Fantastic explanation! For so many years i struggled with this issue, all the case ih dealerships would'nt tell me anything like it was top secret nsa/cia national security info. I used just a screwdriver on the armature & could get good continuity but like you say it still would'nt charge the battery. So i'ld drop off the generator at the local magneto repair and of course nothing wrong. After buying many batteries it frustrated me so badly i traded my dads farmall m for a 560 diesel.
thanks i have heard this might be my problem before and went searching again for a cause thanks for taking the time to make this video gonna try this tomorrow
Connect a 3 watt panel light between positive on start key, and the field connection and it wil work automatic, the small currend trough the bulb wil help to polarize the field, when the dynamo is not working it will be lit, when charging it is of, works like a charm.
Failing to polarize it will cook your points too. I went through two sets of points on an old Pontiac Chieftain I had until the mechanic said "Did you polarize the generator?"
Ok ,, On Page 60 of the Farmall Super C Operators Manual ON (Polarizing the Generator) It says " IF THE GENERATOR OR THE REGULATOR HAS BEEN REMOVED OR THE LEADS DISCONNECTED ,THE GENERATOR SHOULD BE RE-POLARIZED."
danfhowe, The video is 100% correct. On a "A" circuit regulator, which these farmall's are, you flash the armature. A "B" circuit you flash the Field terminal. Please don't start stating facts unless you know them.
So, thanks, this helped. I did exactly this on my Massey 65, but I was missing a ground in the circuit I think soooo, I then took the spark straight from the battery instead. This caused the tractor to turn off immediately. I was wondering if this was a good or bad sign. I then jumped my tractor again and miraculously, I am measuring 14v at the battery!! Hooray. And yeah, I flashed the armature on the generator after a rebuild. Anybody know why the tractor stalled out?
Hot $#!+ I wondered why my H quit charging. I replaced the post clamps and it quit charging. Figured the voltage regulator finally gave out. I'll try polarizing it before I start throwing parts at it.
One thing you can do if polarizing doesn't help, is when the tractor is running, ground out the field. If the generator charges, the regulator is no good.
could you in theory jump from BAT terminal on regulator to ARM (A) terminal on regulator, since ARM (A) is jumped to the generator ARM (A) terminal? Its a shorter distance
Is a super a 12v? I assumed because it had a generator it was 6v? The people I got it from had a 12v battery an hooked up as negative ground I assumed they hooked it up wrong. Do you know a good way to tell? An help would be greatly appreciated thank you
Oh no its ok I understand I was just going on what the book said. I'm getting it from an original IH Operators Manual. Ok here is the rest on what it says. " After making certain that the grounded battery terminal is the positive one momentarily connect a jumper lead between the battery terminal of the regulator and the "A" terminal of the generator. this allows a momentary surge of current to flow through the generator which correctly polarizes it.."
Matt Oswalt, If your tractor has a Delco 1100501 generator and a regulator, you can do exactly as shown. If It has a Delco 1101355 generator and a cut out, I'm not cure if you can. I never did on those and they worked fine.
Our 1960 Ford Truck has the positive going to the body instead of ground. Have you guys ever heard of this? How do you upgrade this to a late model Ford alterntor?
Good video. I think my super A is still 6v positive ground, is it still the same procedure to polarize the generator? Does it still have to be done every time I disconnect the battery, and is one quick spark with the jumper wire good enough?
Well yeah but that Alternator works good in the long run... cause iv seen a bunch of people pull there hair out using a Generator ... Cause iv done then i got a tractor that wont charge the battery an my Head hurt's 8^( HaHa ......but i rather have the Gen on there instead so it will look original specially if its a show tractor.. Work tractor take the Gen off an toss it in the woods 8^) LOL came close to doing that HaHa
Haha .. The Generators work well if you maintain them. They will give you good service. But Yes a alternator works better but just looks so UGLY hanging out the side of such a beautiful Farmall. Don't get me wrong I like a Alternator but a Generator looks so much better. haha
I have a 1952 Farmall Super A and bought a new rire harness. When I run the tractor it shows full discharge when I reverse the wires it shows full charge with the battery fully charged. Would you have any idea what would be wrong?
Bartley Bass it's exactly the same way. You only have to polarize once when you replace the generator or regulator and not every time you disconnect the battery.
It is the same provided it has full voltage regulation. Earlier IH tractors had only a cut-out and a different generator. If your tractor has a Delco 1100501 generator, you may polarize as shown. If it has a Delco 1101355 generator, I wouldn't polarize it at all. I am not sure if you can on those. I never have, and I've made them work.
i bought a wiring harness 2 yrs ago for my farmell super a and my brother was suppose to help me with it, well he passed away at that time and my tractor has been sitting around, i want to get it going, how hard would it be for me to do the wiring harness and make sure the engine is ok before i start it, i realize i need a new battery, but any advice would be great please email me
If It's regular IH wiring harness I can help you. On the generator There is an A Terminal and an F Terminal. The proper harness on pretty much all of the older IH tractors use about a 10 or 12 gauge blue wire to go to the A terminal and a 16 gauge yellow wire to the F terminal. That blue wire hooks up to the GEN terminal which is by itself either on the opposite side of the regulator as the other 3 terminals or it may be underneath. The yellow hooks up to the F terminal on the regulator. The other terminals on the regulator are the BAT and L terminal. The BAT terminal usually uses a 10 or 12 gauge black wire which in turn is hooked to the ammeter. The L terminal usually connects to the fuseholder in the dash for the light switch. The fuseholder is also hooked to the #1 terminal on the light switch. Next the distributor or the magneto. There should be a 14 gauge black wire that goes to either the - terminal on the coil or the magneto. (if equipped with a distributor a short cable must be hooked from the + terminal on the coil to the distributor itself) This is hooked to the ignition switch which if equipped with a magneto only has one terminal. A battery ignition switch has 2 terminals the other which is connected to the same terminal of the ammeter that the regulator hooks too. This is important because if you hook it on the same side as the power wire from the starter, it will not show a discharge if the generator stops working. The power wire comes off the same terminal as the battery cable is hooked to on the starter switch. It is usually a 10 gauge red wire and hooks to the ammeter. It must be hooked to the opposite side of the ammeter as the other wires and must be the only wire on that side of the ammeter. I am not sure about Super A's but on all of the standard tread tractors the headlight wire hooks to a junction block mounted on a brace across the top of the back of the radiator. This wire is usually a 12 gauge purple wire and it goes to the #2 terminal on the light switch. The small harnesses or single wires to each headlight hooks to this junction block and they are usually 16 gauge black. They may be small harnesses with grounds if your tractor is equipped with the flat back sealed beams. The grounds are usually 16 gauge pink wire and they usually are grounded to the thermostat housing. Now I think we have it and all that's left is the back light. That little harness or individual wire hooks to the #3 terminal on the light switch, and may have a ground as well. Now if you hook everything up and it shows a charge when you turn on the ignition switch if equipped with a distributor and if it shows a discharge when running, you will have to change the wires from side to side on the ammeter. I have wired International tractors for over 20 years and always built my own harnesses usually first with tape and then fibre loom to give them an original and professional look. I have never done a Super A but have done at least 50 other IH tractors of the same vintage. Also, in case you don't know, when I mention wire sizes, the smaller the number the bigger the wire. A 10 or 12 gauge is a big wire and a 16 gauge is a small one.
One thing else, when removing the wires off the generator, make sure only the top nut turns. If the whole terminal turns it will break the wire off inside the generator.
As for the engine, check the radiator for coolant. You should be able to touch the coolant with your finger and if you can't it's too low. Make sure you have anti-freeze in it because too many people use water and forget to drain their tractors and the water when it freezes with break the block. Also antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors and it protects your liner seals and prevents them from leaking. We had a power unit off of one of the combines which is the same engine. It was sitting drained for years and when we got it going the liner seals leaked and coolant got into the crankcase. That wouldn't have happened if it was kept full of antifreeze. Then check the oil which if you don't know, checks with petcocks on the side of the engine. Open the top one which is the "full" if nothing comes out check the bottom which is safe starting, and if nothing comes out, add oil before even starting. I like to keep them so the oil runs out of the top petcock. Check the condition of the oil, too, if it's overly runny or milky or dirty, I would change the oil and filter first. Different owners have different preferences of oil, but in all my tractors I use 15W40 oil and it works great. The Super A's take a 376374R91 filter. Check the gas. If the gas is really stale, you can save a lot of trouble by draining the gas and putting new gas in. Then try to start it. You should have some action after a few turns with the choke on. If not, the problems are either no spark or no gas entering the engine. If you try that and it doesn't start, let me know and I'll try to help you troubleshoot.
" Ahhhhh to much Trouble!! " " Give me a Alternator " 8^) so whats New over in tractorland??? im pulling my hair out trying to get a hold of a 64 Cub Square Nose.... 8^[ ...
More less just a precaution I presume. What post does it say to polarize, the field post or the armeture post. If it says armeture it's a mistake cause you have to polarise the fields not the armeture. I'm just stating the facts not trying to argue here. That wouldn't be the first service manual I've seen with mistakes in. These manuals are written by people who have never had there hands on the machines the write about. I'm done here so no need to reply. Dan
I hate to say this but you polarize the field wire,not the armature wire and you only have to do this once. You are giving the fields a residual magnitism so they will be self excited when they charge. The fields will hold this residule magnetism well over a year or longer, you must have somthing hooked up wrong if you have to do this if you unhook the battery.I'd keep my mouth shut but you are giving generators a bad reputation here. Dan
Correct. Negative ground system; F terminal. Positive ground system; A terminal. Check by seeing what batt terminal goes to frame, that is the ground type.
He is correct by tapping power to the A terminal on his particular generator. It has an externally earthed field. If he tapped the F terminal he would be putting a direct short to earth. I always polarise a generator with both leads disconnected, but you still need to know whether the generator has an internally or an externally earthed field..
Fantastic explanation! For so many years i struggled with this issue, all the case ih dealerships would'nt tell me anything like it was top secret nsa/cia national security info. I used just a screwdriver on the armature & could get good continuity but like you say it still would'nt charge the battery. So i'ld drop off the generator at the local magneto repair and of course nothing wrong. After buying many batteries it frustrated me so badly i traded my dads farmall m for a 560 diesel.
thanks i have heard this might be my problem before and went searching again for a cause thanks for taking the time to make this video gonna try this tomorrow
Connect a 3 watt panel light between positive on start key, and the field connection and it wil work automatic, the small currend trough the bulb wil help to polarize the field, when the dynamo is not working it will be lit, when charging it is of, works like a charm.
Thank you.
Failing to polarize it will cook your points too. I went through two sets of points on an old Pontiac Chieftain I had until the mechanic said "Did you polarize the generator?"
Ok ,, On Page 60 of the Farmall Super C Operators Manual ON (Polarizing the Generator) It says " IF THE GENERATOR OR THE REGULATOR HAS BEEN REMOVED OR THE LEADS DISCONNECTED ,THE GENERATOR SHOULD BE RE-POLARIZED."
Haha ... That was how the Operators Manual showed you how to do it. I like your way too haha .
cool....thanks ...
danfhowe, The video is 100% correct. On a "A" circuit regulator, which these farmall's are, you flash the armature. A "B" circuit you flash the Field terminal. Please don't start stating facts unless you know them.
So, thanks, this helped. I did exactly this on my Massey 65, but I was missing a ground in the circuit I think soooo, I then took the spark straight from the battery instead. This caused the tractor to turn off immediately. I was wondering if this was a good or bad sign. I then jumped my tractor again and miraculously, I am measuring 14v at the battery!! Hooray. And yeah, I flashed the armature on the generator after a rebuild. Anybody know why the tractor stalled out?
hay was wondering if you have an hour meter on the super C
Thanks I was not sure if I remember correctly or not
Hot $#!+ I wondered why my H quit charging. I replaced the post clamps and it quit charging. Figured the voltage regulator finally gave out. I'll try polarizing it before I start throwing parts at it.
One thing you can do if polarizing doesn't help, is when the tractor is running, ground out the field. If the generator charges, the regulator is no good.
could you in theory jump from BAT terminal on regulator to ARM (A) terminal on regulator, since ARM (A) is jumped to the generator ARM (A) terminal? Its a shorter distance
Wiring is temporary . I'm getting a wiring harness for it soon. This was just Temporary
Is a super a 12v? I assumed because it had a generator it was 6v? The people I got it from had a 12v battery an hooked up as negative ground I assumed they hooked it up wrong. Do you know a good way to tell? An help would be greatly appreciated thank you
Oh no its ok I understand I was just going on what the book said. I'm getting it from an original IH Operators Manual. Ok here is the rest on what it says. " After making certain that the grounded battery terminal is the positive one momentarily connect a jumper lead between the battery terminal of the regulator and the "A" terminal of the generator. this allows a momentary surge of current to flow through the generator which correctly polarizes it.."
You mentioned this how to polarize the generator on a positive ground 12 volt system. Is it the same for a 6 volt positive system? Thank you
Matt Oswalt, If your tractor has a Delco 1100501 generator and a regulator, you can do exactly as shown. If It has a Delco 1101355 generator and a cut out, I'm not cure if you can. I never did on those and they worked fine.
Our 1960 Ford Truck has the positive going to the body instead of ground. Have you guys ever heard of this?
How do you upgrade this to a late model Ford alterntor?
Good video. I think my super A is still 6v positive ground, is it still the same procedure to polarize the generator? Does it still have to be done every time I disconnect the battery, and is one quick spark with the jumper wire good enough?
Shouldn't have to perform this process if only changing out the battery.
However no need to spend extra money when you can keep it stock :P
Well yeah but that Alternator works good in the long run...
cause iv seen a bunch of people pull there hair out using a Generator ...
Cause iv done then i got a tractor that wont charge the battery an my Head hurt's 8^(
HaHa ......but i rather have the Gen on there instead so it will look original specially if its a show tractor.. Work tractor take the Gen off an toss it in the woods 8^) LOL came close to doing that HaHa
Haha .. The Generators work well if you maintain them. They will give you good service. But Yes a alternator works better but just looks so UGLY hanging out the side of such a beautiful Farmall. Don't get me wrong I like a Alternator but a Generator looks so much better. haha
I have a 1952 Farmall Super A and bought a new rire harness. When I run the tractor it shows full discharge when I reverse the wires it shows full charge with the battery fully charged. Would you have any idea what would be wrong?
Let me think
do you polarize a 6v POS ground generator the same way? if not how about a vido on a 6v POS system
Bartley Bass it's exactly the same way. You only have to polarize once when you replace the generator or regulator and not every time you disconnect the battery.
It is the same provided it has full voltage regulation. Earlier IH tractors had only a cut-out and a different generator. If your tractor has a Delco 1100501 generator, you may polarize as shown. If it has a Delco 1101355 generator, I wouldn't polarize it at all. I am not sure if you can on those. I never have, and I've made them work.
Why is it that on an airplane with a generator you don’t have to repolarize every flight? Because the master switch cuts all circuits.
It remains in a polarized state to what it was set to
Yeah every time the you disconnect the battery it has to be done.
No way " you have something wired wrong.
i bought a wiring harness 2 yrs ago for my farmell super a and my brother was suppose to help me with it, well he passed away at that time and my tractor has been sitting around, i want to get it going, how hard would it be for me to do the wiring harness and make sure the engine is ok before i start it, i realize i need a new battery, but any advice would be great please email me
If It's regular IH wiring harness I can help you. On the generator There is an A Terminal and an F Terminal. The proper harness on pretty much all of the older IH tractors use about a 10 or 12 gauge blue wire to go to the A terminal and a 16 gauge yellow wire to the F terminal. That blue wire hooks up to the GEN terminal which is by itself either on the opposite side of the regulator as the other 3 terminals or it may be underneath. The yellow hooks up to the F terminal on the regulator. The other terminals on the regulator are the BAT and L terminal. The BAT terminal usually uses a 10 or 12 gauge black wire which in turn is hooked to the ammeter. The L terminal usually connects to the fuseholder in the dash for the light switch. The fuseholder is also hooked to the #1 terminal on the light switch.
Next the distributor or the magneto. There should be a 14 gauge black wire that goes to either the - terminal on the coil or the magneto. (if equipped with a distributor a short cable must be hooked from the + terminal on the coil to the distributor itself) This is hooked to the ignition switch which if equipped with a magneto only has one terminal. A battery ignition switch has 2 terminals the other which is connected to the same terminal of the ammeter that the regulator hooks too. This is important because if you hook it on the same side as the power wire from the starter, it will not show a discharge if the generator stops working. The power wire comes off the same terminal as the battery cable is hooked to on the starter switch. It is usually a 10 gauge red wire and hooks to the ammeter. It must be hooked to the opposite side of the ammeter as the other wires and must be the only wire on that side of the ammeter. I am not sure about Super A's but on all of the standard tread tractors the headlight wire hooks to a junction block mounted on a brace across the top of the back of the radiator. This wire is usually a 12 gauge purple wire and it goes to the #2 terminal on the light switch. The small harnesses or single wires to each headlight hooks to this junction block and they are usually 16 gauge black. They may be small harnesses with grounds if your tractor is equipped with the flat back sealed beams. The grounds are usually 16 gauge pink wire and they usually are grounded to the thermostat housing. Now I think we have it and all that's left is the back light. That little harness or individual wire hooks to the #3 terminal on the light switch, and may have a ground as well.
Now if you hook everything up and it shows a charge when you turn on the ignition switch if equipped with a distributor and if it shows a discharge when running, you will have to change the wires from side to side on the ammeter.
I have wired International tractors for over 20 years and always built my own harnesses usually first with tape and then fibre loom to give them an original and professional look. I have never done a Super A but have done at least 50 other IH tractors of the same vintage.
Also, in case you don't know, when I mention wire sizes, the smaller the number the bigger the wire. A 10 or 12 gauge is a big wire and a 16 gauge is a small one.
One thing else, when removing the wires off the generator, make sure only the top nut turns. If the whole terminal turns it will break the wire off inside the generator.
As for the engine, check the radiator for coolant. You should be able to touch the coolant with your finger and if you can't it's too low. Make sure you have anti-freeze in it because too many people use water and forget to drain their tractors and the water when it freezes with break the block. Also antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors and it protects your liner seals and prevents them from leaking. We had a power unit off of one of the combines which is the same engine. It was sitting drained for years and when we got it going the liner seals leaked and coolant got into the crankcase. That wouldn't have happened if it was kept full of antifreeze. Then check the oil which if you don't know, checks with petcocks on the side of the engine. Open the top one which is the "full" if nothing comes out check the bottom which is safe starting, and if nothing comes out, add oil before even starting. I like to keep them so the oil runs out of the top petcock. Check the condition of the oil, too, if it's overly runny or milky or dirty, I would change the oil and filter first. Different owners have different preferences of oil, but in all my tractors I use 15W40 oil and it works great. The Super A's take a 376374R91 filter. Check the gas. If the gas is really stale, you can save a lot of trouble by draining the gas and putting new gas in. Then try to start it. You should have some action after a few turns with the choke on. If not, the problems are either no spark or no gas entering the engine. If you try that and it doesn't start, let me know and I'll try to help you troubleshoot.
" Ahhhhh to much Trouble!! "
" Give me a Alternator " 8^)
so whats New over in tractorland???
im pulling my hair out trying to get a hold of a 64 Cub Square Nose.... 8^[ ...
More less just a precaution I presume. What post does it say to polarize, the field post or the armeture post. If it says armeture it's a mistake cause you have to polarise the fields not the armeture. I'm just stating the facts not trying to argue here. That wouldn't be the first service manual I've seen with mistakes in. These manuals are written by people who have never had there hands on the machines the write about. I'm done here so no need to reply. Dan
Polarrize the field. F not the armature A. +battery B. to field F . engine off. 🔑 off.
I hate to say this but you polarize the field wire,not the armature wire and you only have to do this once. You are giving the fields a residual magnitism so they will be self excited when they charge. The fields will hold this residule magnetism well over a year or longer, you must have somthing hooked up wrong if you have to do this if you unhook the battery.I'd keep my mouth shut but you are giving generators a bad reputation here. Dan
Correct. Negative ground system; F terminal. Positive ground system; A terminal. Check by seeing what batt terminal goes to frame, that is the ground type.
Your exactly right something's wired wrong.
He is correct by tapping power to the A terminal on his particular generator. It has an externally earthed field. If he tapped the F terminal he would be putting a direct short to earth. I always polarise a generator with both leads disconnected, but you still need to know whether the generator has an internally or an externally earthed field..