Question about Oliver 550 battery hookup

I'm not a mechanic so I need help with what may be a simple subject to most. My father left me a 1959 (I think) Oliver 550 (gas). It always started on the money. However, the battery went dead. I bought a new battery, hooked it up and smoke began coming down under the steering column somewhere. I did not check the old battery I took in so I'm wondering if I got the wrong battery in return and have it hooked up wrong. I do know it never smoked like that before. Any ideas?

We have a 1964 Oliver 550 and it is a positive ground system. I'm guessing yours is setup the same way unless someone has changed it. If you hooked it up with negative ground it would probably smoke.

Thanks for the info. How can I be sure it"s a positive ground? Probably a dumb question but I have to admit to a little ignorance on this subject. Again, thanks!

Does it have a generator or alternator? All alternators are negative ground and generator can be either way. If you have a generator I don't know what would have smoked because of reverse polarity. Maybe you just have a cable that is rubbed thru and shorted.

Thanks for everyone"s input. OK, found out that I may have had the battery installed wrong. The Oliver 550 is a positive ground. So, i hooked ground cable to positive terminal of battery but when I touched (did not hook the cable) the negative cable from the generator to the negative terminal got too many sparks to feel comfortable in hooking it up. So, what am I doing wrong? I know this is probably Battery Hookup 101 to many of you but to me it"s an advanced course. Thanks!

Did you start the tractor with the battery connected backwards / If so, it may havr welded the voltage regulator cutout contacts together.


If it started to smoke before starting the tractor, then the regulator contacts may have welded /stuck on their own and may be why your old battery went dead.

Try disconnecting the "BAT" wire from the voltage regulator, then try connecting the battery cable to see if it still sparks.

If the sparks are gone, your voltage regulator needs the cutout contacts repaired or the regulator replaced.
After the regulator repair / replacement, you need to polorize the generator before starting the tractor.

As a matter of fact, I did start the tractor with the battery hooked up backwards and it did smoke. Thanks for the info.

Here I go again. It appears as if my Oliver has a generator AND alternator. Is that possible? Again, I know about as much about engines as I do Algebra which ain"t much. After looking at photos online it appears as if has both. Before, I stated that when I hooked the battery up it sparked when I put on the negative cable. I saw somewhere where it said to put the negative cable on first and the ground wire last. I tried that and just a little spark off the ground (positive). I turned ignition key but nothing but I think battery is dead. It is an 06 battery which has been sitting. Someone suggested taking the bat wire off the voltage regulator but I don"t think it has a voltage regulator. At least I couldn"t find one. By the way, do I need a 6 volt or 12 volt battery for my 550? For those putting up with me and offering advice, thanks!!!

Normally a conversion replaces the generator with an alternator.
Can it have both a generator and alternator? Possibly if the generator was still needed to serve as a belt tightner.
Without knowing what modifications were done to your tractor, it is impossible for me to know.
Could you post pictures of the generator and alternator ?


As to having both a generator and alternator, in special conditions is may be necessary and can be done.
My old neighbor had a 55 Ford truck with well drilling rig mounted.
It had a weak 6V system and was not a reliable cold / wet weather starting machine.

He resisted doing a 6V to 12V conversion, as he had many 6V accessories on the truck.

He asked if it was possible to install a 12V charging system for starting while leaving the 6V system there for everything else ?
I told him that it could be done if the engine had an unused pulley to drive the 12V alternator.
He said it did and wondered if the alternator and regulator from a scrapped plymoth he owned could be used. I drew a crude drawing of how to wire the thing and he went to work.

A few days later he drove in with the rig with an ear to ear grin on his face.
The thing worked well and did not look too cobbled up.
He had the pos ground 6V generator and battery for the ignition and accessories, and a 12V neg ground alternator and battery to turn that old Ford V8 really fast. He grinned and said "it starts faster than I can turn and release the key." ;-)


If your not familiar with this stuff, you need to get a "motor head" buddy to look at it and help you find out what you have and what mods have been done.
Can you still get access to the original battery to see if it was 6V or 12V ?

Can you post some pictures of it on here so we can see what your working with?

Jon, thanks for your information. I may have to seek out a motor head buddy. I do appreciate you taking time to respond however.

Figured out the battery but when hooking up, hooked up negative cable but when started hooking up positive (ground) cable to terminal it sparked. Dangerous? Something wrong?
I did notice the ground cable had some bare wires showing. Can I put electrical tape on it? Thanks!

Still having sparks off the positive ground terminal. I've had the starter tested and it's in good shape. The Oliver has an alternator. Can those go bad and cause a short which would make sparks off the battery?

I have had the starter tested and it's in good shape. When I hook the positive ground cable to the battery sparks fly. Could it be the alternator causing this?