battery terminals switched...damage?

[TonyV]

Another possibilty Frank is that that tractor was originally a positive ground system. Somewhere along the line, someone may have changed it to a negative ground system (perhaps when converting from 6V to 12V??) but left the cables where they were, with the red cable grounded. Just another thought...the plot thickens. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

...Tony

 

[Volfandt]

How's about another curve... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

When one upgrades the old TO/TE series Ferguson tractors from 6v positive ground to 12v negative ground, the same old starter still works and turns in the correct direction.

Other than adding the alternator, the only other modification needed is to add one of those old style GM or Plymouth ignition resistors in series w/the stock coil to keep from burning it and the std points & condensor up. A newer style coil with the integral resistor negates the need for the resistor.
No mod is needed for the std starter.....

Volfandt

 

[KennyV]

Are those the thundering hoof beats of zebras???, here is a thought… Actually 3 thoughts.
First, never use the color of the conductor alone to determine the polarity, LOOK to verify that the cable you are about to hook to negative is attached to ground. (This assumes you know you are dealing with a negative ground engine.)
Second, you can not reverse the cables on a battery without tools… batteries have different size terminals, for this vary reason. Take a close look, you could not have connected the cables without resizing them, for that you would have to open one wider and close the other a lot to get contact good enough to support the current draw.
Third, you have some non related electrical problem, Either the charging system is not working properly OR you have an electrical drain you are not yet aware of…
KennyV.

 

[ScottOkla]

I don't recall for sure since it was a while back, but I think the cables had already been loosened up before I removed the original battery, maybe even taken off altogether. I managed to get them on the new battery with finger tightening and a few taps with a block of wood.

My only thinking was to make sure the terminals of the new battery faced the front like the old ones did. After that, I just stopped thinking I guess.

I don't know how, but it DID start once like that, and I remember seeing a little smoke coming from near the alternator. That should have been a clue, but it was a wet evening, and without much light I thought it was likely steam.

Lastly, When I put jumper cables on it, the light on the dash comes on even without the key being in. As soon as I put the key in and turn it to the start position, the light goes off and does not come back on while it is running.

I will study these responsed a bit. Any more suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Highbeam]

The starter doesn't care which side is negative or positive. Don't know why but in a pos-ground to neg-ground conversion you leave the starter alone.

I replaced my dozer's battery cables. I used two new red cables and they both went right onto the battery posts without any odd resizing. This is not a dependable method to determine which cable is which.

Gauges, those run by electrical senders would need to be wired differently to work right if you flipped the battery.

Isn't the battery just a big capacitor? Does it really matter?

 

[ZackaryMac]

Have seen it in the past where completely dead batteries have been hooked up to a charger backwards by mistake and come back pretty good, but with the posts reversed; the positive post was negative and vise-versa. Certainly threw me for a loop.

 

[penokee]

Scott - I may be missing something here, but I've had 4 old tractors - still have 2, and they are positive ground. Sounds to me that it may have been hooked up properly for the 2 years you mentioned. You can find out fairly easy by asking the question on the thread attached.
penokee /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

http://www.ytmag.com/ttalk/wwwboard1.html

 

[Boomerang1]

If a starter motor would turn backwards, it could not spin the flywheel because the gear freewheels in the opposite direction.