Battery

[Kenny g]

Is it ok to use an 8 volt battery on a 6 volt system or will it burn out something?

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Front or side coil?

Long term use will hurt a front coil. Short term use will burn up your light bulbs.

And it will not charge on an 8N.

Bigger question is why would you do That? If your tractor is hard to start, fix it.
75 Tips

 

[souNdguy]

Do you have an 8v generator? Didn't think so.

When the initial flash charge of an 8v battery wears down.. you are left with a discharged 8v battery being charged to about 7v or so with the existing generator.

Why would you want to be running around on a discharged battery???????

 

[HCooke]

Like Soundguy says, it will work for a number of hours but then it will not be fully charged and will not start your tractor. I bought one set up that way. Worked fine for a couple of weeks. When it wouldn't start the tractor any more I replaced it with a 6 volt battery.

 

[Kenny g]

Thanks guys for the input my battery died and someone told me to put an 8 volt in it. That's why I asked again Thanks

 

[souNdguy]

That someone don't know squat... I suggest you find a new source of information...

 

[MeanGene1]

An 8 volt can absolutely be made to work very well- when I was a kid in NY, my gramps, who owned an IH dealership, truck fleet, lime spreading and several farms, had two rigs that had to start in the winter, and some mornings would be buried in a fresh snowdrift- a '53 Chebbie ton dump that we delivered heating coal with, and an 8N with a big-bore kit and a Wagner loader that loaded coal and plowed snow, including the local Red & White and little Post Office. Both were set up with 8 volts, the key to making it work was an adjustable voltage regulator- the ones used had the external adjustment arm (Prestolite IIRC), and were easily adjusted to properly charge the 8 volts, as the generators put out sufficient voltage. Battery life was very good, both started like a 12V rig, and absolutely no problems with lights, guages, signals etc. Headlights were bright like a 12V system, but never blew a light or any other component in at least 10 years. Every time this comes up there are naysayers, but if you set it up right, it can work very well- from actual experience. I plowed snow before the school bus with that 8N many times, and since doing that got me the gas pump key to fill my Ski-Doo, I was very happy that it started extremely well

 

[Dean]

Yes, an 8V battery can be made to work in a 6V system if one knows how to adjust the VR. Problem is that this is largely a lost art. Moreover, I expect that one will search long and hard these days for an externally adjustable 6V voltage regulator before giving up.

Agreed about the lights. The life time of 6V automotive lamps is not significantly affected by operation on 8V.

Dean

 

[R Geiger]

I haven'ts seen a 8 volt battery in stores for years and would never use one in a 6 volt system. poor solution for your problems.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

" the key to making it work was an adjustable voltage regulator"

Yep, that's right. Please tell us where you can buy an adjustable v/r these days that will fit an 8N.
75 Tips

 

[Bruce (VA)]

" my battery died "

Best thing you can do is clean all the connections, buy a good quality 6 volt battery, new cables & a float charger.

I never have a problem starting my 6 v tractors year around & I get 8+ years out of a battery.
75 Tips

 

[John in Mich]

About 40 years ago I installed an 8 volt battery in my '51 8N. I figured it would help my starting issues and I had a charger that had 6 volt, 8 volt, or 12 volt charging capability. I ran that for 2 seasons but loaned out my charger and it was burned up by borrower. New charger did not have 8 volt capability. It was time for a major overhaul and the problems disappeared. So did the 8 volt battery.
All the reasons not to do it have been stated. I believe.

 

[souNdguy]

What's the current part number on that regulator you used 60 years ago?

 

[3000 FPS]

(quoted from post at 09:14:47 02/02/17) What's the current part number on that regulator you used 60 years ago?

That has me cracking up.

 

[MeanGene1]

Found 3 6V externally adjustable regulators on epay last night, took about 2 min. Sorry if you guys can't make it work, I don't have that particular problem lol...

 

[Bruce (VA)]

(quoted from post at 18:13:02 02/02/17)
Found 3 6V externally adjustable regulators on epay last night, took about 2 min. Sorry if you guys can't make it work, I don't have that particular problem lol...

A's I asked yesterday, please tell us where you can by an adjustable voltage regulator that fits an 8N. Telling us " on eBay" is like saying " at the parts store".

Post a link please.

 

[fredstev]

(quoted from post at 22:29:51 02/02/17)

(quoted from post at 18:13:02 02/02/17)
Found 3 6V externally adjustable regulators on epay last night, took about 2 min. Sorry if you guys can't make it work, I don't have that particular problem lol...

A's I asked yesterday, please tell us where you can by an adjustable voltage regulator that fits an 8N. Telling us " on eBay" is like saying " at the parts store".

Post a link please.

They are a common item. I have one in my 871. Here's a link, and then look at "similar items" under the listing for more choices.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/302207839355?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

 

[Phil N]

Convert to 12V with an alternator with internal solid state regulator. I did over 20 years ago and never looked back. Not a Ford tractor but was 6V Positive ground. 12V batteries, light bulbs, LED's and all kinds of accessories are readily available. Heck I even added a cigarette lighter outlet to charge my cell phone while tractoring. Plus I added a second battery tray on my tractor to put my lawn tractor and motorcycle batteries in to keep them charged through the Winter. When I had snowmobiles, I put the snowmobile batteries in the extra tray to keep them charged in the Summer. Try all that with 6V or the even more oddball 8V system. 6V died long before Elvis.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Thanks. I saw that as well as a few others, none of which to my knowledge will work on an 8N.

That's the difficulty folks have in understanding the problem.

If the v/r you have works on your 871, it will not work on an 8N because the generator circuits differ. Maybe some of the others will work, but it will take some research to figure it out. We hear time and again when the 8v battery question comes up about folks who have adjustable v/r's on other tractors or cars or have otherwise adjusted a v/r to put out 9.5 volts. As Dean pointed out earlier, adjusting a non-adjustable v/r to put out greater voltage is a lost art. And, as I'm trying to point out, finding an adjustable v/r that will work on an 8N is equally difficult.