6 volt blunder...oh brudder

Well i get it home and battery is mosltly dead which i knew. Put a voltmeter on it and it reads 5.5 volts. i jump it with my 6 volt 8N and she starts and runs fine. however, ammeter reads zero. I measure 5.5 V coming off alternator and at the voltage regulator.

My question is, what damage would jumping with 12 V have done? Is the alternator shot?? ALl help is appreciated..

The thing I think may be a voltage regulator is a brass colored metalic can (also with no labeling) behind the dash with two wires connected to it. It looks newish compared to all the wiring etc.

Gonna replace the batt. first and then take the alt/gen in as Dell suggests.

Jim, my bro and sis are shrinks, they still havent been able to figure me out, but if I need another one I will let you know.

The common and most popular 12 volt conversion alternator is the Delco 10-SI which has a built-in solidstate voltage regulator.

The original 6-volt 9N had a 2-terminal roundcan cut-out relay on the steering column under the battery tray, and charging was controled by a screwdriver adjusted 3rd-brush on the back of the 9N's 1-terminal genny. The cut-out relay disconnects the genny gutts from the battery when the engine stopps so the battery doesn't drain down overnite thru the genny gutts..... .....Dell

Yes, you can safely jump-start your tractor with a 12 volt battery to the STARTER MOTOR DIRECT. Starter don't care what jumper battery polarity is. 12 volt Alternator shouldn't care. 6 volt genny don't care.

Me? I'd take the alternator off and have it tested for FREE at an autoparts store, then you'd know..... ....Dell

6 Volt alternators, both positive and negative ground, are readily available to the old tractor and antique car crowd, so it's certainly POSSIBLE he could have an alternator.

A boost with 12 Volts could well have blown the internal 6 Volt regulator, or on top of boosting with 12 Volts, he could have used the opposite ground polarity of what the alternator was set up for. The problem is, if it turns out to be a 6 Volt alternator, there is no easy way to determine this, and what polarity it was set up for by looking at the outside of the alternator.

Jim Cox

• Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts