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3000 Electrical Mystery

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Craig

10-04-1999 06:16:41




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The head lights on my '65 3000 have never worked but I decided to work on it this weekend. I checked for voltage at the bulb and had 0 volts. Worked my way back through the system and found a blown fuse. Replaced it and I have 12 volts through to each headlamp,but no lights. I checked continutiy across each headlamp and it doesn't appear to have a broken filament. I took a known good 12v bulb and touched it to the existing leads, still no lights. Final note, the dashboard lights started working after replacing the fuse. What could I be missing?

I think I still have the orginal generator, I have seen comments on converting to an alternator system. What are the advantages?

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Craig

10-11-1999 06:48:50




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 Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig, 10-04-1999 06:16:41  
Just in case you were wondering the problem turned out to be a flaky / dirty switch on the hot side. I took it apart and cleaned the contacts. Also the tractor had been repainted and the ground between the hood and headlight housing was lost. After scaping a little paint, all was good.

Thanks for all the input.



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Craig Rouse

10-05-1999 05:50:17




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 Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig, 10-04-1999 06:16:41  
1/2 way home. I determined that I have a bad hot lead and a bad ground. I was able to trace the bad hot lead back to the switch. 1st question, any ideas on where to get a replacment switch. I guess a regular automotive switch would work?? Also I noticed that the headlamp grounds to the headlamp frame. I'm still a litttle confused on Bern's suggestion. How does the grounding work it's way back to the fender?

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Headlight location - RWK in WI

10-05-1999 19:17:41




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 Re: Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig Rouse, 10-05-1999 05:50:17  
I'm going to be that Craig has headlights mounted on the front of the hood and that Bern is thinking of the 3000's with the lights in the flat top fenders. I believe 3000's came both ways as I have one of each. I hope this helps with the confusion.

Dick Kraus

- - - - -



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Craig

10-06-1999 06:57:21




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 Re: Re: Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Headlight location - RWK in WI, 10-05-1999 19:17:41  
Now, I understand. Your right, my lights are on the hood. Thanks for clarifying that for me.



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Kim Hartshorn

10-05-1999 08:24:12




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 Re: Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig Rouse, 10-05-1999 05:50:17  
I am not familiar with the switch in this tractor, just having really gotten into tractors myself, but one nice thing about equipment made before the '70's is that it can often be taken apart. I mess around too much with old boats (which likely have the same type of switch) and often the switch housing can be taken apart and the contacts cleaned. It might be worth a try, especially if there are aesthetic/restoration concerns.

Good Luck

Kim

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Bern

10-05-1999 08:02:02




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 Re: Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig Rouse, 10-05-1999 05:50:17  
Craig, you will notice that the lights are not grounded through the harness. Therefor the ground path is first to the lamp bracket, then the fender itself, then the trumpet housing, then the rear axle, and (you get the idea) all the way to the battery.

Experience has shown to me that of all these points, the fender to trumpet housing contact point is usually the trouble area.



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Moye

10-04-1999 19:05:19




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 Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig, 10-04-1999 06:16:41  
Craig, when it comes to the generator, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, when it does break, relpace with an alternator. It is cheaper and works better.



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Bern

10-04-1999 12:51:23




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 Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig, 10-04-1999 06:16:41  
Your fenders are likely all rusted where they mount to the axle, therefor your ground is for the most part non-existent. Easiest way to fix this is to run a separate wire from a rear axle mounting bolt to a fender attaching screw somewhere. Scrape off all paint before attaching this wire.

Alternators are FAR more reliable than generators. I have absolutley nothing good to say about generators, especially the junk Lucas ones found on the older Fords.

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Kim Hartshorn

10-04-1999 10:19:19




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 Re: 3000 Electrical Mystery in reply to Craig, 10-04-1999 06:16:41  
It could be that the connection to ground for the headlights has a bunch of crud and rust....high resistance. This would still show 12 volts at the leads but all of your current will be sapped at the high resistance. Try the same procedure you outlined earlier in the dark and see if there is just a bit of a glow that isnt visible in daylight. Oh...actually it is not necessarily at the connection to ground...there may be corrosion in other places...or multitudes of places. Other things that could offer high resistance might be almost severed wire. One place that is often overlooked is the fuse holder itself. Sometimes the little rivets that hold the fuse holder clip to the bus bar get loose and allow corrosion to build up. The dashboard lights being lower wattage do not require as much current and so may be getting enought to light.

Good Luck

Kim

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