'41 B John Deere

Wanting to put a 12 volt starter on this. Anyone had experience doing this? If so, what starter number did you use? Have got this posted also on the green side.

This post was edited by cuby on 06/15/2021 at 08:29 am.

You DO NOT CHANGE THE STARTER for the 12 volt. Only the charging system. The 6 volt starter will be just fine as is and will just crank the engine faster for easier starting.

I had a 41 JD B long hood Serial #110108 42 years and I still remember the number. I used a 12v battery only hooked to the starter and would hook the battery charger to it once a week. just left everything else alone.

Ive done it many times (converted a 6 volt tractor over to 12 but used the old 6 volt starter IF THATS WHAT YOURE DOING???) and never had a problem HOWEVER that being said it can be tough on starter drives due to the high kick in torque. It still turns the same direction regardless of polarity, original was POS ground.....Of course you can get a 12 volt starter if you insist........
Things Ive done (when using a 6 volt starter on a 12 volt system) that can help soften the blow but are NOT absolutely necessary, many do nothing but that's just me..

When I choose a 12 volt battery I don't buy a very heavy duty unit, maybe a lighter duty like say a 500 Cold Cranking Amps NOT a 750 or 1000........

When choosing battery starter and ground cables I might use say a NO 4 NOT 2 or 1 or 0 like on a 6 volt tractor

Of course if its a battery powered coil ignition you either add an inline series voltage dropping (12 to 6) ballast resistor orrrrrrrrrrr buy a new full 12 volt rated coil. Match coil polarity to tractors ground. If a mag no change required

You may consider converting overt to NEG Ground especially if you're going to use a new alternator as most are Neg. If a generator they can charge at either polarity if polarized correctly. If a genny they can be converted to 12 volts and you also need a 12 volt Voltage Regulator if its a VR system instead of a cutout relay and manual Low High light switch charge control......

If left at 6 volts a B can start fine if you have a good heavy duty battery and use like 0 or better yet 00 gauge cables but thats not your question, just saying.

John T

Back when Lawn mower batteries where real cheap I have used them and doing so worked just fine on the smaller tractors like he has

That makes sense on a small tractor........it may be a bit on the too small side subject to temperature and how hard it is to crank ?? but no harm in trying I reckon

Take care Rich

John T

But sadly now days it cost almost as much for a lawn mower battery as it does Walmart's cheap car batteries. You can buy a Walmart battery for around $50