2N 6 volt change over

If it ain't broke, why fix it?

(Mine's 12v but if the 6v generator hadn't died and I hadn't needed 12v for other reasons I wouldn't have bothered.)

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I was born a poor 12 volt child, raised in the house of alternators. Praise be to rectifiers!

Then I met my N. Truly this was for the heathens and unwashed masses. 6 volts? Why everyone raised in the house of alternators knows this is a sin! A *generator*? Truly an abomination! Cast this from the face of the Lord of AC!

My tractor was truly ashamed of its 6 volt dc sins, and acted it. Barely able to crank over, unwilling to start. The shame was deep.

But the call of satin was stong and unrelenting. Clean thy connectors, and it'll feel good against your skin.

So I relented. Actually, my starter solenoid melted, which inspired me to clean the other connectors since I was taking things apart, but that doesn't make as impressive a story.

Since the battery to starter soleniod cable fell apart in my hands when I removed it, I decided to replace that to. In fact, I got so carried away with myself that I decided to replace both leads, since they were itty bitty japanese car 12 volt
leads.

With clean connections throughout, and adequate sized wires, I hit the starter button, confident that there would be virtually no improvement. The most surely that could happen would be a few less "e's" in the eeeee eerrrrr ..... eeeee eeerrrrr r..... ....eeeee eeeerrrrr that I normally got when I hit the starter button.

Truly I was stunned with the tractor went 'wizwiziwiz vrooom!!!" And I hadn't even jumpered the 12 volt car battery to it yet! My burning desire for 12 volts was cooled, and I no longer look at alternators with lust in my heart.

I have learned that 6 volts is quite adequate...*IF* it is maintained well. It will not tolerate the abuse and neglect that 12 volts will. It's the Eleventh Commandment; THOU SHALL KEEP THY CONNECTIONS CLEAN.

But I would still convert to 12 volts, for the right reasons (as the crowd gasps in horror). Sprayers and such are 12 volts. So's my electric hydraulic pump. And I can buy a 12 volt alternator with a life time warranty for about $25. So, if I find myself in bed with 12 volt impliments, or if my generater were to decide to die, there's a strong possibility that I would then convert to 12 volts, and lie myself down with the swine.

:-)

lol

Tom, don't listen to all of the good advice below.... They are all wrong...what's your address? I'll run home and begin to take my 12V system off...I can overnight mail it...you can have it in the morning. I'll pay the shipping...gift wrap it too, and throw in a 6 Pack of Coors Light. 9n'er

Now, with that 200 bucks you just saved, take 50 of it and buy a Battery Tender. This is a very ccol device made by Deltran. The worst thing for a Battery is for it to be over charged (boils the acid out), or left undercharged (causes sulphides to accumulate on the plates, shotening life of batt.)

Since the regulators of vintage tractors weren't that good (your N doesn't really use a regulator at all, just a cut-out) getting a proper charge for storage is difficult.

With a Batttery Tender, you just set your generator so it undercharges the battery. there is a adjusting screw on the top of your generator. you can adjust your generator so it is barely charging.

At the end of the day, hook up your Battery tender (it comes with a quick disconnect). Now your battery will be brought up to full cahrge, and this maintained battery will last you 5 years at least. Now you will be able to laugh at your neighbors who don't know this trick, and they are out there with cables, freezing, etc.

Finally, forget about a "trickle" charger or a combo charger that has a low setting. You will not have any idea when a battery is fully charged or Over/under charged and will damage your batttery.

As a testimonial to a Battery Tender, I collect and restore antique motorcycles. Quite a few of my Batteries are 8 years old, and still work great..... get one.

Take Care
Steve

• Good Description of Battery Tender

I agree with Dell, keep it 6V and look into getting an Optima 6V battery (850cca). With the Optima and good clean connections the engine will not know what hit it.

Kevin(WA)

I have a brand new 1000 amp battery Ipurchased this spring, rebuilt Delco generator built this summer...that's been converted to single wire, new 12V coil (one month old), a 12V starter that I rebuilt and cleaned and the correct reducing resistors. I have spares of these too.

you may want to consider keeping it 6v...but I would really like to do an even trade assuming the generator bracket will fit my 1940 9N.

The biggest difference is that a 6 volt system has to have twice the amperage to get the same amount of juice to the parts as a 12 volt system. Having twice the amperage means all the wires in the system are much larger that a 12 volt system and keeping the contact points between wires clean is more important. If you keep your tractor covered and make sure that anytime you remove a part you give it a good polish with emery cloth, you won't have any problems. Once you convert to a 12 volt system, then you run into situations where the coil is still 6 volt and you run into a whole mess of problems when you start mixing components.

Finally, your tractor is ~60 years old and has been running just fine with 6 volts. My 2n has the original wiring and starts every time. You can readily get parts, including all the lighting and it doesn't reduce the value of your tractor. Lets face it, if you bought your tractor because it was running, you will quickly realize that if you restore it to original it will be worth much more than you think.

Why not save the $200 on something you really need?

12 volt conversion kits are readily available at many tractor parts places including Ford/New Holland fer peets sake. $200 or so. And then there are the know-it-alls that kludge together sumptin for braggin rites over their crackerbarrel buddies. Can you handle the challenge?

I'm a 12 volt advocate for the right reasons, that said, my eazy starting 8N is still 6 volts and I haven't found a real reason to convert to 12 volts. Keep 'em clean, bright, and tight, and the tractor will start just fine..... ....Dell