Farmall Super C electrical issues

[Janicholson]

yes when I pulled the tractor out of its resting place from the past 10 years, there were different lights on it I've been told we still have the original 6 volt light around somewhere but the new lights are grounded directly to the negative terminal on the battery I don't know where the ignition knob is grounded but it still seems to fire up and shut off in the correct positions. My guess is the tower is loose so the PO of the tractor before my faimly's ownership decided to relocate the ground to an easy to reach spot on the tractor. I really appreciate your knowledge and helping me out.

welcome to YT! Cables for your tractor (on 12v) are ok at #2 size, a cable long enough to go to the starter mount bolts is best because copper has better conductivity than the iron of the frame/and electrical box. The alternator replacement should be straight forward and easy. make sure the wires are connected well and in good condition. We really enjoy working with enthusiastic young wrench turners. Jim

 

[used red MN]

Hello Super, welcome to YT! Unless you meant to say it I don’t believe you have tested the battery. The battery needs charged and tested. If it is proven bad only then would I suggest you change it. On the steering wheel support take the bolts out one at a time and clean out the holes use a pointed pick or small screwdriver to dig out any crud and make sure someone has not put to long of bolts in it. Wire brush the threads on the bolt and maybe run a thread tap down in the thread holes if you have one. Put a bit of lube on the threads and screw them back in and see if it tightens up.

I haven’t been around a C or Super C, what I was describing was for an H or M where the “tree” mounts right on the cast deck/transmission cover. I see what you’re dealing with now by looking at the parts diagram, see link. I would suggest you X out of the option to select a dealer. When you do that you can only price items that are in stock at that dealer. From that link you can view all the parts sections of your tractor. Go to the Super C- Farmall Tractor to the right of the “home”. that will open all the parts sections. The majority of the tractor is all in Chassis.
CNHI Super C parts catalog
Here is a link to a dealer’s modified version of the catalog.
Link to Messicks IH parts catalog
It is laid out in the same sections and subsections. It will show you part numbers that the have been taken out of the CNHI manufacturer’s catalog and it shows prices of available parts. The thing about it is the CNHI one has “preview” diagrams which is helpful when you don’t know exactly what the name of what you’re looking for is. So the two can be used together in a way. Those will also work for Cubs. If you need help on switching to a different tractor let me know. Ha ha a 13 year old needs help from a 62 year old on a website. Who am I kidding?

 

[will-max dairy]

I'm sharing this from the interwebz; because it is a quick and easy graphic of what happens to battery voltage and current in a typical vehicle during cranking.

At what? 13? If you can start to understand this; you'll be ahead of many, many adults.

Batteries are a chemical reservoir of free electrons... think of it as a water tower full of electrons, as opposed to drops of water... you can get a small flow of electrons at full voltage (the level of water in the tower doesn't change much if you take a trickle)... or you can get a very large flow of electrons at a reduced voltage (when you draw a fire hose worth of water, the level of water in the tower drops quickly) .

The alternator... is like a garden hose that slowly restores the level after it has dropped from cranking the starter... and maintains the level when ignition, lights and other things are drawing flow...

Your meter takes a small flow; so when connected by itself, you get full battery voltage. It's a trickle of flow, that doesn't change the level of water in the tower.

But... when you engage the starter, it draws a big flow (high current), your measured voltage across the battery will dip... and it will then recover when you stop cranking.

A weak battery can measure 12.58 by itself and look fine.

But, your voltage measurements during and after cranking, when compared to this graph... could suggest a weak battery. (Also... at 13 years old, give yourself some kudos for even thinking about measuring voltage during cranking...)

I say "could"... because I don't know where you are putting your meter probes...and I don't know if there are any bad connections in your system.

Even so... starting to understand this graph (for a typical 12V lead acid battery) will help get you thinking about what to troubleshoot and what to test.

Welcome to the world of old f*rts solving the world's problems one old tractor at a time, kid!

 

[will-max dairy]

Reading that typical graph... when you are cranking, you should see 8 to 9 volts.... and your battery should recover to around 12 Volts soon after the cranking stops.

(assuming good meter connections and good system connections on your tractor)

Also... to put some context to the comment about a lawnmower battery... your super C's starter was designed to operate from 6V... the electrical components in the starter will run just fine from a 12V battery, but it could crank with up to 4x as much power (if you assume that the starter is a constant resistance, the power drawn by the starter is proportional to the voltage-squared)... which could stress the mechanical parts of the starter...

Using a 12V lawnmower battery could be that happy medium; where you get just a little extra snot during starting, compared to a 6V battery... but not so much that you start breaking mechanical parts in the starter.

But... get all of your terminations clean and tight... get your grounds squared away...

Then, if you are still having trouble and needing the jumper pack... think about what I've posted here.

 

[Super_C]

Im actually 14 lol typo on my part

 

[will-max dairy]

Im actually 14 lol typo on my part

13... 14... no big difference... still a good point in time, if you want to work on things like this, to start putting a good conceptual framework in your mind for electricity...

 

[Super_C]

I see what you meant with your water tower idea (that genius by the way I bet you could make millions selling that to the board of education lol) but yes I understand and I am putting the probes of the multi meter on the battery studs. When I pull the starter ring the battery drops down to 3 volts so I'm guessing the battery is also not up for the task. I do have a lawnmower battery I could try ( I'm restoring a cub 149 that I've had for a few years) so I can see if that will work on the Super C Thanks for all of your guy's information and support its helped me a lot.

 

[Super_C]

Ya I've always had a hard time understanding electricity but your water tower example simplified it for me with a real life example.

 

[Super_C]

I'll be putting all of your ideas to work next week and weekend thank you all so much again for your tips and tricks this was a very warm welcome to the site.

 

[will-max dairy]

I see what you meant with your water tower idea (that genius by the way I bet you could make millions selling that to the board of education lol) but yes I understand and I am putting the probes of the multi meter on the battery studs. When I pull the starter ring the battery drops down to 3 volts so I'm guessing the battery is also not up for the task. I do have a lawnmower battery I could try ( I'm restoring a cub 149 that I've had for a few years) so I can see if that will work on the Super C Thanks for all of your guy's information and support its helped me a lot.

I can lay no claim to the water tower example...in my world, the credit for that would go to Ms Jean Walls, who was my Circuits professor at MVCC... it sounds impressive to you; but it's an old, old analogy that many people have used.

 

[Super_C]

Makes sense that it seems impressive to me cause I'm so young lol

 

[Jim.ME]

I see what you meant with your water tower idea (that genius by the way I bet you could make millions selling that to the board of education lol) but yes I understand and I am putting the probes of the multi meter on the battery studs. When I pull the starter ring the battery drops down to 3 volts so I'm guessing the battery is also not up for the task. I do have a lawnmower battery I could try ( I'm restoring a cub 149 that I've had for a few years) so I can see if that will work on the Super C Thanks for all of your guy's information and support its helped me a lot.

You are on the right track based on your battery readings. If the battery is fully charged (12.6 volts) and you see the voltage drop to 3 volts (with your meter leads on the battery posts) when you pull the starter switch ring, either the battery is weak, or the starter is bad and drawing excessive current. I would not expect to see a 12-volt battery to drop to even 10 volts when cranking that engine over. The battery would be the first thing I would have checked. If it were to test good, the starter would be next.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

You are on the right track based on your battery readings. If the battery is fully charged (12.6 volts) and you see the voltage drop to 3 volts (with your meter leads on the battery posts) when you pull the starter switch ring, either the battery is weak, or the starter is bad and drawing excessive current. I would not expect to see a 12-volt battery to drop to even 10 volts when cranking that engine over. The battery would be the first thing I would have checked. If it were to test good, the starter would be next.

In the original post, he states that it starts with the help of a jump pack, so I would say the starter is good.

Most likely, there are multiple weak/bad cells in the battery. It will show full charge, but contains no energy.

 

[Jim.ME]

In the original post, he states that it starts with the help of a jump pack, so I would say the starter is good.

Most likely, there are multiple weak/bad cells in the battery. It will show full charge, but contains no energy.

I agree. Just trying to get him to test and use the results as a guide as to his next step. The booster pack working confirms the battery condition based on the voltage drop, as well.

 

[Super_C]

Hi all this is the 14 year old almost 15 now!! and the super C is in a million parts. I am in high school FFA now and my project is restoring the old girl. I found a parts tractor and some their parts from friends and I'm working on stripping the paint off everything just an update and wondering where do I go besides Steiner for doing a restoration on a budget and right now I am using an air powered little gun with a tiny sand wheel on it is there any other good quick ways to remove paint from the whole tractor fast

 

[560Dennis]

Bates Corp , messicks ,
Charlie Burgh harmony pa.
Chalkers Southington Ohio .
Some local to me I
Tisco
YT here
Tell us what you needs ?
I really like the FFA project story

 

[Super_C]

I know I will need a water temp gauge and the thermostat tap in for the gauge along with the touch control gauge and its tap in and a ammeter and maybe a battery box and I would like fenders but I know they get pricey and a nice front grille would be amazing and a new steering wheel. I think that's all I'll give updates when I know more about what else I need

 

[MM-TX]

Hi all this is the 14 year old almost 15 now!! and the super C is in a million parts. I am in high school FFA now and my project is restoring the old girl. I found a parts tractor and some their parts from friends and I'm working on stripping the paint off everything just an update and wondering where do I go besides Steiner for doing a restoration on a budget and right now I am using an air powered little gun with a tiny sand wheel on it is there any other good quick ways to remove paint from the whole tractor fast

Congrats on your progress. If you have not already go to farmallcub-dot-com and sign up. They have a large resource area of downloadable manuals for members. You have to have 10+ posts and 30 days membership to be able to download. More Cub than anything but they do have the Super C - TC-44B Tractor parts list and lots of other Farmall and implement PDFs. Worth the wait if you haven't already.

 

[Super_C]

thank you for the info I think I have a parts manual laying around the shop somewhere

 

[Super_C]

there is one more problem Im having the piece that runs the clutch and clutch linkage needs to come out and I cant figure it out it the the piece that is connected to the clutch pedal linkage.