Farmall H Orig. charging sys?

Anonymous-0 · Jan 4, 2011

My loyal old H of 30 years is misbehaving. When I pushed the starter switch I got no response. I then jumped directly to the starter with another battery and it started right up. The battery leads were tight. When I tried to hook up my battery charger I got a dead short at the charger. When I hooked the charger up in reverse polarity it indicated a normal charging rate. Maybe I"m forgetting, but isn"t the Farmall H negative ground? If I need to change the polarity--with the original IH charging controls in the light box how is it done??

Larry M · Jan 4, 2011

Should be positive ground if still factory .

Janicholson · Jan 4, 2011

Direrctly to the starter bypasses the electrical system except for the windings in the starter motor. The motor is a Shunt wound DC motor, and runs only one way no matter what the polarity. Thus it started. The ground is probably as it was from the factory, Positive.
Charge it with Positive to positive on the terminals and all is well.
Assure your connections are good, and that the battery is good. Jim

mkirsch · Jan 4, 2011

Pay attention to the markings on the battery, not what you think the polarity is supposed to be.

An H is supposed to be positive ground, but it could be negative if someone changed it in the last 60 years or so. You can't assume.

As far as your starting problem goes, just because the connections are tight on the battery and starter doesn't mean they're good. There could be a layer of corrosion preventing a good connection.

Don't discount where the cable end clamps on to the cable. If you've got those temporary repair ends on the battery cable, there is a good chance that the cable is all corroded underneath the clamp.

Another common cause of no response is a bad starter switch. There's a reason cars have solenoids now... You can't push the button fast enough to prevent it from arcing and eventually burning the contacts. One day it'll work, the next it won't.

TractormanNC · Jan 4, 2011

With all due respect Jim, the starter on an H is series wound.

Janicholson · Jan 4, 2011

I do believe you are correct. I stand fixed. My terminology was just plain wrong. I knew what I intended but I said the wrong thing. Jim

Farmall H Orig. charging sys?

Anonymous-0

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Larry M

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Janicholson

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mkirsch

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TractormanNC

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Janicholson

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