Ford 9N

[bones66]

A friend has an old 8N that hasn稚 run in nearly 15 years. A friend of his offered to help him get it running. This tractor has been converted from 6 to 12 volts and the engine was rebuilt some years back. I thought an 8N was positive ground and commented to that as he put the battery on and hooked it up negative ground. When the key was turned on and the starter button pushed the old tractor turned over. Should it have turned over if the battery was connected backwards? I?m not A mechanic but I?m certainly confused.

 

[jeff9366]

Ford 8N

1947 - 1952 N Series
Utility tractor
Previous model: Ford 2N
Next model: Ford NAA

Electrical:
Ground: positive
Charging system: generator
Charging amps: 20

Battery:
Number: 1
Volts: 6
Amp-hours: 80

Page information:
Last update: November 17, 2017
Copyright: Copyright 2018 TractorData LLC
Contact: Peter@TractorData.com

 

[Roadworthy]

The 8N, the 9N, and the NAA were all positive ground six volt electrical systems. It's possible when your friend converted the system to twelve volts he used a negative ground generator or alternator. He could have installed a twelve volt negative ground starter at the same time. You'd probably need to ask what changes were made.

 

[RickB]

12 volt conversions using alternators are also negative ground conversions in all but a very few instances. One would have to go far off the beaten path to find a positive ground alternator, they do exist. Starter motors are not polarity sensitive. They are not particularly sensitive to higher voltage than they were designed for. Many 12 volt conversions retain the original 6 volt starter.

 

[bones66]

I took another quick look at it in between other projects and after looking at no less than a dozen YouTube videos. I知 assuming this tractor has been modified in some manner. It痴 completely different than the tractors in the videos. I致e got to get over and take a look when I致e got some time to figure a couple things out. Thanks guys & stand by!