[oldman1151]

I am having a battery drain on my farmall A. I thought at first it was a bad switch but that does not appear to be the problem. As soon as I hook up the battery cable up to the the starter (with the switch off) the amperes gauge shows a very slight discharge. I can not figure where the problem is. I put a new wiring harness on the tractor a couple of years ago as well as new battery cables. Any ideas?

 

[no tools]

Very slight discharge HUMnnnnnnnnnn for sure not dead short .. Maybe look into regulator problem ??

?? battery is pos ground right ?? Well now look around in light switch and amp meter box now for some type obstructions .

 

[oldman1151]

Very slight discharge HUMnnnnnnnnnn for sure not dead short .. Maybe look into regulator problem ??

?? battery is pos ground right ?? Well now look around in light switch and amp meter box now for some type obstructions .

Positive ground system. Everything is turned off. Cut out is fairly new. The contacts in the cut out look good.

 

[Bob Kline]

Wayne, put on one of those "break switches" on the battery for now or pull cable when stopped.
Hope you get it to the SCRAP show this next w/end.
On monday evening we will have the "TRACTORS ON PARADE" from the fairgrounds to White Star Park where we will again attempt to spell out script "OHIO" with farm tractors & implements.
I'll not be on the forum much this next week as my time will be tied up with the show. Seems like each year it takes more time to get everything organized. I'll be camped there for the next 9 or more days.

 

[BigDaveinKY]

May have to take one thing loose at a time to track down the culprit.
I've had to to that to isolate electrical problems before.

 

[oldman1151]

May have to take one thing loose at a time to track down the culprit.
I've had to to that to isolate electrical problems before.

I found by disconnecting the BAT wire from the regulator/cutout the discharge stops.

I took the cover off of the reulator/cutout. As it was sitting contacts were open.
When I closed the contacts the generator started turning. When reopened it stopped so those contacts are not sticking.

The other set of contacts are spring loaded in the open position and work freely.

With the battery wire going to the regulator disconnected, what will not work?

I need to know what this means and the next step.

 

[John M]

Just wont charge with that wire off. Could possibly have a bad wire somewhere, but my guess would be the regulator.

 

[oldman1151]

Just wont charge with that wire off. Could possibly have a bad wire somewhere, but my guess would be the regulator.

Should have the full story in couple of days. Busy time here right now.

 

[BigDaveinKY]

Just wont charge with that wire off. Could possibly have a bad wire somewhere, but my guess would be the regulator.

My first guess also. Coil shorted to the armature would give you a high resistance ground.

 

[oldman1151]

I had the generator and regulator checked today. Diagnosis is that generator and regulator are both good. Looks like the problem may be in the 4 position light switch (low charge, hidh charge, low beam, high beam). This switch is hooked up to the "L" terminal on the regulator/cutout. When this "L" wire is disconnected and the BAT wire is connected there is no drain on the battery. When the tractor is running the generator charges as it should. I guess this narrows the problem down to the light switch or something connected to it inside the switch box. I may not get into that until our tractor show.

I wish had disconnected the "L" wire first in my trouble shooting or went one step farther. At least I learned something from it.

At least the more expensive compoents are good, the tractor runs and charges like it should.

Thank you for your help.

 

[John M]

Dont know why I didnt ctach this, the L wire should be the only wire to the light switch with a regulator, even qith the LHDB switch.With a cutout, the switch would change the rate of charge to the battery, thats not needed with a regulator, so there should be no wires to the switch other than the light switch.

 

[oldman1151]

Dont know why I didnt ctach this, the L wire should be the only wire to the light switch with a regulator, even qith the LHDB switch.With a cutout, the switch would change the rate of charge to the battery, thats not needed with a regulator, so there should be no wires to the switch other than the light switch.

It is had to think of everything. I too now realize that the L wire is not needed with the newer regulator. I just have an extra wire that came as part of the new wiring harness because I did not tell them I had a new regulator and the harness was for an original set up with a cutout. I still have not taken the cover off of the switch box.

What I can not figure out is why this beacme a problem now. I had had that L wire hooked up to the L terminal for 5 years with no real issues. Why did it become a problem after all that time? :? It would drain the battery overnight. This just started being a problem recently.

 

[John M]

Was/is the L wire hooked to the resistor on the light switch? Id be willing to say if it was, that resistor s.tarted going bad and grounding out.

 

[oldman1151]

Was/is the L wire hooked to the resistor on the light switch? Id be willing to say if it was, that resistor s.tarted going bad and grounding out.

It must have and probably still is. I took it to tractor show today so I will not get until Monday. I will look at it then. So that resister is would be the old LHDB switch?

 

[raymonddurban]

You have a regulator being used with a four position switch. They are not intended to be used together. Since you are using a regulator, you need a three position switch to have things wired correctly. The resister is for dimming the lights. It is used on both style switches.

 

[John M]

The 4 position switch has 2 resistors.

 

[oldman1151]

I finally got chance to check things out a little futher at the show and when I got the tractor home. The resistor is bad (loose wire/shorted/corroded) as has been suggested. The switch is not working properly either. Only lasted 60 years. :shock: I ordered a new 3 position switch yesterday.

Thanks to everyone for your help!

 

[oldman1151]

I finally have everything woking again. The new switch did not come with a fuse block so I added an inline fuse in the switch box.