Green ceramic part???

[marshamartinis]

Does anyone know what the little green ceramic part that is attached to the alternator of a 8n ford tractor is called... I inherited my grandpas tractor & it quit on me today, and this piece broke. I need to know what it is to fix it.
Thanks for your help.

 

[beenthere]

:welcome:

Can you take a picture of it and post?
Has the 8N been converted to 12v system, thus the alternator?

 

[Kermitfrog]

Does it have metal in it too? I'll be honest and say I know little about 8n's but a lot of older cars have ceramic pieces in the electrical system (resisters).

A picture would be worth a thousand words, can you take a picture of it?

 

[EE_Bota]

If if is it to insulate the wiring from the frame, it is often called a bushing.
If I ever found a broken one needing a bit of work, I have always wanted to try JB Weld for its electrical insulation properties.

 

[marshamartinis]

I believe it to be the ignition resistor. I replaced it with a universal one & now its not running right. belt squeals when engine is accelerated. and a miss. Could the original one breaking cause something else to go out of whack?

 

[beenthere]

Need more info.

 

[marshamartinis]

such as what? I am new to this whole tractor thing & am trying to make due with what I have.

 

[Kermitfrog]

such as what? I am new to this whole tractor thing & am trying to make due with what I have.

I think what is being asked is more info regarding a description.

Is it round?
Is it rectangular?
Dimensions?
Is it solely ceramic?
How did it mount?

Just a few questions I could think of that may get a knowledgeable person to immediately chime in a say exactly what it is.

 

[Snaker]

Reread the posts here. You gotta help people to help you.

The original electrical system was 6v DC. Is yours 12v DC?: Put a volt meter on the battery terminals; Check the battery label; count the battery cells (2 volts per hole: 3 holes=6 volt, 6 holes=12 volt.

You went from saying a green ceramic part ON the alternator to thinking its a ignition resistor. why? If indeed you have a 12v system, it should have a dropping resistor in the ignition circuit but it wouldn't typically be attached to the alternator(can't say its not that).

I put togather a 6v to 12v years ago. It was a Delco Remy single wire type (only one wire connected to the alternator) and that needed a resistor jumpered from the wire terminal to another terminal on the alternator to "excite" the field. I can't remember the exacts offhand. How many wires are attached to your alternator.

Exactly what was the green ceramic part attached to.

You mentioned a squealing belt. Is that from an overload, bad alternator, or just a loose belt?

Throw out some info. Somebody will have an answer.

 

[EE_Bota]

Many know their way around that tractor, and a picture would surely help people understand what your are talking about. Most ballast resistors I have seen over the years, are white. And most bushings for getting the wiring through the shell of an alternator or generator have been either white or black.

 

[marshamartinis]

ok did some further checking & it is a generator it is connected to. It was my bad assuming it was an alternator. I posted a photo of the green piece in a previous post. there are 2 wires, they attach on 2 prongs from the green thing. If you are sitting on the seat of the tractor, you can look down to the right side of the motor & what I called the alternator is attached on that side. I know I stated that I thought that was what it was called, I came to that conclusion from looking through all the photos posted online. I greatly appreciate all of your input.

 

[beenthere]

Maybe others can see the pic in your previous post.

I can't see but a red X .

Maybe, if the pic is on your computer, you would click on "Go Advanced" button and "manage attachments" button to Browse your computer for that pic. It will then be attached to your post (if in the right format). Lots of "ifs"

Being this is a generator, that likely is still a 6 volt system (three fill plugs on the battery instead of 6 ? ). A close-up pic of the ceramic part you mention may help.

Also, a thought is to remove the generator and take it to a shop for repair, or into a NAPA store for the broken part. Any neighbors that are into tractors that might be able to look at it for you?

 

[beenthere]

ok did some further checking & it is a generator it is connected to. It was my bad assuming it was an alternator. I posted a photo of the green piece in a previous post. there are 2 wires, they attach on 2 prongs from the green thing. If you are sitting on the seat of the tractor, you can look down to the right side of the motor & what I called the alternator is attached on that side. I know I stated that I thought that was what it was called, I came to that conclusion from looking through all the photos posted online. I greatly appreciate all of your input.

Being that you see the generator on the right side of the '51 8N, then I suspect you have the distributor on the front of the engine and not on the right side. That, I think, would be an early '51 8N Ford before they switched the distributor to the side and the generator to the left side. Does this make any sense?

Anxious to see your pics.

 

[kebo]

If it was a ballast resistor, did it look like any of the resistors on the page below:

pictures of ballast resistor - Google Search

Does it have a wire attached to one or both ends?? Maybe it's just an insulator for the connection point where a wire attaches to the alternator? Most ballast resistors I have seen were mounted somewhere other than on the alternator, but I'm not familiar with the 8N's so that very well could be where they are mounted at.

 

[Kermitfrog]

I'm going to mention about the green. I have seen the white ceramic turn green when parked out in the open under trees (oak in my area). Might explain the green color.

 

[mitch becton]

could you be looking at a ballast resistor for the ignition coil if not sure go to local parts store get them to show you a ballast resistor for 1976 plymouth car may look different but appearence might let you know your are on right track. if it is a ballast resistor for ignition coil could mean some one changed to new style coil from old style which had built in resisitor and when these generally go bad vehicle will not run. if you are hearing belt squeal from generator make sure belt is NOT tight if belt is to tight it is not good for generator yes generator belts do run kinda loose not tight, let us know

mitch