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Help with TO 20 battery and power

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Joe from MO

04-18-2005 15:12:48

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Let me say up front that I know very little about tractors or cars so forgive the ignorance, but- My TO-20 has worked fine for years and then last fall I noticed the meter was showing no "amps?" and if I use the headlights they only work for a few minutes and die, then I have no power to start the tractor later. Because I am so dumb I don't know if I have a bad alternator, generator or regulator, or even if all of these are even on the tractor (the battery is new last year). Where do I start? Thanks for any help

Joe

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danct

04-19-2005 15:27:07

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-18-2005 15:12:48

Joe
to polarize means to add some residual magnetism to the generator field to tell it which way to charge ,to do this briefly touch a piece of wire from the Neg side of the battery to the F terminal on the generator you should see a spark and thats ok
one other thing i would do if you are still not charging ,i would turn back the F termial on the generator and ground it very briefly to a good ground ,this shoud force the generator to produce full output,measure the output with your meter quickly and dont leave the ground on there long let us know
Danny

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phil(va)

04-18-2005 20:12:34

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-18-2005 15:12:48

OK, others have alluded to these basic questions. Do you have a six volt or 12 volt system? i.e., is the battery six or 12 volts? (Three holes to add water = six volts; six holes = 12 volts.) Second, is the cable from the negative side of the battery attached to the starter or is it attached to a ground on the tractor like the dash or engine block? Tell us the answer to those questions and as others said we'll proceed from there.

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Joe from MO

04-19-2005 07:21:46

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to phil(va), 04-18-2005 20:12:34

Thanks for all the input and while I just got these messages and won't be able to check cable hook ups etc. I can answer a few questions. It is still 6 volts and properly hooked + ground etc. and I don't remember having this problem when I replaced the battery but it could have been less than ideal at the time and maybe deteriated from there. I do have a voltmeter and can use it. I can help you with radio electronics (radio station transmitters) but don't know anything about engines and autos. Thanks again and I will check some of the wiring and other notes from you all as soon as I get home tonight.

Joe

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gshadel

04-19-2005 09:50:11

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-19-2005 07:21:46

Joe, On these old 6 volt'ers, most of the starting/charging problems are just dirty connections. I recommend first just cleaning all the terminals and connections on the generator, voltage regulator, battery, and ground to the tractor frame. Also make sure your regulator has a good clean ground to the frame, it is grounded by one of the mounting bolts on the regulator.
Then polarize your generator, start-er up and check your volts across your battery like the other guys said. Doing all that will cost you nothing except an hour or so of your time. Your voltage regulator controls generator output to the battery by regulating the generators field to ground, full ground=full generator output. You can check your generator by starting your tractor and jumping the F (field) terminal on the generator to ground. If the generator is working right, it should kick out ~7-8 volts across the battery.

Hope this helps.

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Joe from MO

04-19-2005 10:57:25

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to gshadel, 04-19-2005 09:50:11

Polarize the generator? Can someone tell me what that means and how to do it? As long as I have you all helping I'll ask a question that has plaqued me for years. Several years ago I bought an oil filter for the TO-20 and have been afraid to use it ever since, I see the system seems to be more of a passive system and you apparently either remove the entire pan or just the holder for the filter on the bottom of the pan but I keep seeing stories about people running into all kinds of trouble with gaskets, both trouble finding them and getting them not to leak when replaaced. Is it that daunting? SDhould I have the local tractor repair place (1 mile from my home) do it or can I do it with little trouble. Thanks again

Joe

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phil(va)

04-19-2005 08:43:02

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-19-2005 07:21:46

Ok. Hookup sounds ok. Put voltmeter across battery while running and you should get about 7 volts, maybe as much as 7.2 volts. If not, charging system not working properly (or battery could have dead cell). Any auto parts store can check the battery. If you eliminate that as the problem, then most likely the problem is either with the VR or the generator. You can take both to an auto generator or electrical repair shop and they will check them out for you and fix if necessary. You can troubleshoot them yourself, but they are simple to remove and that is one way to do it.

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nonac99

04-18-2005 19:48:41

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-18-2005 15:12:48

Does it have a 12 volt battery? If so then it is not original and may have been upgraded to an alternator. You could look under the hood of most cars and see an alternator whose diameter is as big around as your tractors' alternator should be. Generators usually have a smaller diameter than an alternator.
Check that the belt is on and tight on the pulley.
Check all connections to see if they are clean and tight. The connections on the battery may have to be removed and cleaned inside and out. Also the battery posts should be cleaned. It is very important not to touch either of the wires to anything metal on the tractor as sparks could fly. It really sounds like your battery is not charging. If you have a voltmeter this would help a lot in troubleshooting the problem. Many auto parts stores will check your alternator/generator and battery for you but you have to bring them in. If the alternator/generator checks out bad then you may just want to have the battery charged and repair or replace the alternator/generator. If both battery and generator/alternator check good you may have a bad regulator which should be easy to locate by following the wires from the alternator/regulator.

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danct

04-18-2005 19:41:54

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-18-2005 15:12:48

Joe
one more thing ,i noticed you changed the battery last year ,did the problem start then ,i hope you made it POS connection to Ground (the metal of the tractor ) and the NEG connection to the starting motor switch, check and let us know
Danny

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danct

04-18-2005 19:40:55

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-18-2005 15:12:48

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danct

04-18-2005 19:29:40

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Re: Help with TO 20 battery and power in reply to Joe from MO, 04-18-2005 15:12:48

Joe
you are not dumb,you came to this board didnt you
first thing we need to know is ,is the tractor still 6 volts,or has it been converted to 12 volts,,if it is 6 volts it will have a generator with two wires coming to the voltage regulator,the wire from F on the generator will go to the F terminal on the voltage regulator,the wire from A of the generator will go to G on the regulator,if this is the setup you have let us know and we will help you fix this problem,thrust me we all have these problems that why we can work from memory to help each other
get back to us
Danny

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