Messing around in the shop

[myerslawnandgarden]

[
One thing you mentioned caught my attention, you stated "There are no points and the coil is 12 volt." I know you also said it was still a 6 volt system and has not been converted. Remember, I'm far from an expert but is it possible that you don't have enough voltage to power a 12 volt coil especially with the voltage drop during cranking?

Something to think about,

Bob

I’m sorry Bob if I said that I mis spoke. This is NOT a 6 volt system. It was converted to 12 volt before I got it. So 12 volt battery, 12 volt coil, single wire alternator and the 12 volt ignition module replacing the points and condenser. I try to explain what I’m working on, or what I have the best I can if I mis represented that please forgive me.

As you said there should be no reason for the ballast resister to be in the circuit but it shouldn’t affect anything. The reason I’m thinking it would be good to delete it is along the lines of what @MattA was saying. It’s a pretty rusty, nasty connection point that runs to the coil. If it’s no longer necessary instead of trying to clean it I can make better connections with out it. It sounds like I’m ok to bypass it if I decide too.

Thank you guys for the help, I appreciate it!

Sorry if I got the posts confused, you did say that your's was converted to 12v. Hell to get old, lol.

Bob

[JSinMO]

Sorry if I got the posts confused, you did say that your's was converted to 12v. Hell to get old, lol.

Bob

No worries Bob, I appreciate your input!

[JSinMO]

Well this Ford is turning into quite the project! Had a little time this evening so I decided to pull the starter and have a look.

Didn’t really see anything that surprised me. I went ahead and took it apart to look at the commutator.

I decided to clean it up some. There are probably guys out there shaking their heads but it’s better than it was.

Bushings looked good, I gave them just a little lube. The brushes looked like they still had plenty of life. Put it all back together and bench tested it just to make sure I didn’t screw anything up. I shined up the contact area on the tractor and put it back on. That’s about as good as I can make it!

I gave the wiring a glance and it doesn’t seem quit right. The way it is wired now the alternator has constant 12 volts supplied to it. I think it should be on the switch. I’ll have to find out for sure but I guess that will be next!

[DavidBarkey]

@JSinMO
I am assuming this is what you have on there as it is the most popular conversion.

[JSinMO]

I was looking forward to working in the shop today but of course I got called into work. On my way home I stopped by a friend’s place who is also a tractor / anything mechanical nut. He’d fit in good here! I talked to him about bypassing the resistor and he said don’t because the alternator will put to much voltage to the coil. Then he reached into a box on his shelf and pulled a new one out and handed it to me! So that’s the route I’m going, I’d say it needed replacement!

I cleaned up the contacts on the switch and tested it and it looks good. New volt gauge and some heavier wire. I also added an inline fuse. I’ve had wiring rub and go to ground before. That lets the magic smoke out real quick!

Its nothing to write home about but it all should work just fine.

Last thing to do is put the AL216 plugs in. With that done the only thing left it give it a wirl. I hit the button and it started right up! I shut it off and restarted several times and it started immediately each time.

I’m very happy with the results but to be fair we’re having very mild weather so I guess the last test will be when the cold comes back! I think I’ll have to use it some with good results before I trust my work but it’s looking good!

So what was the actual problem? Could have been any of the things I went over and I suppose it really doesn’t matter, everything I worked on needed attention.

Last time I started the tractor the alternator started making a lot of noise. I put my meter on and it’s not charging. Dang so close to being done! I pulled it off and the bearings sound a little crunchy! I think it’s shot.
So I’ll have to do some looking, I have no idea how plentiful 1 wire alternators are.

All in all a satisfying evening in the shop!

[Harry]

JSinMo, thanks for taking us along on your rebuild troubleshooting journey. I know myself when I’m in the middle of a project, hands dirty and greasy the last thing I want to do and sometimes even think to do is clean my hands and grab the phone to take some pics. Then document the project with narrative and post pics. I thank you for diligence and perseverance. Harry

[JSinMO]

JSinMo, thanks for taking us along on your rebuild troubleshooting journey. I know myself when I’m in the middle of a project, hands dirty and greasy the last thing I want to do and sometimes even think to do is clean my hands and grab the phone to take some pics. Then document the project with narrative and post pics. I thank you for diligence and perseverance. Harry

I appreciate that Harry. I really didn’t keep track of what I work on till the last few years. I kind of enjoy showing what I’m doing. Almost like a hobby inside of a hobby I guess. I realize i usually stray pretty far afield from the original intent of this site but a lot of what I do can be applied to our GTs. As long as you guys enjoy see what I’m working on I’ll try to show stuff, of course if you get sick of my nonsense just let me know!

[DavidBarkey]

JSinMo, thanks for taking us along on your rebuild troubleshooting journey. I know myself when I’m in the middle of a project, hands dirty and greasy the last thing I want to do and sometimes even think to do is clean my hands and grab the phone to take some pics. Then document the project with narrative and post pics. I thank you for diligence and perseverance. Harry

I appreciate that Harry. I really didn’t keep track of what I work on till the last few years. I kind of enjoy showing what I’m doing. Almost like a hobby inside of a hobby I guess. I realize i usually stray pretty far afield from the original intent of this site but a lot of what I do can be applied to our GTs. As long as you guys enjoy see what I’m working on I’ll try to show stuff, of course if you get sick of my nonsense just let me know!

@JSinMO Skills shared and learned are almost always transferable to GTs in some form or anouther . Even if it is just how to justify it to the .

[Eugen]

Please don't stop Jeff! I think that it would not be true to say we only like Case garden tractors. Case garden tractors brought us here, the quality of people, the sharing of experience and know how, and stories around the shop is what makes us stay. Thank you for sharing.

[keith]

Don't stop, someone is learning from your work. I'm finding this interesting. Now I'm feeling a little guilty for not sharing my stories and pictures on my project but I will when it warms up and I get back to working on the 446.