How do I tell?

[665ae]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I haven't had much time to really dig into it yet due to work. I'm hoping in the next week or so I'll get a chance to dive in and see what I've got. The previous owner said it had been restored, which is why it was painted and has new decals.

I tried to peak up under the hood and see the generator. It's not like the ones in the links Glen posted. It looks more like this based on what I can see.

[Glen]

Hi,
Thanks for the picture.

I think that is not a Delco generator, it looks like an Autolite, or Prestolite gen.
It should have the brand and a model number on the plate.

Someone has replaced the original gen, evidently.

Also, IH didn't use an open gen with the fan on the front, until 1962, the Cub parts manual shows.

If it has an Autolite, or Prestolite gen, it could be negative ground.
I think I looked up the model number of one before online, and there was info telling which way it was grounded.

[665ae]

I finally had time to pull the hood off this morning. Looks like the generator is a 12v.

Also found a wire tucked away that wasn’t hooked up. I haven’t pulled up the wiring diagram yet but I’m assuming it goes to the unused terminal on the regulator.

[Eugene]

That wire is attached to the A, armature, terminal on the generator. It goes to the terminal marked either A or G on the regulator.

Look under the wiring screw/clip on the regulator for a letter.

[Jim Becker]

That number generator is the correct one for 12-volt Cubs from '64 to '75. It is unusual to see one on an earlier Cub like yours, but it is a workable 12-volt conversion. Check that a full conversion was done, not that somebody just grabbed the generator from a later Cub while not knowing the difference. Hopefully they also installed a 12-volt regulator. Maybe they didn't and that is why the generator is not connected. There should be some numbers stamped into the base of the regulator to ID it. It may be stamped 12V or 12P to indicate voltage. It may also have the last 3 digits of the Delco part number which was originally 1118999. The most recent IH number I have is 121577C1. There are probably other numbers that work.

I don't try to remember which terminal is which, since they aren't all the same and they are marked anyway. However, it looks like your disconnected wire is on the generator A terminal and should connect to the regulator GEN terminal. The GEN terminal is probably the empty one. The other wire from the generator should go F to F. I would be more confident of the condition of the generator if the other wire had been disconnected instead. But go ahead and hook up the wire to check things out.

[665ae]

That wire is attached to the A, armature, terminal on the generator. It goes to the terminal marked either A or G on the regulator.

Look under the wiring screw/clip on the regulator for a letter.

Whoever did the conversion didn't hook it up to the GEN terminal on the voltage regulator because the wire is too short

I made a new wire and hooked it up.

[665ae]

That number generator is the correct one for 12-volt Cubs from '64 to '75. It is unusual to see one on an earlier Cub like yours, but it is a workable 12-volt conversion. Check that a full conversion was done, not that somebody just grabbed the generator from a later Cub while not knowing the difference. Hopefully they also installed a 12-volt regulator. Maybe they didn't and that is why the generator is not connected. There should be some numbers stamped into the base of the regulator to ID it. It may be stamped 12V or 12P to indicate voltage. It may also have the last 3 digits of the Delco part number which was originally 1118999. The most recent IH number I have is 121577C1. There are probably other numbers that work.

I don't try to remember which terminal is which, since they aren't all the same and they are marked anyway. However, it looks like your disconnected wire is on the generator A terminal and should connect to the regulator GEN terminal. The GEN terminal is probably the empty one. The other wire from the generator should go F to F. I would be more confident of the condition of the generator if the other wire had been disconnected instead. But go ahead and hook up the wire to check things out.

Thanks a ton for that info! I'll check the voltage regulator in the morning when I'm back at the "Farm." I used up my allotted play time for today already and had to head home to do responsible type things.

[Jim Becker]

Whoever did the conversion didn't hook it up to the GEN terminal on the voltage regulator because the wire is too short
. . .

That is a really bizarre place and reason to stop a conversion.

[665ae]

That is a really bizarre place and reason to stop a conversion.

I’m not really sure what was going on. Along with the wire from the generator not hooked up, a wire from the voltage regulator to the ammeter was unhooked on the meter. The ground wire for the headlights were also just hanging behind the switch unfastened. There are a couple of splices in the wiring that I still need to figure out the point of also. The tractor has been running fine the few times we’ve driven it around the field since buying it.

[Glen]

Hi,
The ground wires for the lights shown in the manual pics were not used on all years of Cubs.
Some had them, and some didn't.
My 1956 Cub doesn't have ground wires. The lights ground to the tractor at their bases.

The ground wires ground at one bolt that holds the base of the dash to the clutch housing, the pic shows.

The wire you see might be the power wire, I don't know without pics of it.
It might help to know the serial number of the Cub.

[665ae]

Hi,
The ground wires for the lights shown in the manual pics were not used on all years of Cubs.
Some had them, and some didn't.
My 1956 Cub doesn't have ground wires. The lights ground to the tractor at their bases.

The ground wires ground at one bolt that holds the base of the dash to the clutch housing, the pic shows.

The wire you see might be the power wire, I don't know without pics of it.
It might help to know the serial number of the Cub.

I traced the wires back to the dash. These ground on the bolt at the base of the dash.

Serial number is 190155

[Glen]

190155 is a 1955 Cub.

There is info telling the years of Cubs at the top of the page at Cub info.