New Ford 8N owner

[Dornie44]

I keep getting Battery Drain. New wiring harness, rebuilt alternator, new on/off switch. I just put a new battery in and it drained to dead. Charger won't light up when used? 6 volt system with positive ground.
Any ideas out there? Very frustrating.

 

[kenmac]

you've got something using power B-4 it gets to your on /off switch

 

[Dornie44]

Any idea what could be causing that?

 

[2458n]

put your test light on the negative side of the battery and connect to the battery cable going to the negative battery terminal. If it lights you have a drain. Sound guy will be able to direct you futher. You can make a little progress by removing items from the circuit. When the light goes out you have removed the offending draw.

 

[LD1]

An alternator on a 6v positive ground could be an issue.... unless you are mistaken about your terms.

There is also a little terminal block with a resistor thing on the back of the dash near the key switch. See if there is any corrosion or debris behind that possibly causing a path to ground.

Also, does the tractor have lights? And are the lights wired before the switch?

Wiring on a N is simple. Double check your wiring. Get a test light or volt.meter.

 

[8N Ren]

I keep getting Battery Drain. New wiring harness, rebuilt alternator, new on/off switch. I just put a new battery in and it drained to dead. Charger won't light up when used? 6 volt system with positive ground.
Any ideas out there? Very frustrating.

Are you confusing an alternator with a generator?
Did you polarize?
Did you give the new battery a good charge?
Everything wired up properly?

 

[Soundguy]

while I have seen 6v positive ground alternators.. they are very rare indeed.

to the OP. do you REALLY hav ean alternator.. or do you simply not know the difference in an alternator and a generator? if it was rebuilt i sure hope your rebuilder knew the difference!

In any event.. if it was a genny.. the vreg may have a stuck cutout.

as already mentioned. remove neg cable.. put test lamp from neg cable to neg post. if there is a drain.. light will come on.

starting with the coil, work backwards toward battery disconencting one wire / switch at a time till almp goes off. if not there.. then go to the generator vreg conenctions.

sometiems it is a switch shorting.. sometimes it is the vreg.

some times it is bad wireing and your switch is doing nothing.

 

[wolc123]

I have a piece of junk lawn-mower that does that. I just put a wing nut on one of the battery terminal screws so I can quickly pull it after each use. That always gives me a fully charged battery for my next cut, with little added effort. Not a real good permanent fix on such a fine machine as yours. It will get you by in the short term however, until you are able to isolate the real problem. Auto parts stores sell heavy-duty gate-switches that do the same thing (lot more expensive than a wing-nut and pain to wire in). Resist the temptation to convert your tractor to 12 volts if you can. I see that as a step backwards in more ways than one.

 

[vnbcat]

this seems odd - positive ground - I am an engineer and the terns often thrown around are opposite of what some might otherwise understand - I have been around old red belly Fords not on this particular problem though and I am struggling to believe it is a positive ground - for sure the generator ought to be correctly wired in whatever the system ground - there is not a lot of stuff on one of these - if the lights are all turned off and the tractor is turned off - as one of the others has mentioned, there ought not be any current flowing...

 

[LD1]

this seems odd - positive ground - I am an engineer and the terns often thrown around are opposite of what some might otherwise understand - I have been around old red belly Fords not on this particular problem though and I am struggling to believe it is a positive ground - for sure the generator ought to be correctly wired in whatever the system ground - there is not a lot of stuff on one of these - if the lights are all turned off and the tractor is turned off - as one of the others has mentioned, there ought not be any current flowing...

Yes the 8n's as well as alot of other tractors of the era were positive ground. That is, the + post on the battery connects to ground, and the - would be the "hot" so to speak.

I am sure there is reasons, and sure others know, but I dont know why they did it that way, and why the change to neg - ground?? But either way, as long as there is a complete circuit, from 1 post of the battery to the other, with your "load" in the middle, either way can be made to work.