Battery question on my 1950 super M

[rocklouder]

i recently took over maintaing a modest collection of antiquties that included a 3 farmalls. One being a 1953 Super M-TA nicknamed Emma. My wifes Grandfather bought new in 1953 and had delivered to NE North Dakota. It was a 6 volt at the time. My question, was that a postive ground or a negative ground? and second question:
How do i know for sure if it was upgraded to 12 volt like i think it may have been from looking at some paper work i found in a box. I'be been working on the all the green stuff all summer and now turning my attention the red, and orange for a while. Serial Number is 78479 and engine serial number is 132086 all according to the original operators manual.

 

[Red Dave]

From the factory that Super M would have been 6 volt, positive ground, but what could have been changed over the past 73 years is a difficult question to answer.

The easiest, quickest way to tell if it has been converted to 12 volts is to look at the battery. Also note whether it has the positive or negative lead connected to ground. If the battery is missing, does it have the original generator or has it been replaced with an alternator. If it has a generator, look at the voltage regulator. Sometimes they are marked for 6 or 12 volts, and whether it is positive or negative ground. If it has been replaced with an alternator, it probably is 12 volt, negative ground. There are exceptions, but they are rare.

 

[rocklouder]

No battery in it currently. That’s what started my questions and my father in law is slowly un-remembering important details. Like where he’s at etc. so sometimes he’s getting confused about wich tractor is which. I’ll get more into it this weekend. It’s hard because the shop is 100 miles away

 

[used red MN]

How do i know for sure if it was upgraded to 12 volt like i think it may have been from looking at some paper work i found in a box.

Hello rocklouder, welcome to YT! I agree with Red Dave the easiest way to tell is checking for an alternator. And as Dave indicated an alternator generally means the polarity was changed to negative ground. You might ask the owner if he ever purchased any specialty positive ground alternators if is does have an alternator. Otherwise if he did a complete 12 volt conversion and the tractor has lights checking the markings on the bulbs will also tell you. Also a 12 volt bulb tested on a 6 volt battery if you have one on another tractor will be quite dim.

 

[Jim.ME]

If it still has a generator and it is a Delco Remy, look for a tag riveted to the shell of the generator. For the most part Delco used tags with a black background for 6-volt units and a red background for 12-volt units. the tag may also have the voltage on it.

 

[MM-TX]

No battery in it currently. That’s what started my questions and my father in law is slowly un-remembering important details. Like where he’s at etc. so sometimes he’s getting confused about wich tractor is which. I’ll get more into it this weekend. It’s hard because the shop is 100 miles away

The positive post is a little larger than the negative so the clamps will most likely retain that size. That can give you a pretty good indication of which one was ground the last time it had a battery.