I crossed the jumper cables on the battery by accident and now the battery light flashes when started (running). Tractor will start and run fine, and so far, no sign of not charging after using it for several hours over the last week. This is anecdotal since I don't know how to test it. What should I look to first? Battery, alternator, regulator? Thank you.
Ford 1900 battery light flashing
- Thread starter thomsir
- Start date
atsah
Elite Member
Might start at putting a meter across the battery while it's running to make sure it is actually charging. Should show somewhere around 14V..
jaxs
Elite Member
I fear the alternator is ruined. If it has stand alone regulator,i don't know how to tell which is at fault,reg or alt.
I agree that's an easy test but I wouldn't replace the alternator if it doesn't put out 14V. I suggest checking battery voltage while engine is off then check while engine is running. If running is .5v or more than not running,turn lights on and set engine to fast idle to see if volts are still above that while not running. If so,I'd give it another week or two to see if battery is being maintained. To see if alternator is fully charging and keeping battery charged here's a chart.
100% charged = 12.6v
75% = 12.4v
50% = 12.2v
To support this,here's what I've experienced.
I monitor live data on my diesel trucks and rarly see more than 14v unless batteries are discharged. On a normal day I see 13.5-14v right after start up then 12.9-13.5 after two minutes and rest of day.
Just for the record,I've used gasoline tractors with non-charging gen/alt for years by simply hooking a battery tender up once a week. Eventhough diesel doesn't consume battery power while running,glow plugs and starter will run battery down pretty soon. That might help give peace of mind while you shop for an alternator or a rebuilder.
atsah
Elite Member
I wasn't implying to replace the alternator if he gets a low voltage while running.. It would narrow down the problem a bit for the next step..
Process of elimination on the easy stuff one at a time is what I do..
Atsah and Jaxs, thank you very much. I do have a voltage meter and now have direction thanks to you both. I will let you know
jaxs
Elite Member
Atsah and Jaxs, thank you very much. I do have a voltage meter and now have direction thanks to you both. I will let you know
Please do let us know. So often folks fail to let us know and we have no way of knowing if (A) Our directions/procedure was difficult to follow/understand (B) Our suggestions helped solve the problem (C) Our suggestion resulted in little green men stealing the tractor
or what not. As Atsah said,our objective is helping folks fix it without throwing parts at it. So don't despire and start buying parts if what we suggested doesn't nail it down right away.
Please do let us know. So often folks fail to let us know and we have no way of knowing if (A) Our directions/procedure was difficult to follow/understand (B) Our suggestions helped solve the problem (C) Our suggestion resulted in little green men stealing the tractor
As Atsah said,our objective is helping folks fix it without throwing parts at it. So don't despire and start buying parts if what we suggested doesn't nail it down right away.
I checked the voltage at the battery before going out to mow fields. Before starting the engine, the battery read 12.6v. After starting, 13.7v. I then ran the tractor for ~4 hours, stopping the engine 2-3 times to clean the grill and screen (of grass seed) and having to restart each time. There was no problem restarting. Back in the barn, the battery was over 13v and dropping, settling around 12.8v. The battery light was steady on the whole time. Thanks.
By thumbsup, do you think the battery is charging? What do you think it means that the battery light says on? Thanks.
atsah
Elite Member
With those readings the battery and charging system seems to be working just fine... My guess is when you swapped the cables you caused the light to go haywire.. Take a close look at the back of that battery light and anything connected to it to see if you see anything melted etc..