6 volt charge

How many volts should a 6 volt system be putting out when running on my A?

I've got a similiar question. A little History: I have super A with 6 volt system. A couple of years ago, I took my generator to a shop to have them rebuild/test it. They said it was fine, just needed to be cleaned up, they did install a new voltage cut out relay. When I put it back on the tractor, it still didn't seem to charge, and I basically gave up. This spring, I put a new 6 volt battery in, and just charge it as required. Tonight, I was determined to give it another shot. I started by replacing all the wires and connectors and wired them according to the wiring diagram. ( Note: I didn't touch the wiring for the lights today, and they seem to work fine) So after getting everything wired, I'm still getting nothing on the Amp meter. When I turn the lights on, it goes into discharge (moves quit a bit, 5A maybe), but it does not show any charging on H or L. I went through the trouble shooting charts, grounding switch, grounding field terminal, Jumpin between bat. and Gen. or cut out relay, still nothing. The only test that I haven't done yet is trying to get it to run as a motor.

So here's some more info:

When I put my voltmeter on the battery (engine off) it's 6.3 volts or so. When I do it with the engine running, it jumps between 8 and 12, is this normal ???

Also, when I put the charger (ac charger) on the battery, the meter showed it was taking 9 amps, which makes me believe that the gauge should show at least a couple of amps, am I wrong in thinking this ?

What are the chances of the gauge not working in the pos. direction?

I read that if you are showing more voltage on the battery when the tractor is running, it's gotta be charging, is that correct?

Thanks in advance, and sorry MKL if I high jacked your thread !

Best Regards
BCarter.

About 7.2 volts across the battery terminals with the throttle at 1/2 or better. Hal

The voltage that matters and is indicative of the charging systems capacity is the battery voltage which should be around 6.3 volts setting but rise from at least 6.5 to the 7 and a lil over range (depends on battery) at fast RPM if coupled to a good charging system......

John T

When I put my voltmeter on the battery (engine off) it's 6.3 volts or so. When I do it with the engine running, it jumps between 8 and 12, is this normal ???

That sounds high to me, Id expect it to rise from 6.5 to 7 and some over volts but NOT 12

Also, when I put the charger (ac charger) on the battery, the meter showed it was taking 9 amps, which makes me believe that the gauge should show at least a couple of amps, am I wrong in thinking this ?

If the ammeter is working and wired correct (sure it is???) if the battery voltage is rising to 7 volts and more YES the ammeter should show at least some charging amps. Do as my friend Bob M suggests and pass a magnet over its face and it should swing left n right if its NOT mechanically stuck. If its wired right theres only one wire on its hot supply side, thats the one that wires to the battery often via a wire to the big batetry cable on the starter switch or solenoid. Over on its other Load side the wire that runs to BAT on a cutout relay or Voltage regulator should be there plus a wire to feed lights and ignition etc. If the gens output is wired to the wrong ammeter terminal its charging amps dont get registered INSURE THE METER SWINGS USING A MAGNET THEN BE SURE ITS WIRED CORRECT

What are the chances of the gauge not working in the pos. direction?

Fair chance which a magnet might show or perhaps its wired worng as noted above

I read that if you are showing more voltage on the battery when the tractor is running, it's gotta be charging, is that correct?

Correct

John T

About the only thing I don't see is how is the battery hooked up? Positive or negative ground? Henry

Positive ground from the factory.

What Should I expect in terms of charging amps for the tractor ? And a little topic, but would there be an advantage to putting on a voltage regulator as opposed to the cutout ?

Today I"m planning on checking the fuse in the switch circuit (hence I was asking what amp to expect, maybe it"s blown ?) I was then going to disconnect the 2nd wire that goes to the switch to isolate that there might be a problem there keeping it from Charnging.

Thanks for all you help.

The charging amps depends first on what genny it is, Im NOT familiar with IHC but many of the older 3 brush units didnt put out much over 10 amps and even the later 2 brush units that used a Voltage Regulator were maybe 20 amps max. That being said with your older 6 volt unit Id expect maybe 5 to 10 amps charge right after a start up and then back down to 5 and under depending on if its set at Low or High Charge and your RPM

As far as converting to a full fledged Voltage Regulator they have an advantage in that the charge rate is automatically controlled by the VR versus a Low or High Charge light switch, but its NOT original and more expensive, I dont see any pressing need to convert if all you need is a new cutout relay assuming you have a good working LHBD combination light and charge control (Low or High charge) switch. Also a VR dont cause it to charge at any higher rate the it would using a LHBD switch if it has a good proper ground.

That LHBD switch wires to the gennys FLD post and provides the gennys Field ground so it needs a good ground itself to make her charge. When running at fast RPM momentarily ground the gennys FLD post dead to ground n see how she charges then?? If it does then but not otherwise the switch is bad or not well grounded or the wires bad from gennys FLD post up to the switch

John T

Hey thanks for you help on this, I really appreciate it. Today replaced the wire from the A post to the cut out relay, pulled the switch and made sure that it was well grounded, and finally rechecked all wiring. I also continued to follow your very good step by step instructions from a previous post. I did run a jumper from the field to the battery, still nothing. Finally, I jumpered from the gen to the batt on the cut out relay. I was a little concerned when I saw the sparks and the amp meter burried in the discharge position, however, I started the tractor and there she went ! charging as you say between 5 and 10 amps. I then took off all the jumpers (not knowing what to expect then) and she has kept on charging since. I noticed that in order to get it to change, it had to be in the High position, the low seems to do nothing. My next observation which I would appreciate some feedback on is the fact that I seem to draw about 10 amps with all 3 of my 6volt (modern) lights on, and the tractor off. When I run the tractor the same way (lights on), it still shows dicharge of approx 2 - 3 amps. Now you mention that I might get as high as 20 amps out of a generator. Does the fact that I'm seeing a discharge when all three lights are on mean my genny might be weak? It's not the biggest thing in the whole world for me, however in the winter I do use this tractor for plowing and the lights are handy at night. In the winter time the tractor doesn't get used for anything else, therefore I'm draining more then charging, I'm gonna be in trouble.

PS I believe my genny is a delco, not sure if it is 2 or 3 brush.

Thanks again!

Well my satisfaction with getting this running was short lived. 1 day after, I ran the tractor again, and she wasn't charging. Put a jumper over the Gen/Bat on the Cut out relay and she started charging. So, would it be a good guess the relay is pouched ? If I have to get it replaced, should I go with a voltage regulator or another cutout relay? I have the 4 position switch, would this matter if I use a voltage regulator ?

Thanks.

Regulator connections as follows:
Disconnect the wire from the F terminal on the gennerator (it comes from the light sw) tape it up, or cut it off it is not needed at all.
Remove the Cutout relay and mount the new VR in that spot, or another good grounded location.
Connect the Bat terminal on the VR to the same wire the Cutout was attached to going to the Amp meter.
Connect the Field (F) terminal on the VR to the F terminal (small) on the Gen.
Connect the ARM or Gen terminal on the VR to the Arm Terminal (big) on the Gen.
The light switch will now have two OFF positions, but no issue.
If the generator is a three brush (likely)
THe third brush should be adjusted as close to the fixed brush on that side as possible. This makes it charge as much as it can, while being regulated by the VR. Keep us informed with a new post. JimN