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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Super H Battery Drain

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TDK

11-23-2004 20:46:01




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Tractor has a one-wire alternator. Is wired according to Bob M's diagram, but it has a drain on battery. Will go dead in 3 - 5 days, must keep cable off. After shutting tractor down pos. cable can be removed & a test light hooked between cable and post. Light will burn dimly until the wire on alt. is removed. Wire can then be reconnected and light stays out until tractor is restarted and shut down. Is it the alt. or what?

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gusc

11-24-2004 11:27:29




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to TDK, 11-23-2004 20:46:01  
I have a "green knob" battery disconnect on all my vehicles. They are available at any farm store or parts store for $4-6 and sure can save your bacon if a starter ever sticks. Very handy for maintenance work for quick power disconnect and battery charging, I wouldn't be without them. They clamp onto battery post and cable clamps to switch.



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El Toro

11-24-2004 09:45:30




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to TDK, 11-23-2004 20:46:01  
You can install a master switch in the ground cable. This will isolate the battery from being grounded until you're ready to start the tractor. The military use this on most vehicles.
I use this on one of my cars and no one can start
the engine with this switch in the off position.
It kills power to the ignition and lights.
If the alternator is charging the battery I would
install this switch. Hal

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Bob M

11-24-2004 10:46:36




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to El Toro, 11-24-2004 09:45:30  
A master disconnect switch would indeed solve the problem.

However the operator must remember to NEVER open the switch with the alternator charging! Doing so risks trashing the alternator and burning up other connected electrical loads...



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El Toro

11-24-2004 11:04:46




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to Bob M, 11-24-2004 10:46:36  
Hi Bob, You're right about opening that switch.
It should be installed away from the driver's seat
so the driver would probably stop the engine and then dismount. Then he could open the master switch. It would be a good deterrent to prevent
someone from stealing the tractor too. Hal



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Bob M

11-24-2004 12:30:35




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to El Toro, 11-24-2004 11:04:46  
Indeed! I learned this the hard way many years ago when I pulled the ground cable of my mom's '62 Dodge while it was running. The resulting surge burned out every lit light bulb AND smoked the alternator.

Good advice on locating the switch away from the driver's seat too! My old Kenworth has a main disconnect mounted on the side of the battery box behind the right front wheel and ahead the fuel tank. So you gotta crawl under the cab to operate it. Also it's got sticker warning to operate switch only when the engine is stopped.

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El Toro

11-24-2004 16:51:21




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to Bob M, 11-24-2004 12:30:35  
Hi Bob, Is that Kenworth 12 or 24 volts? All of the combat vehicles were 24 volts and they had slave plugs so you could jump start another vehicle. Most tanks had 8 batteries hooked up in series/parallel to get 24 volts.

We even had mobile field dynamometers so
we could've measured drawbar pull on any of those Farmalls. They used 16 batteries since they were electric drive, similar to a locomotive. I'm going to post those pictures one these days along with a picture of the Farmall A that I restored.
I did about 6 of those Standard Twins too. I see they have a forum on them too. Hal

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TDK

11-24-2004 08:22:43




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to TDK, 11-23-2004 20:46:01  
Thanks, guys. I"m not a fan of the one-wire alts. either. This one isn"t mine. I always use a Delco and wire according to Bob M"s diagram. Cheaper and less trouble. I"ll have it checked out.



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Bob M

11-24-2004 04:18:07




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to TDK, 11-23-2004 20:46:01  
Your alternator has a bad internal regulator. Replacing the regulator should cure the problem.

Note: Some cheap “1 wire” regulators leak a small amount of current thru the alternator even when shut down and will flatten the battery if left idle for very long. Make sure to buy a quality regulator. Or better yet replace the regulator with a 3 wire regulator and wire it up accordingly. (I case you can’t tell I’m not a big fan of 1 wire alternators...)

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Wayne Swenson

11-23-2004 20:51:45




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 Re: Super H Battery Drain in reply to TDK, 11-23-2004 20:46:01  
You guessed it! There are diodes in the alternator to allow it to "alternate" and produce DC current. If one of the diodes has failed it could allow current to flow while not in operation, thus draining the battery.
Take it to a competent repair facility and have it checked out.
NAPA usually has a tester to help locate the trouble.



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