If you convert to an alternator, get a one wire alternator.
That's all the tractor guys are putting on around here.
I prefer to stick with the old 6 volt generators. It cranks just fine and I have no problems with it. I educated my self on the generators and learned how to test them and it's quite simple actually to maintain them. The main thing with generators is having the generator and regulator well grounded. A bad connection causes high resistance.
In our club we discussed why people switch to alternators. We concluded that the people who switch to alternators don't use their tractors so they don't rev them up long enough for the generators to put a good charge back into the battery. But an alternator will charge at a low engine rpm which generators don't do.
I use my Farmall H with a belly mower and have it almost at full throttle for a long period of time and it charges just fine and keeps the battery up. At an idle it doesn't charge.
If the cut out relay in the regulator doesn't switch off the generator when it's idling it will drain the battery thru the generator.
One easy way to check a 6 or 12 volt generator to see if it is putting out is to hook a 12 volt test light up to the "A" terminal on the generator and the lead of the test light to the ignition side of the battery (not the ground terminal). The test light will light when the generator is not running. With the generator running the test light may glow at low rpms but the test light should go out at high rpms. If the test light goes off then generator is capable of charging. If the test light stays on at high rpms ground the "F" terminal of the generator, this will bypass the voltage regulator and make the generator put out it's maximum which is infinate. If the test light stays on after grounding the "F" terminal the generator most likely needs rebuilding.
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Today's Featured Article - Third Brush Generators - by Chris Pratt. While I love straightening sheet metal, cleaning, and painting old tractors, I use every excuse to avoid working on the on the electrics. I find the whole process sheer mystery. I have picked up and attempted to read every auto and farm electrics book with no improvement in the situation. They all seem to start with a chapter entitled "Theory of Electricity". After a few paragraphs I usually close the book and go back to banging out dents. A good friend and I were recently discussing our tractor electrical systems when he stated "I figure it all comes back to applying Ohms Law". At this point
... [Read Article]
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