6 volts or 8 volts - that is the start-ling question

[beaconlight]

If it barely turns it is possible that a previous owner put in a 12 volt startere. It is also possible that your starter needs service.

Bill

[jdd]

all
ok, i am cleaning the connections now. this seems to be the majority of the responses.

beaconlight/bigdog
how can i tell if the starter was "updated" to a 12volt.

beaconlight
also, the 12 volt battery i originally used , turned the engine nicely.
if the starter need service, this would not be , does that sound correct.

Lurker
i had a split in the pos/ground cable. i taped it until i get a new one.

bigdog,
the cables are thicker than my ford, assuming correct gage for 6v.

Matt ,
i am a little scared i may have burnt the coil as well.
is there any way i could tell.
can i still start it by hand cranking or is the coil for firing the cylinders as well once started. (i believe this is the case)
thanks much fellas
jd

[Bigdog]

If you have a magneto, the battery is not generating your spark at any time. If not, then it is not too likely that you have burned your coil out just yet. It usually takes a little while. but, if it is coil ignition, you can replace the coil with a generic 6 volt coil for a few dollars. That will eliminate one more factor from the equation.
If you pull a plug wire and hold it close to ground and get a good spark while cranking the motor over you can assume the ignition system is OK.
It's probably a safe bet that the starter is still 6 volt since almost everyone who converts to 12 volts does nothing to the starter. The only way to tell would be to measure the resistance of the windings and I'm not sure what the difference in the readings is.

[cowboy]

hi Jdd

I ran my 64 cub half the summer with a 12v battery when I got it. Iwas suprised that it didn't burn the points. I went back to 6v to keed it original. When I put it back to 6v it seems to turn over slow but it starts good if it stall when running hard I have to let it sit about two minuts befor it will crank over. I am working on the engine right now. I pulled out the starter took it apart and cleaned it I found one of the wires to th brushes was shorted out. and the communitator was packed with dirt and grease. I feel now that its cleaned up it will work better but I have to ger it back together first. Oh ya one day it wouldn't crank over the battery cable where it connected to the battery was hot enough to burn cleaned it and it started right up.

[beaconlight]

There is a tab on all of the delco starters I have seen on cubs, it tells you. I may be paint or grease covered and hard to see. The old starter cables have a thicker insulation than some of the newer ones. It is the thickness of the copper wire in the cable that we are talking about. If you have a break in the insulation taping is the right thing to do. If the split you mentioned is in the wire it must be repaired or replaced.. Time for supper and Bev made clam chowder today.

Bill

[jdd]

claim chowder sounds so good. its a little chilly here in pa.
i cleaned all connections and fuel lines.
the dag gone battery will not turn this tractor over. i get about a 1/16th turn from it. i will replace the wires this weekend.

you guys will not believe this.
i get off my fat but and go to crank it with the hand crank.
listen to me..... it took about a 1/4 turn and she hummed right up.
i can not tell you how happy this made me. i fell in love with this old beast as soon as i saw it. i almost cried when it would not start.
i took here out in the field and put it to work. she pers like a kitten. the hydralics work, all is well in pa.

do i even need a battery if i crank it every time.

i'll still check out the electric start, but i prefer the crank.

i read all kinds of warnings on this site about being careful you do not break your arm..... THANKS

now i'm going to get my manual and perform some maintenance.

i read thru an online manual last night , seems to be a lot of maintenance.
oh well , it's worth it.

she did overheat, i am going to flush the radiator this weekend.

once again , thanks so much to you all.
jd

[Bigdog]

jdd - It may not have over-heated. The cub has a thermo-syphon cooling system which has some peculiarities. The systems tend to find their own level and then level out. It will spit out coolant until it is happy and then it will stop. As long as you can remove the radiator cap and see coolant above the fins in the radiator, you are fine. They usuall run 1 1/2 - 2" below the fill neck. If yours drops down that low and stops, all is well. Most new owners tend to over-fill them and they spit and sputter until they are satisfied. Kind of sounds like a cranky old cub owner I know.

Your starter issues are starting to sound like a defective starter motor.

[Lurker Carl]

Make sure the static timing is set at TDC, it won't kick back when you hand crank it.

If you have a magneto, you don't need a battery for starting. But, you will need a battery if the generator still charges or if you have a distributor (battery ignition) or if you want lights.

[artc]

a friend cranking a cat / best / holt 15 crawler last summer at Kinzers in PA got his wrist broke..... still isn't right to this day.. i doubt if it will ever be... he did a job on it.

so, the wise old guys say... always use an open hand when cranking, 1/2 turn in the UP direction only, and lay your thumb next to your index finger, don't grip the handle.

me, i like the ELECTRIC start whenever possible !!! you won't get new wrists, but you can buy a battery anywhere

[Matt Kirsch]

jdd,

Glad to hear it's running. Does it have a magneto or a battery ignition? If it started so easily by cranking, it's probably a magneto.

Guys,

Let's stop confusing the poor chap, and go through this systematically. Try the cheap fixes first, right?

First, clean the connections.
Second, charge the battery.
Third, change the cables.

If all that fails, THEN we start to wonder about the starter, right?

[Bigdog]

Matt, if you look back over the previous posts, I believe that is what we did. Being a tightwad myself, I always start with the cheap stuff. Unfortunately, it's usually the costly stuff that fixes the problems for me.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

One thing to remeber when switvhing from 12 volts back to 6 is that it is going to crank a lot slower. will mkae you think it has a problem.