John Deere 60

Thanks

~You need to get a decent battery in that tractor [or try charging yours].. If you charge that battery [or batteries] that are in it now & it won’t hold a charge long enough to start it a while later you need to get that taken care of first.

~Once you have a battery [or batteries] in it that will hold a charge, then you need to re-polarize the generator to be certain it is trying to charge the correct direction.. To do that ---FIRST put a fully charged battery [or batteries] in the tractor & hook up correctly [positive ground],, then just ground the generator’s [F] post {smaller of the two] to a good clean ground,, then use a test light & probe around on the regulator’s terminals & find the one that has battery power on it at all times,, then momentarily jump the regulator’s powered battery terminal to the generators [A] post {larger of the two}.. You should see a spark & if so it is then polarized..

~If a good battery & re-polarization doesn’t get it charging try operating the tractor for a while, maybe the generator’s commutator is just dirty or oxidized..

~If it still doesn’t charge try cleaning the regulator to generator attachment [they MUST have a good connection to each other]..

~If still no charge make sure the belt is tight,, grab the generator pulley [tractor NOT running] & see if you can spin it,, if so the belt is too loose.

~If still no charge try the simple generator test below..

**Start at the voltage regulator,,, you MUST have battery power at the [BAT] terminal on the voltage regulator for it to charge [if you don’t, find out why] - the V/R [BAT] terminal gets it’s power from the NON battery side of the ammeter

***To check the charging system …run the engine at fast idle,, then ground the [F] post on the generator to the generator frame [if it then charges you either have a bad regulator, poor regulator ground, or open in the wire between the generator’s [F] post & regulator’s [FLD] terminal]…If it still doesn’t charge,, leave the [F] post grounded, then use a jumper wire to hook the [A] post on the generator to the [BAT] terminal on the regulator [if it charges now you either have a bad regulator, or open in the wire between the generator’s [A] post & regulator’s [GEN] terminal.. If it still doesn’t charge run a quick test on the generator [below]…

****To test the generator--- Remove both wires & the belt from the generator… Then short the generator’s [F] post to ground,, then run battery power from the regulator’s battery terminal [it must have good battery power to it] to the generator’s [A] post.. If all is well with the generator it should start to motor,, then remove the [F] post ground,, the generator should speed up.. If it motors, then speeds up with the [F] post un-grounded the generator is probably good to go & your problem lies elsewhere.. If it motors but doesn’t slow down with the [F] post re-grounded you have a field problem.. If it doesn’t motor at all you probably have a corroded armature commutator or open in the generator somewhere.. Try removing the generator’s rear cover & looking for oxidation, broken brush springs, sticking brushes, or broken wires..

-It helps to print this out & take it out to the tractor with you-..

Any questions just post back or E-Mail..

JDClooney@aol.com

Can you try a known good substitute battery and see what happens?????

Do you have a good charger you can charge it up with and then see what happnes?????

To be safe as shes sat a long while, I also suggest you polarize the Generator (takes a working battery installed to do so). Insure the BAT termial on the VR reads battery voltage, temporarily ground the Gens Field post to its case, then momentarily flash jump a wire from the VR's BAT terminal over ot its ARM (or GEN) terminal and you should get a small spark. Then with a known good and charged battery installed, see if she charges.

Does the ammeter work????? Does it swing to discharge tractor not running if you turn lights or ignition on????

Is the belt good n tight and NOT glazed???
If so, that can cause poor to no charging!!!!!

Other minor causes of no charge in a long setting tractor if shes polarized and has a good battery but wont charge, is dust or dirt or debris in the Generators brush area or hold down springs not allowing the hold down spring assemblys to push the brushes tight down against the commutator. Try a good cleaning and airing out there and insure the brush hold downs will snap up n down. Clean any carbon or glaze off the commutator also if possible.

You might also insure a good tight belt and that the Gen and VR are well grounded by loosenign and re tightening bolts and/or attachign a good ground to them.

Summary: Try a battery charge or known good substitute battery,,,,, ,,inspect battery for electrolyte and no bad cells and have it load tested if possible,,,,, ,,,,,polarize the Generator,,,,, ,,check for a good tight belt,,,,, ,,,check and clean and air out the generators brush and commutator area,,,,, ,,,, and see what happens. If all thats good and you insure you have a good battery, post back or e mail and I will post my detailed Troubleshooting Procedures, in the meantime, heres a shortened version to see if its a Gen or VR problem.

a) With tractor running, temporarily ground the Gens Field post terminal to the Gens case. If it charges then, suspect a bad VR or a missing wire from Field on Gen to Fld on VR or the VR's not well grounded.

b) If still no charge, leave Field wired grounded as above, and momentarily jump/attach the VR's BAT and GEN (or ARM) together and see if she charges. If so then, the VR's cutout relay may be bad.

Post back what you find or anymore questions or if you need my complete detailed Troubleshooting Procedure. Good Luck n God Bless

John T