to work.

It was working as far as I know, battery was always up even after sitting for long periods. Never any issue with lights, or discharge shown on the amp gauge.

You polarize the generator not the regulator, but it gets confusing because it is often convenient to polarize by momentarily jumping from hot BAT post on regulator to ARM/GEN post on regulator.

Wires likely smoked because the cut out contacts in the regulator are stuck closed.

Unless you want it original, before spending money on another regulator I would consider converting to Delco or Hitachi internal regulated alternator.

You were correct, I pulled the cover off of the VR one set of points were open the other set welded shut. Unfortunately I don't have the budget to change over to an alternator. What do you think the chances are that I damaged the generator? Thanks for your help.

Between you and my family, I've been talked into changing over to an alternator. So the next question is where can I find the info. to doing the swap? I see that Yesterday's Tractor has the Alternator with the correct tach drive. But I would like to know where to find the wiring and if the amp gauge is still used in the same way as with the generator? And if other changes in the wiring is necessary. Thanks again for any/all help.

If it makes you feel any better, the last good quality VR for my MF65 I bought cost me $75.00. The cheapy Chinese VR's are a total crap shoot as to whether or not they'll last or even work at all. As far as wiring, there should be multiple diagrams here and elsewhere on setting up a Delco style alt. Or, you can get a single wire alt according to the description for the YT replacement. IN that case it's just one wire to the ammeter.

Thanks I appreciate the input. Would you still use the Amp gauge or replace it with a Volt Meter?

Thanks I appreciate the input. Would you still use the Amp gauge or replace it with a Volt Meter?

(quoted from post at 10:38:59 11/18/20) Thanks I appreciate the input. Would you still use the Amp gauge or replace it with a Volt Meter?

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You will need to use the ammeter because it has a low resistance shunt to indicate current output. Current indicated is a function of the voltage drop across the shunt.

(reply to post at 11:04:39 11/18/20)

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Thank you all for your help.

(quoted from post at 11:38:56 11/18/20) Thanks I appreciate the input. Would you still use the Amp gauge or replace it with a Volt Meter?

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I'd use the ammeter. A voltage meter is fine too, but after starting something if you have a volt meter hitched to the battery you'll often see the voltage rise as the battery "recovers", or so the process was explained to me by an old timey auto electrical guru. An ammeter shows if the gen/alt actually working. Of course you have to check the battery on occasion to ensure the voltage is coming up to the full 13.2v (or thereabouts) it should be. Sometimes an alternator will do some charging, but not quite enough if the internal voltage regulator is going wonky. I've had this with at least one. And even more often, as a battery gets some age on it it can't take a full charge even with a good charging system. I don't claim to understand the whole process, it's all magic to me, but I know the symptoms.

Thank you, appreciate the information.