Going from 12 volt back to 6 volt

I have a 1945 Farmall H. Who ever had it before me attempted to convert it to 12 volt. I want to bring it back to original. I do not know if I get a generator, if it should have the regulator attached or if it should be mounted somewhere else. Or...does it really matter?

My question is why? Not being rude by any means but 12 volt on these machines is nice plus you can use the battery in just about any other machine then. If you have to buy a generator and a 6volt battery you'd probably be in it just as much to buy an alternator and 12 volt battery. I have one that is still 6 volts but it going to 12 as soon as i get the time to change it over. Plus you'd have to get new lights(assuming you have them) or else they would be very dim. Now if you are going for a true restoration to original specs by all means go ahead. And some had the regulator on the genny some mounted under the gas tank(sort of). It wont hurt it to put it on the genny.

My experience, since you asked; I had 6 volt on my 'H', and it spun the motor slow, and every so often stuck on the flywheel, to where Ihad to remove the starter and put it back. A pain. So I put on a Delco 10SI alternator, and it works great. Barely fits in, but it does fit. I also have a diode that charges instantly, then tapers off, perfectly. Lights are bright. Only worry is, it spins the motor so fast, it WHAMS the flywheel, and starts on only one or one-and-a-half cranks, I worry it spins too fast. No problems, so far, in 20 years, but it is a worry.

My '49M is a very simple affair, a no-brainer. 6 volt pos. ground, cut-out mounted on gen., 4 position light switch, and heavy welding lead for batt. cables. (very important). Works like a charm. It works so good, that I have no desire to change it to anything else. I like to keep things simple. Old school baby. lol

You could do exactly the same with your H.

Best regards and welcome to the forum.
Patrick
'49M

Concerning your starter lock up comment - it will happen with 12V too when the ring gear gets bad enough. Both my M and 300U do it and they are both 12V.

My biggest problem with 6 volt systems these days is the quality of the components. Couple of years ago I set up my A with 6 volt system (system was missing everything except the starter) and the regulator and generator were from NAPA. Neither worked right out of the box. I've had similar experiences with regulators from other sources. I finally found a local guy who fixed a couple of things on the generator and sold me a different regulator and now it works.

I agree 6 volt for me. I've had C's, H's, M's, and Supers over the year's, never a problem with 6 volt. Overhauled a Super M, new sleeves and pistons, was hard to turn over with hand crank, but started just fine with 6v. Just do a little simple maintenance and your good to go. Everybody is always talking about the problem's they have with the 12 volt, doing this and doing that, this won't work, that won't work. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I still like the 6v.

(quoted from post at 21:12:34 05/31/14) I have a 1945 Farmall H. Who ever had it before me attempted to convert it to 12 volt. I want to bring it back to original. I do not know if I get a generator, if it should have the regulator attached or if it should be mounted somewhere else. Or...does it really matter?

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I think that in 1945, the voltage regulator was still mounted on top of the generator. A 6 volt system in GOOD condition, with GOOD #1 gauge battery cables will start an H very well.

Typical NAPA electronics. Oil pressure sending unit for my truck lasted less than 2 years, and it sat for 3 months last spring waiting for a lift pump.

I have a Farmall H, Super C and 240 all still 6 volt tractors and all of them are trouble free. All have new components from CaseIH and the generators and starters were "refreshed" by a local auto electric shop as part of being restored. I have found keeping them on battery maintainers during periods of downtime has been very beneficial with battery life. The H has cables made from 00 cable with soldered terminals on the end with the ground being attached to one of the starter mounting bolts. The Super C and 240 have new CaseIH cables as they were still available when they were restored. The key is having clean and bright connections throughout the entire charging and starting systems. I also generally use those external star type washers at connection point to get a good metal to metal bite. Remember to polarize your generator/voltage regulator before starting your tractor after converting back to 6 volt, Hal.

To get back to your original question, in '45 the generator would have had the regulator (actually just a cut-out) mounted on top. It would have a 4-position light switch (L H D B) to control the charge rate.

As far as the conversion to 12-volt, I can relate. Every tractor I have gotten that was converted, was a half- @**ed job. They have misaligned belts, poorly mounted components, bad wires etc. One even had some Romex wires! Since it needs to be done over from scratch, it is just as easy to convert it back (using perfectly good components somebody else is discarding). The only drawback is the cost of 6-volt batteries, which seems to vary a lot from one place to another.

Yep I had sticker shock when I went to Fleet Farm to get a 6 volt battery for my tractor ($80.00) was tempted to convert to 12 v but thought it over and and it wouldn't have been a money saver considering the bad battery lasted for 11 yrs. I did convert my tractor to a Delco alternator with a 6VDC regulator and have been very happy with that.
GB in MN

My M and 2 8N's have all been converted and I will never, ever go back to 6 volt. In the first place when done right it's a maintenance free system. You run it until something fails. In the case of a car well over 100,000 miles most of the time. Plus anyone can jump it without damaging the system. There is a lot to be said about compatibility. I spent close to 300 bucks on a new battery charger last year, 12 volt only. For basically the same charger with the 6 volt setting they wanted another hundred bucks. Almost all VR's are being built in the land of almost right and it's common anymore for a guy to have to get 3 or 4 to get one that works. Now I hear all the complaints about NAPA. I've been using them exclusively for all of my electrical needs for almost 20 years. I've had one problem and they took care of it right away. But I only buy the premium line. Heck I got 6 years out of a couple of trolling motor batteries from them and I'll admit I didn't take very good care of them.

If it's a working tractor I'd stay with 12 volt. Just because it came 6 volt doesn't mean it can't be 12 providing the installation is done right.

Rick

I had a 45 H that had the "factory" 6 volt system. You will need the following:

1. What they call a third brush generator, with a cut out relay
(voltage regulator) mounted on top. Be sure you buy one that already has the original pulley & fan on it, & hopefully the original cut out relay as well. DELCO P/N 1101423

2. Bulb replacements for the head & work lights.
Westinghouse # RP-11

3. Large 00 (double ought) battery cables, ( or used welder cable) be sure to solder the connections, and use shrink wrap on the connections. The positive should be connected right at one of the starter mount bolts.

4. Buy the highest cranking amps 6 volt battery, I have had very good luck with the new Optima battery # 9010-044. They won't rot out your battery box either.

5. If your existing wiring harness has been butchered, I would think about either purchasing a replacement, or wiring it yourself.

I would purchase a complete used original one & rebuild it before you install it. Parts for any H are plentiful, they sold quite a few over the years.

I have a 50 H and the reg{not cut out]Was mounted on top of gen,but it shorted out to the hood,so I moved reg under tank. All is still 6 volt and working good w/working lights.