[Farmall] Generator/regulator update: Eyes open

[Dean Vinson]

Okay, if I get "hit with the obvious bat" again, it's going to start leaving
a mark.

I took the switch box off the tractor, cleaned it all up, wire brushed it
where the cover grounds to the box itself, shined up all the contacts, and
methodically tested each position of the switch, the ammeter, etc.  Ammeter
works.  Dim and bright positions on the light switch work.  So I'm sitting
there staring at it, not seeing anything wrong at all, when it occurs to me
that those other positions on the switch aren't what I remember from the
Super M I'd had a while back.  That switch just had Off, Dim, and Bright.
This one has Dim and Bright but also H and L.  Hmmmm.  Better go look and
make sure I know what those are supposed to do.

So, of course, big as life in the operator's manual that I've only read
about a hundred times over the years, is the section about the various types
of starting equipment.  I have a switch intended for use with a cutout
relay, so the H and L are High charge and Low charge.  In that system, the
wire from the switch is grounded and runs to the F terminal on the
generator, directly grounding it either with or without a resistor depending
on whether the switch is set to Low or High.

But instead of a cutout relay, I have a voltage regulator.  Tractors with
regulators are supposed to only have the Off, Dim, and Bright switch, since
the regulator controls the charging rate.  In that system, the wire from the
switch runs to the L terminal on the regulator.

So I'd wired the switch as if it were grounding the generator F terminal,
and I'd wired the regulator as if the switch was supposed to connect to the
L terminal.  Result:  Grounded L terminal, which is common with the BAT
terminal, which meant the battery was directly grounded, resulting in the
hot wire and big discharge I'd seen on the ammeter yesterday.

Seems to me now, the thing to do is buy the correct switch and start over
with the wiring.  Yes?

The other thing I noticed tonight is that the battery is an 8 volt rather
than 6.  It's nice and new, which explains why the tractor will start even
though the charging circuit is dorked up.  Assuming I eventually get
everything else set up correctly, will a six-volt generator and regulator
keep an 8 volt battery working?

Dean Vinson
Dayton, Ohio
www.vinsonfarm.net