Light switch

Ever since someone gave my 8n a tuneup last winter, I can’t
get battery to hold a charge. 6v. Bought a new one, very weak
then dead in 24 hrs. Battery was always strong before tuneup.
Today I found a possible cause. Under right side of dash is a
switch that flips left and right. Assume it’s a headlight switch,
but there are no lights on tractor or any sign there ever were.
Since I didn’t know switch existed, I had never touched it.
Could this switch in ON position be draining my battery?
Which way is ON? Right or left?

I'm guessing here.......but you do not own a multimeter, right?
75 Tips

Nobody but Jesus has any idea whether the switch could be draining your battery or not!? We don't have any idea what the switch is connected to, if anything. 50/50 on which way is on, but Jesus knows. On this information, prayer will get you further than a tractor forum??? WOW!

Vgershon, If you were capable of figuring this out yourself, you wouldn't be asking for help. First thing to do is flip the switch the opposite way you found it and see if your recharged battery will hold. If so you proved where the drain is coming from. If not, then that MAY not be the source of the drain. You say there was no sign of there ever being headlights on your 8N, so that switch isn't a headlight switch. The next thing you need to do is trace the wires from the switch and see where they go. Then you might know what the switch is or was for. Get back to us and let us know what you found.

Right! I know nothing about electrical systems.

Ok thanks, all the wires are taped together and I am a little
concerned about taking everything apart, but as you guessed,
Jesus is not available for repair work.

Yep, I’m a tractor idiot. When I saw the switch I flipped it back and forth thinking “what’s this?” Not sure which way it started!
I’ll try tracing the wires tomorrow.

A place like Harbor Freight sells a 6/12v test light for a couple of bucks, a totally necessary tool. Easy enough to connect the ground clip to the ground cable of the tractor and then touch the connection you want to see if it has voltage.

I'm wondering if the switch is a battery disconnect, that was put in as a stop gap because the battery was draining. Does it have large battery cables attached to it? Get the test light a a local parts store. the hardest part about using one is finding bare metal to attach it to. It has a pointed end so that it can be pushed into the insulation of a wire, when necessary. it is used to tell you if there is electricity in the wire. once you know where the electricity is or isn't, you have to use your common sense to figure out if the electricity should or should not be there. The only way to get the common sense is trial and error. Good luck, you can do this.

Thanks, this was helpful!

Thanks!

Just because your battery is 6V don't assume it is wired correctly or even good. New batteries can be junk out the door especially the cheaper brands. If you don't use the tractor much, you need to buy a Battery Tender (a FLOAT CHARGER) and keep it connected when not running so battery maintains a full charge otherwise it will just drain after a few weeks. There is NO switch on the RH dash panel, only the choke lever, and a mechanical device, not electrical. The light switch can be installed on the lower RH side, below the dash, on the Voltage Regulator see pix. 90% of all non-starting issues are due to incorrect wiring. Many electrical setups lack or have the proper fan belt tension, whether if a generator or an alternator is used and will never keep the battery charged if belt tension is not maintained. Don't ever 'assume'. Verify with facts and true root cause problem solving. Get the ESSENTIAL MANUALS -huge tools if ya wanna be an N-Owner. Front mount or angle (side) mount distributor? All 8N models used a 3-Wire Generator and Voltage Regulator but circuits were different for each and it matters when it comes to polarizing. The battery is the 'heart' of any system. It must sustain a full charge under load. Have it bench tested at a reliable shop. Next, get the WIRING PICTOGRAMS by JMOR along with the OEM manuals to verify wiring is correct. Use your VOM set to Continuity, NOT a test light. Don't use wire colors as shown in the OEM diagrams -they seldom are the original wiring harness and colors don't conduct electrons. Take no shortcuts and don't skip steps. The original 8N wiring electrical system consists of: 6V AG GRP 1 type battery, 3-Wire Generator with a BELT TENSIONER device, a Voltage Regulator, 3-Wire Starter Motor with a solenoid, AMMETER, correct OEM-type Ignition Switch, 6V coil, tuned distributor, OEM Ballast Resistor (front mount only), and all wired correctly. Lighting kits were never factory installed on N's -always a dealer supplied optional accessory but you say you don't have lights so no need to remove from the circuit while testing. If you have a switch on the RH dash trace the wiring. You may have a cobbled up wiring setup from a previous owner.

FORD 8N TRACTOR WIRING DIAGRAMS:

OEM 8N WIRING(6V/POS GRN) AFTER S/N 8N-263844 WITH ANGLE (SIDE) MOUNT DISTRIBUTOR:



*PICTOGRAM courtesy of JMOR

FORD 8N TRACTOR GENERATOR - POLARIZING via THE VOLTAGE REGULATOR:

FORD 8N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:

Tim Daley(MI)

Thanks so much for all the clear diagrams and advice!

Tracing wiring is best done using a VOM set to Continuity -not a test light IMHO. Test light requires power and you want the battery disconnected/no power to trace wiring. Everyone sells test lights -your local NAPA dealer and every other auto parts store too. I prefer not to take the risk of shorting out something with power ON.


Tim Daley(MI)

Vgershon why don't you charge up the battery leave the switch where it is and check it in 2 days to see if it is drained. If the battery is drained then move the switch to the other direction and charge up the battery again and let it sit for 2 days. If it is drained again then I doubt the switch is a problem and you need to look somewhere else. Or you could just disconnect the switch and see if the battery drains. Process of elimination.

Yes, simple to do now that I went out and bought a 6 v battery
charger. The one I had died over the winter. Sometimes basic
is better.

So now you have a battery charger. Did you pick up a multi meter or at least a test light too? Did you ever trace the wires to and from that switch to see where they go? I think we are all curious.

Here is the mystery switch under dash on right. Behind it is a cut off wire covered in electrical tape and a green wire that runs around to other side of dash and joins with 2 other wires.



The other 2 wires are red and pinkish. The pinkish wire goes to the coil, and I honestly forgot where the other went, butI think it went toward ignition switch or ammeter. Had some issues with horses and a fence down today, so tractor got very little attention.
Forgot multimeter when I went out for fence rails