polorizing

[gblj]

Do I have to polorize every time I disconect my battery?

 

[lha]

I don't and when I reconnect,it always charges,you may find otherwise, but that's what I have found.---lha

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Theoretically, yes. Realistically, no......unless you hook the battery up backwards.
50 Tips

 

[Bob]

"Theoretically, yes."

Bruce, you're smarter than that! (I thought!)

Disconnecting the battery or replacing the battery (so long as it's connected up properly) has NO effect on the generator or the need to polarize it.

WHY honor an old mechanic's wive's tale by giving it ANY credence???????????

OMG!!!

 

[Dell (WA)]

hey Bob.......while you CYA by saying "so long as it's connected up properly"; you and I both know plenty of neubie shadetree mechanics that remove a 6-volt positive ground battery and install it as 6-volt negative ground 'cuz that is all they've ever known, negative ground. And guess what, without re-polarizing, gonnna let the smoke out of the voltage regulator and genny. 'nuttin' wrong with re-polarizing everytime you install yer 6-volt battery. You can re-polarize as many times as it takes to feel warm and fuzzy ...er... charged. .......respectfully, Dell the charger

 

[36 Coupe]

Polarizing is a fable.You might have to do it on a brand new generator that has never been run.Doing it ever time you disconnect a battery is BS.Ive disconnected the battery on my John Deere for 43 years.It charges every time.I started a Model A Ford that been idle for 10 years.The ammeter read 10 amps charge.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Polorizing is when those white bears get together for social events.

 

[willie in mn]

My experience, might have been engineering by the manufacturer, might have been just dumb luck. Working part time at a service station, repaired many starters & generators.
Always had to polarize Ford & Chrysler products, never once had to do it, or even suggested on a GM.
One summer my mechanically inept neighbor asked if i would check timing on his car. Timing light didn't work. Tried it on my car to double check. Yup, works great. Checked again, he had batt hooked up bass-ackwards, pos gnd. 62 Ford Falcon, 12 v, should be neg gnd. Asked if radio works- answer Nope. When did it quit? Somewhere around last Thanksgiving.
Does genny keep batt charged? Yup, no problems.
Did you replace batt yourself? Yup.
Date sticker on batt was Nov 26 of the previous year.
Hooked it up right, now radio works again.
Fired it up. genny charges.
Timing light works on his car now.
For some reason that i can't explain, the genny seems to have flopped itself to match the backwards batt when he changed it, & did it again when hooked up right. That was over 40 yrs ago, still don't know exactly why it did that.
As far as polarizing after disconnecting batt, the cut out relay in reg does the same thing every time the motor is shut down. With motor stopped, the genny is isolated from batt.
Wllie

 

[Bruce (VA)]

I guess if I'm repeating a fable or a old wives tail, I'm in good company: check out paragraph 79 of the I&T manual. And, I had a v/r around here for a long time that had polarization instructions printed on the cover. The last one I bought had a label in the box.

 

[teddy52food]

Simple. That old Ford system fed juice from the regulator to the generator to excite the field coils. Whichever way you fed it, it would charge accordingly.

 

[AM-Seb]

I'll add another no vote. I've replaced my 8N's battery several times in the past 40 years--never polarized and had no problem. Only time I did polarize was when I had the generator overhauled and also replaced the voltage regulator with a new one and instructions somewhere called for it. Angelo

 

[Bob]

As Dell says, there's certainly nothing WRONG with polarizing the genny as often as you want, but to be clear, removing and correctly replacing the battery in a system that HAD been working does NOT affect the generator in any way, or require it to be polarized.

 

[Bob]

Only trouble is, talking tractors here, the "N" series used "a GM-style" "A-circuit" charging system, unlike the later tractors and many Ford autos.

 

[Bruce (VA)]

I agree......and "correctly replacing" it is the key.

 

[36 Coupe]

The polarize lie has been repeated so often that some who should known better take it as gospel.When the cut out points close the generator gets hit with a hi current from the battery.I started working on engines in the 50s and have never polarized a generator.I can over haul a generator and adjust a regulator if it needs it.United Motors sold parts for regulators.I still have my regulator manuals.Ive disconnected my John Deere battey every winter for 43 years with no polarize bs needed.

 

[JMOR]

you right 36coupe, but I might add that this is a 'polarizing topic', as in Webster's, "to break up into opposing factions or groupings".
:wink:

 

[Devious]

I agree 36Coupe The fact is, and I hope this is understood, I am 72 and do not know what polorizinf is or accomplishes, and now having said that I also believe that something is there that I don t understand. Just because I don t get it, doesn t mean a da--ned thing , it just means I am dumb about polorizing. I have never done it to any car pickup or 18 wheeler I have ever owned in my life and I have changed Batts inall of them and all I have ever done is hook em up and turn the start switch. Nothing ever blew up or not work that I can remember that went back to not polorizing. I know you guys are right but I still don t know why but then electricity will do that to the best of minds. Devious in Humble Tx

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 21:39:56 06/15/10) I agree 36Coupe The fact is, and I hope this is understood, I am 72 and do not know what polorizinf is or accomplishes, and now having said that I also believe that something is there that I don t understand. Just because I don t get it, doesn t mean a da--ned thing , it just means I am dumb about polorizing. I have never done it to any car pickup or 18 wheeler I have ever owned in my life and I have changed Batts inall of them and all I have ever done is hook em up and turn the start switch. Nothing ever blew up or not work that I can remember that went back to not polorizing. I know you guys are right but I still don t know why but then electricity will do that to the best of minds. Devious in Humble Tx

What 36 said about the system polarizing itself is fine, except it does tend to put undue stress on the cut out contacts as they close against a generator outputting a positive voltage into an opposing negative voltage of the battery. I prefer to take the extra 2 seconds to avoid that situation. Sure, it is without a doubt over done, but you have to recognize that the population on these boards sometimes needs leading by the hand and it cost very little to tell them twice or three times.
In their specific case it may be totally unnecessary, but it cost next to nothing to potentially save someone a few bucks. .........and before someone jumps all over my a$$, suggesting that I think I know more than they do, consider that you your self have read enough here to realize that many are way out of their element in attacking some of the things questions are asked about, so it never hurts to overkill with the help/instructions. If the fellow KNOWS that it is unnecessary in his particular case, then he knows enough to skip over the recommendation.

 

[Devious]

Doggone that was good. I think. I ll check it on my way back from Xanadu. Devious

 

[36 Coupe]

A generator that has just started charging cant fight the batteries high inrush current.It has to assume the battery polarity.There is much that is very hard to understand in motors and transformers.If transformer coils are wound in opposite direction zero voltage will appear on the secondary.If motor and generator fields are connected wrong they wont work.Ask some one to explain magnetism.A strange force that is the basis of electricty.Experts on this forum do make mistakes.A #47 pilot lamp is not a flashlite bulb .It was used in small table radios.

 

[Ken(Ark)]

.....and before someone jumps all over my a$$, suggesting that I think I know more than they do

I have been here for a few years and I see the same questions revolving around being asked by the new comers , just like I did when I first got here . It is not so simple the first time a person encounters a problem , but everything about an N is simple AFTER you have become familiar with the repair process .

I applaud the folks that take the time to repeat the same answers over and over to help out a fellow N'er . While the answers may not always be 100 text book perfect they do give a basic understanding of the solution in 50 words or less .

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 02:33:27 06/16/10) Doggone that was good. I think. I ll check it on my way back from Xanadu. Devious

etter watch out with those opium induced dreams, now. :wink:

 

[Devious]

Oh you noticed that huh. My Goodness, I have been found out. LoL Devious

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 12:02:43 06/16/10) Oh you noticed that huh. My Goodness, I have been found out. LoL Devious

Yeah, 36c always disagrees with me on the 'clashing of the opposing polarities' thing, but it is a fact (see illustration...which he doesn't like either).


He is correct in that at initial start up, the generator is for sure weaker than the battery, so battery will win & re-polarize the weaker generator, but the cut out contacts still have to needlessly bear the burden during this 'fight' for dominance. Maybe the contacts are not damaged beyond use every time, but why risk it? Might shorten contact life? I have dumped gasoline from a can into the carb of a running engine before too & have not been burned to death,but that doesn't make it a good plan. Others have found death in doing the same thing.... all it takes is a backfire & tossing of the can of gas.