Tried out the disk harrows today

[JLollis]

This afternoon, I flushed my transmission with kerosene a couple of times, like many of you suggested. So, now I have fresh 90 wt in the transmission and both final drives. It was such a nice afternoon that I decided to hook up the disk harrows and give 'em a whirl. I made a couple of passes around a small field near the house. What great fun!!! I couldn't play for long because I knew the generator wasn't charging the battery...again. I'm seriously considering pulling that piece of junk out and replacing it with a Hitachi alternator. I'm no purist, and that generator is spoiling my fun.

[Bigdog]

Just pack up that junky old generator and throw it my way when you replace it.

['Country' Elliott]

Hey "J"...NO, NO, NO...Just Mail it to ME (The postage will be MUCH CHEAPER than sending it to BIGDOG in Ohio)!

[Joey]

Is a generator rebuild possible for the average Cub owner, or is it best left in the hands of an expert? I think mine is not charging either, and I would like to try a rebuild, but don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I also need to do a governor rebuild. I took my mower deck off to service it and I would like to do a few maintenance items on the Cub while it is out of commission.

[Bigdog]

Joey, if the windings are OK, the average owner can easily maintain a generator. Probably the most common failure is brushes which can be replaced easily. Other than that, replacing bushings and cleaning up the commutator would probably take care of most problems.

[Thackery]

I tried testing with my meter to see if my generator is working. I really don't think it is.

With tractor running:

across generator terminals 0V
amp guage at -5
"gen" terminal to ground 12V
"F" to groung 0V
"Batt" to ground 12V
"L" to ground 12V

With tractor off:

0 ohms across generator terminals.

and my amp guage goes to +30 UNLESS I take off the "gen" terminal and then my amp guage goes to +3

Trying to figure out if my voltage regulator or the generator is the problem.

I put in a new battery and cleaned the slots in the starter commutator and emery clothed some. I thought my battery needed replaced because I had charged it and ran it down to nothing so many times. Well the new battery didn't turn the starter much better so I cleaned up the starter. It did improve but is a quarter of what it should be. Still get really low revs.

Hoping that you guys that have a bunch of cubs, have run into this before and can help me out.

Thackery

[Clem]

I have dealt with two tractors with what I thought to be bad generators and both times I was wrong. One had a ground problem and both needed to be repolarized. Don't judge a book by its cover, try to fix the other problems first.

[Clem]

JLollis- was the transmission flush a tough thing to do?

[Thackery]

Back to the generator question. I have polarized the regulator, but still get the same results. I'm trying to avoid going the wrong direction.

Thanks, Thackery

[cowboy]

Dan

That kinda depends on how hard it is to get the drain plugs out. Some peaple seem to think they have to ram them in their as hard as they can then they seize in. Also I would pull the shifter cover off as their are some drip holes there to the bushings and bearings that get filled in with gunk and metal shavings. And clean them out with carb cleaner.

Billy

[Bigdog]

Thackery - you noted 12 volt readings. So I'm guessing that you have converted to a 12 volt negative ground charging system. That brings up some other things that need to be addressed. First, if it is a 12 volt negative ground system, do you still have the old 6 volt generator and regulator installed? Has the ammeter been re-wired to reflect the polarity change? If you can fill in some of the blanks, perhaps we can help.

[Clem]

Thackery-
I'd get your info to bigdog. He is very knowledgable in this area and has helped me.

[JLollis]

Clem,
I didn't remove the shifter cover from my transmission. I just drained the oil, filled with kerosene, rode around for a few minutes, and drained. I did this twice. The second time, the kero was relatively clean coming out. I then refilled with 90 wt.

Bigdog,
You mentioned rewiring the ammeter to reflect the change in polarity. I decided today to go ahead with a partial 12V conversion. By partial, I mean that I am going to install an alternator with a resistor and a new coil, etc.. I am not replacing my old mag with a distributor. Can I still use my old guage, or do I have to replace it like was mentioned in the J.D. Hurley article? If it can just be rewired, how do I do that? By the way, I'm going to hang on to my generator, just in case I change my mind down the road.

Thanks,

Jim

[Bigdog]

Jim - all you need to do to use the ammeter is to swap the wires on the back of the meter to the opposite terminal. (put the wires on the left terminal over on the right terminal and vice versa) The only real issue is that some alternators are capable of a much higher charge rate so you will see some odd things when you first start the tractor. It is not uncommon to see the ammeter peg the needle to the charge side since the ammeter is calibrated to + / - 20 amps and the alternator is usually capable of about 35 amps. This only occurs for a few seconds following starting as the alternator replenishes the battery drain from starting.
An option is to replace the ammeter with one with a higher range or replace it with a voltmeter which is typically what we now see with alternator systems.

[countershaft]

BD, everything I read from your posts causes nothing but envy. I only wish I had 1/3 the tractor repair knowledge that you have . I have to get the manuals out , dig for the subject and then read everything 3 times to get the job done. All these board members should really appreciate your help with their mechanical problems along with some of the other guys who also are so good at repairs and knowledgeable in the field. I was an educator for 36 years and can recognizee "good teaching techniques", when I see them . "They say experience is the best teacher"----- thanks for sharing that !