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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help

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horseman1

01-21-2005 18:25:53




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Well, I just bought a '48 Farmall M and figured I'd better get some advise from some of you fine folks here. I'm going to try to pick it up tomorrow using a friends flatbed. The tractor will probably start, but I dont have a 6 volt battery laying around to take with me. The plan is to charge up a spare 12 volt battery and use it to start the Farmall. I understand these are positive ground, so I'll have the + hooked to the chassis and the - lead on the - pole of the battery. I figure that will be the least of my troubles. If you have any comments about this, I'd sure appreciate them.

I've operated quite a variety of machinery, but never a Farmall. I wish I had time to get an owners manual and all that before tomorrow, but I dont. Any tips on getting it started, operation etc would also be a real help.

I just plan on driving it up on the trailer and shutting it down. I guess what I'm looking for is the nickel tour :).

Thanks in advance,

Kurt

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farmallhal

01-22-2005 18:07:20




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to horseman1, 01-21-2005 18:25:53  
Glad you got her home. Just wanted to mention since you plan on keeping a 6 volt system make sure you have large battery cables to ground, the switch and starter and keep the connections clean and tight. I converted my H to 12 volt since it would barely turn over on a new 6 volt battery finding the cable problem later. Those cables need to be a size 1 or larger. I feel if I had done that to my H on 6 volt it would have started fine. The cables which came on my tractor from the previous owner were size 6 and far too long. Enjoy you M as they are a very nice tractor.

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hoersman1

01-22-2005 17:53:16




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to horseman1, 01-21-2005 18:25:53  
Got it done.

I stopped by big R and picked up a new 6V battery. We (the previous owner and I) tried it out, but it would just barely turn over. Since that didnt work, we pulled it around the property for 1/2 an hour letting out the clutch to try to get it pull started. That didnt work very well either. There was gas in the sediment bowl, but it looked a little yellow to me. We decided it must have bad gas, so I shut off the gas line and dumped the bowl. We then figured we better empty the tank of that yeller stuff and put in some fresh gas. Good idea, but nothing came out :). Since the wives were watching, we made a few comments amd mummbled a little about how bad the gas in that old tank was, and filled her up with some fresh gas. She started right up on the first lap around the pasture..... If you ask the spectators, it was just some bad gas. You might hear a little different story from us after a couple of beers :).

Loading the tractor was more a test of courage than it was of skill for a person who just drove a farmall for the first time a few minutes before loading. It turned out that the brakes worked very well and the transmission and clutch were a real pleasure to operate. I found that low gear and reverse could have been a little slower for this process and it would have been OK with me :).

Thanks to you all for the help. I know I will be back to ask more questions as I work on and operate the tractor. First in the list is to figure out what is going on with the starter, cables etc.

Kurt

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Ron in Nebr

01-21-2005 21:41:21




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to horseman1, 01-21-2005 18:25:53  
From the way I read your question, there's no battery in the tractor at all now and you plan to just throw in the 12v and fire it up to run it on the trailer. If that's the case, you'd be wise to follow the other post's advise and unhook all the wires that go to everything but the starter and the coil(if it's a points ignition). I don't know if it'd burn up the coil in that amount of time or not, but it probably could. Unless you plan to convert this to a full 12 volt system, you'd be ahead of the game to simply go buy a 6 volt battery now and not have to worry about burning anything up or remembering where all the wires go that you unhook. In a nutshell, to start it, make sure the fuel valve on the sediment bowl under the gas tank is open, pull the ignition switch out to the "on" position, and start it(can't remember, been awhile since I've been on an M that hasn't had the starting system cobbled...I think there's a pedal/lever you step on). It might take just a little choke, but be careful not to flood it. Good luck and enjoy your M!

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CNKS

01-21-2005 18:46:24




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to horseman1, 01-21-2005 18:25:53  
You might clean all the connections, including the ones where the cables attach to the starter switch. If it has an existing 6 volt battery, it is best not to try to jump it with a 12 volt. If you are going to leave it 6 volt, go to a farm store and buy a 6 volt, and install it rather than try to jump the old one, the connections are more solid this way. If it has a mag (better than even chance that it does), and you want to use the 12 volt, remove the generator belt and the wires to the voltage regulator (to prevent possible damage and use the 12 volt. The 12 volt can also be hooked directly to the starter, you will generate sparks. Since you have loaded tractors before, you will probably have no problems, but move it around first and get used to the clutch. Be sure the brakes work, if not be prepared to take corrective action. I bought a Super H with disk brakes, the seller drove it on the trailer, I pulled it home, applied the brakes while going down the ramps -nothing- rolled down the ramps and came to a stop, sure glad there was nothing behind me.

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horseman1

01-21-2005 21:30:52




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to CNKS, 01-21-2005 18:46:24  
Thanks CNKS, I really appreciate it. I've always liked these old tractors and the price was too low to pass up. Restoring this tractor to it's former glory should be really fun. I'll pick up a six volt battery on the way at over. a Big R store is right on the way. Guess I can leave the metric wrenches at home :). I hope I can get it started.

Kurt



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Nebraska Cowman

01-22-2005 05:33:20




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to horseman1, 01-21-2005 21:30:52  
It takes a BIG 6 volt battery to start an M. I wouldn't mess with it but plan to convert to 12



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CNKS

01-22-2005 09:23:45




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to Nebraska Cowman, 01-22-2005 05:33:20  
It takes a well maintained 6 volt, and large cables with clean connections. The hardest tractor I have to get started after it has sat a few weeks is my 12 volt M--because of too small cables and corrosion. Clean 6 volt would be about the same.



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Novel Idea Guy

01-22-2005 07:59:38




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to Nebraska Cowman, 01-22-2005 05:33:20  
Horsefeathers! Converting to 12V is just a temporary bandaid that covers up a whole myriad of other problems: Worn out starter, crappy battery connections & cables, dud generator... Fix the REAL problems, and they start just fine on 6V.

The ONLY reason for converting to 12V that I find valid is the desire to not want to deal with the generator and regulator. That the starter spins over at Warp 12.6 is just a side benefit...

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horseman1

01-22-2005 08:28:48




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 Re: Just bought a Farmall M and need a little help in reply to Novel Idea Guy, 01-22-2005 07:59:38  
I was considering using horsefeathers, but I dont know how much current they can handle :). Anyone know the "size" this battery is supposed to be, physical as well as the current rating? Since it sounds like I going to use a 6 volt battery, I might was well get one that I'll use for the tractor and not just a one time start. I think I'll be heading out to pick it up around 11:00 mounain time. I'm getting pretty anxious to get it home. I hope it doesnt take to picking on my JD 2210 in the barn though.

Thanks,

Kurt

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