Farmall C 6 volt neg ground

[BPDive]

Was working on my farmall c that I had gotten from my dad after he died a couple of years ago wanted to clean up the wireing and found out it is wired 6 volt negative ground it has a generator and voltage regulator with the 3 position switch for lights nothing has been replaced in at least in at least 20 years, he had it painted about that long ago. Has anyone seen this before as I was under the assumption they were positive ground.
Thanks for reading,
Bruce

 

[Dave41A]

Yes, they are normally positive ground, however, it is possible that the generator is polarized to provide negative ground. If it charges the battery as-is, then it might be best to leave it as-is. The only other thing that could possibly be affected would be the coil if it is coil ignition. Coils usually have polarity markings which must also be consistent with everything else. Dave

 

[Bob M]

Not at all unusual. From the factory your C was positive ground. However as long as the ammeter reads correctly you can leave ground polarity "as is" - it will work fine connected negative ground.

Only possible issue is some (not all....) voltage regulators are optimized for polarity (if so ground polarity will be marked on VR cover). Operated reversed polarity, the regulator will still work fine but it MAY wear out more quickly.

Also if the tractor has distributor ignition, the coil is marked for polarity. However it will work fine with the polarity reversed.

 

[BPDive]

thanks for the info I will be rewireing it but will be done in small sections as I have new lights and most likely a new amp gauge for it
Thanks
Bruce