Hello all, and a question

grizzlyclaus · Mar 5, 2012

I have been resurecting a 1946 Farmall B & have a question in regards to the headlamp-charge switch. The tractor does have head & rear lamps. This switch must be in the D or B position before the tractor will start. The tractor will not start or will die when running if the switch is turned to either the L or H position. I believe that this is not the correct way this should operate. I would appreciate some info on the correct operation or tell me the way it is is correct. Any info to correct this would also be appreciated if necessary.
Now a little introduction.
I am a Ford parts guy by trade & have been for 32 years. I have 5 kids & 9 grandkids. I enjoy working on older vehicles & this tractor. I have redone a 1969 Bronco recently & the grandkids all enjoy riding in it with the top off. Been married 17 years. (#2)
Thanks for all the knowledge you offer & any help you can give.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 5, 2012

I hope I'm telling you right from memory. The light switch should have nothing to do with the starting or stopping of the engine. The letters on the light switch are "D" for dim lights and "B" is for bright lights. The "H" and "L" is for high or low charging rate of the battery. A kill switch should be for stopping the engine. Like I say I hope I'm telling you right or I hope someone sets us both straight. Good Luck

grizzlyclaus · Mar 5, 2012

Thanks mtnman but not quite there yet.
Let me clarify a little. The tractor will not run in H or L position at all. If it is running and is switched to the H or L position it will die as if you hit the Ignition switch to shut it off even tho you didn't. I believe the tractor should run in all 4 positions (H,L,D,B) but does not, only in D or B position.

Andy C · Mar 5, 2012

If there was a very high draw when the switch was in one of those positions it may be drawing the voltage way down too low to provide enough voltage for the coil to fire. ( it does have a battery ignition and not a magneto, right?)Would act just like turning the ignition off. Let us know what you find
Andy

pete 23 · Mar 5, 2012

The ign is hooked to the light switch and it should
not be.

rustyfarmall · Mar 5, 2012

(quoted from post at 18:01:46 03/05/12) The ign is hooked to the light switch and it should
not be.

Exactly. Time to get out the manual and follow the wiring diagram.

Old Roy · Mar 5, 2012

First of all welcome to a great source of info and of many different varieties, and different levels of expertise ( Mine being the lowest but I try)
Would this be ..
of any use click here

Old Roy · Mar 5, 2012

Forgot to mention .. if you use the page I showed you there are 10 pages to scroll to that has a trouble shooting guide also.

Paul from MI · Mar 5, 2012

Doess the tractor have a magneto or battery ignition? This is important because it probably came originally with a magneto, if so the ignition switch grounds the points on the magneto to shut it off. If it was later converted to a battery ignition the switch would need to provide power to the coil, which the original would not do. It's possible that someone avoided buying a new switch by using the original light switch to provide power to the coil, thus needing to be in the "B"(bright) or "D"(dim) position to run. The "L"(low) or "H"(high) charge positions do not provide power to the lights, rather ground the field terminal of the generator. In the "L" position the field is grounded thru a resisitor which results in a low rate of charge, the "H" position grounds the field directly resulting in a higher charging rate. Neither "L" or "H" powers the lights, and if the coil is wired to the light terminal the tractor won't run. This is a bit hard to explain in text, but may explain your problem.

VicS · Mar 5, 2012

I think Paul is right.

Jon Hagen · Mar 5, 2012

Some thoughts,
If the tractor has a magneto, might the mag kill wire be connected to the field terminal of the light switch ??

If the tractor has been converted to battery ignition, might the ignition power feed be connected to a the light switch, light terminal ??

gene bender · Mar 6, 2012

Does it have a dist then it must be wired thru that sw. The power for the dist should be coming from the neg side of the ammeter and not the lite sw.

paul · Mar 6, 2012

What I was thinking too, it's not wired quite right, someone got by with repurposing the switch....

--->Paul

grizzlyclaus · Mar 6, 2012

Thanks everyone for the assistance.
The tractor does currently have battery ign. What I found was the power wire was indeed connected to light switch incorrectly, fixed that. Also found the gen. not wired correctly. There was a jumper wire from the F on gen. to the gen. terminal on cutout. Removed that, then moved gen. wire from switch to F terminal on gen. All works properly now & thanks again folks!!
Kim

Dennis K (WA) · Mar 6, 2012

Thanks for the report. It's great when we hear the out come. So often we don't.
Dennis

Hello all, and a question

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