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460D electrical trouble

7346 Views 24 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  soundguy
Hi all. Recently purchased a 1962 460d. Ran great until about 2 weeks ago I had to jump it to start it. Tested the generator and found that it was not making power. So i took the generator to get rebuilt and also replaced the Voltage regulator as well. Also purchased 2 new 6 volt batteries. Since then i still have to jump it to start it. When i first threw the generator on it was making a boat load of power on the meter but now the meter says most times between 0 and 8. Seems to not be working. If i test the generator on the tester it shows 14+. And i have power at all points of the VR. My best guess is theres a short somewhere but where do i begin to look? Thanks
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Those numbers would be normal if the batteries are charged good. Are you sure its the batteries not getting charged, and not the starter getting weak.Whats battery voltage when the tracotr is running vs not running, and you are sure you hooked them up correctly? (Series, and not parallel)
John, i am showing 12.5 when not running and upwards of 14 when running. With the load tester it was 10.6 or 10.7 when tested. Currently have 2 6 volts and they are linked together. I think i have them hooked up right. Positive to the starter then theres a jumper from the negative of that batter to the Positive of the second. Then the negative to the ground by the starter.
Assuming the 14 is at the batteries, its charging. Sounds like the batteries are connected right, make sure they are good, clean, and tight.
Also, make sure that where your ground strap, and starter connects to the frame is clean and rust free.
and make sure the genny is grounded good, vreg has a good ground, and wires from armature to vreg, and vreg to battery connection ( starter switch or solenoid ) is good.
ok thanks guys ill look into it a bit more.
Remember, paint makes for a poor connection. Sounds like a starter or connection problem. Had a problem like that on a 460 Ford in a 54 F-100, found the ground cable had a restive connection between the cable and the factory terminal (end).
checked all connections tonight and checked the terminals and they are all secured. But still only 7-8 volts reading on the tester when cranking. even tested at the ends of the negative (ground lead), and postive lead at the starter.
That still isnt bad for cranking, I think it may be time to look at the starter itself. I do have to ask, have you done anything to hop up the horsepower, like turning up the pump? Also, are all the glowplugs working correctly?
Im pretty sure one of the previous owners did a Piston Job. It has around 2900 hrs. The way the thing sounds is amazing even with a stock exhaust, and It it doesnt sound like a stock 236. has a nice flutter to it. It will throw some smoke when you get on it but nothing too serious.still the stock rosamaster pump. I adjusted the valves thats it. The glowplugs seem to working fine.
After cranking, put a hand on the terminals. They should not be hot. If they are hot they are bad and if the connection is clean and tight, replace the cable.
tried that today. they dont get hot :( i'll have to keep looking i guess.
Just a thought have you tried running a ground straight to the starter, Sometimes the old ones will not conduct the ground.



i know on some larger fords, it's prett standard protocal to run a ground cable to a starter stud!
Bad Armature in the starter......oh boy Lol
CJ1066 said:
Bad Armature in the starter......oh boy Lol
Sorry for that but glad you found it!!



Starter fixed. 157.00 dollars later Lol. Stuck it on an had it running around the farm here for awhile today then parked it. Moved it twice and shut it off twice throughout the day then tried it later on and nothing. Not even a click from the selanoid. Found it only has power on 1 side of the ammeter. So i am ordering new gauges,key shwitch and starter button. I'm going to do it right. But i guess this means no pulls for me next weekend :( Still dont know why it shorted out though.
you don't have power to the starter going thru the ammeter do you?

I'm surprised the ammeter died.. them shunt voltmeters are pretty tough.. not much mor ethan a calibrated piece of metal in there.. :)
I have power to one side which is strange. I can run a jumper wire to the positive terminal and it starts up fine. I just dont wanna damage anything so i'm not gonna run it until i get the new gauges in and reiwire everything. I ordered new ones yesterday factory OEM replacements so i'm pretty excited.
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