60 ground cable

[gunther9]

Can someone tell me where the ground cable connected
inside the battery box from the factory. The 60 I
bought is switched to negative ground with the cable
ran to ground outside the case. I could make an
educated guess but I like to take advantage of all
the knowledge on this site. Thanks.
 

[Cliff Nelson]

Original ground was to the battery box right beside the battery. I always run the ground cable to the power trol housing for better grounding. The battery box was ok when new but with age and rust I have seen poor connections between the box and tractor causing problems.
 

[John T]

I agree with Cliff, originally when all was new and not rusted the sheet metal battery box sufficed for the chassis frame ground but when I refurbished an old tractor (I was in used tractor business and buyers sorta liked things to work) I ran it instead to a clean bright shiny wire brushed main frame bolt using stainless steel bolt and stainless star bite lock washer then coated it all with silicone to keep air and moisture away. NEVER had a ground problem after that. Similar I used the felt washers on the battery posts followed by a coat of that red battery post anti corrosive sealer NO PROBLEMS AFTERWARDS.

Still your tractor your choice

John T
 

[silverado]

we have quite a few 2 cyl jds all have the positive ground cable connected to the btry box , correct me if i am wrong but on those with float ride seats it apperars on my original 520 and 620 the cable was attached to one of the 4 bolts that mount the float ride assembly to the btry box. we keep our boxes clean and our tractors are kept inside so rust is never an issue ,,,what others have said makes sense if the btry box cannot make good contact to the tractor due to rust etc.
 

[PJH]

I have a 50, and I always casually wondered what the hole in the casting on the left and below the battery box would be for. There is no matching hole on the right side. I few weeks ago I had to replace the old battery, and while I was at it I replaced the old ground cable. The casting hole is in a perfect spot to run the ground cable out of the battery box and connect to one of the bolts that held the cylinder storage bracket. I haven't spent enough time around a 60 to know if it also has this hole in the casting.

Paul
 

[gunther9]

Thanks for the inputs. I suspected the hole in the case was for that purpose. I"ll just have to decide what I want to do now.