'68 Ford 3000 Electrical and Tachometer Question

[JReid]

So, the tachometer has been jumping and I tracked it down to the gear on the generator. Until now all I know is the tractor starts and the battery charges and everything does its thing. But now I'm wondering whether it is a generator or alternator? I've been reading as much as I can find and I think that if it is a generator there should be a voltage regulator somewhere? I've had this tractor all a part (down to replacing the clutch and rebuilding the engine) and I never saw anything in the wiring harness that looked like a voltage regulator. I put a voltage meter on the battery while the engine was running at about 1600 and it read 14.2v so everything is working like it should (I'm guessing) except I'm confused on whether this thing has a generator or alternator.

Also if anyone has a tip on replacing the tachometer drive gear part it would be a great help. I tried to take the three screws off the drive cover and all but one came out and it felt like it had a nut on the back side that was turning. Do I need to take the generator off and totally apart to change the drive gear, or should it come off from the outside?

 

[JReid]

Thanks for the help everybody...I guess nobody here knows the difference either. I found the answers, so I'm good now. Thanks again!

 

[TractorTech]

So you had a generator? I'm guessing from the drive held on by 3 screws as opposed to being driven by drive under filter.
Sorry you didn't get any help here, just saw your post.

 

[JReid]

Nope, it turned out to be an alternator. I took it to a place that rebuilds them and the guy knew all about the tach drives and we got it fixed. I'm glad someone switched the tractor to an alternator instead of a generator, as that's something that I don't have to do later and I don't have to fiddle with a voltage regulator.
Thanks for the reply tractortech, I was beginning to wonder if anyone comes here anymore.

 

[RickB]

There's all kinds of folks here. I read your first post and decided that, without a photo I didn't have enough info to answer accurately. A generator was original equipment, but alternators with tach drives have been around in the aftermarket for decades.

So before giving up on TBN, consider framing your questions differently, adding photos, or just giving more information.

 

[JReid]

I'll try to set my questions with more information next time if I can. For future reference if anyone else has this question, here is what I found. If a 3000 has a generator, it has to have a voltage regulator which is usually mounted on the metal in front of the fuel tank (behind the battery). If it happens to be an alternator it will have a two wire flat plug on the side and two wires with either spade or ring terminals connected to a post on the back that says battery. The most predominate sign is that an alternator is about five inches long and about five inches in diameter; basically it looks like an alternator on a vehicle. Also with an alternator there shouldn't be a voltage regulator.

What made me wonder if anyone comes here is that there seem to be a lot of post with questions that have been around a while and haven't had any replies. I hope somebody has an answer to my next question. :-D