# 8n 12 volt conversion



## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

I'm converting my 8n tractor over to 12 volt with a kit. So far everything is going good except there aren't very good instructions for installing the mounting brackets for the alternator. Has anybody done this, or does anybody know where I can find better instructions or diagrams online?


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

well. i've made a bunch of brackets for converting the hatichie alternator to johns, iH and david browns... but the belt pulleys need to be dead on straight with each other or the vibrations set up will break brackets/bolts or bolt ears.

the hatichie (spelling) is much smaller than the chevy s10 most people and catalogues sell.


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks for the help, I thought the vibration would do it in if it isn't just right. fortunately this kit comes with brackets, it's just figuring out how they work. The old generator brackets of course won't work on it. The instructions that come with it aren't much help. 
First thing tomorrow I will go back at it better educated.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

http://www.ntractorclub.com/forums/nboard/nboard.htm

Ask here and youll find someone who knows


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

My father drilled wells when I was a kid. He bought a used ford tractor just for the engine on it for the power plant as they called them, when the engine on one of his older machines wouldn't get the job done any longer.
It had a 6 volt starter on it, but daddy used the 12 volt battery from the truck to start the machine with every morning. 
I remember him discussing it at the cafe' that all the drillers went to, and everyone said it would burn the starter up. 
Daddy told them if you keep the engine tuned up with good plugs, points, rotor cap, wires etc., it would fire up before any harm was done.
I remember that as if it were yesterday.
To the best of my memory, he never had to replace the starter and talk about an engine coming to life in a hurry. I don't care how cold it was, the 12 volt battery spun that engine like there wasn't anthing atached to the starter at all and it fired up, I guess in less than two seconds on the coldest of mornings.
I know that a lot of people change over from 6 volt to 12 volt systems, but if all you are using is the starter, a small solar charger and a 12 volt battery is all that is needed if it is tuned up so it will crank pretty fast with out haveing to grind on the starter.
JMHO
Dennis


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## Countrybumpkin (May 12, 2002)

We did that with our old 8N...left the 6 volt starter on, and mounted a 12 volt alt. and 12 V battery in it...never replaced the starter. Cranked over and started so fast the starter didn't have time to warm up!


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## jamesdel (Mar 21, 2006)

Dont know if it will help I have a Jubilee thats is c onverted to 12 volt can get som Pics if you would like 
JIm


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

Close pictures would help alot!! . I don't think the wiring will be a problem for me, have found lots of diagrams, and the kit seems better about that. It's just mounting the alternator. It seems like it should be simple, but the parts that came with the kit don't resemble any alternator mounting brackets I've seen. I thought about trying the mounting brackets off a car, but the bolt holes probably wouldn't match up. 
If the rain stops I can get back to work on it today. We do need rain tho
thanks for the input and advice so far.


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## countrymech (Nov 28, 2005)

Wendle, I don't know how different the kits are, but the one I installed on my '48 was the Atlantic kit from Mike's Tractor. It consists of a 2 piece upper bracket and a 1 piece welded lower bracket. The upper bracet had a long piece with 2 holes in it that required pulling 2 head bolts to install it. The adjuster bar then mounts to this bracket. The lower bracket then mounts to the top bolt hole in the governor. If your brackets were made to the same spec as mine, the lower bracket will need to be ground on to get the proper clearence to fit. Hope this helps, by the way, I strongly reccomend that you convert the coil in the future. I ran those aftermarket square cans for a year and a half and got tired of replacing them. Google "Square Coil Conversion" by Larry N. Henry for a good HOW-TO. Plus feel free to let me know if you need more info. Hope it helps, Paul.


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## jamesdel (Mar 21, 2006)

PMed you the pictures so as not to take up hte space here,
Jim


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## John Hill (May 12, 2002)

Not sure that the coil would need replacing. Most coils are for lower volts than 12 and this is taken care of by a resistor (which might be a length of resistor cable) and a switch that shorts the resistor out when the engine is cranking.


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks for the great pictures Jamesdel!!. I worked on the tractor some today and figured out that the brackets the kit came with are for a right side mount, and mine needs the left side. I will have to do some modifications, but it looks very doable. The tractor has a ballast resistor in it already, and looks like it was wired for a 12 volt system before, but still had a generator? Maybe the generator was 12 volt?


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## John Hill (May 12, 2002)

It might have had a 12V conversion and used the same generator. A 12v (especially solid state) regulator usually converts a 6V generator to 12 without problems.

When operating as 12V you get the same watts at lower amps and amps are what cause heat and heat is what kills generators, frequently (maybe even 'usually') the generator will be happier at 12V than its designed 6V for the same workload. There is a down side in that the generator will not cut in at low engine revs but once 'cut in', by revving the engine briefly, they operate happily from then on.


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## wendle (Feb 22, 2006)

The generator wasn't working maybe that's why, probably wasn't happy. Part of the reason I decided to change over . It was time to buy a new battery and get the generator fixed. This all makes my job so much easier, shouldn't be any wiring to do. 

Is there any way to tell if a generator from a ford can go on a farmall H? That is if I can get it fixed?


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## Ford8N (Nov 29, 2006)

wendle said:


> I'm converting my 8n tractor over to 12 volt with a kit. So far everything is going good except there aren't very good instructions for installing the mounting brackets for the alternator. Has anybody done this, or does anybody know where I can find better instructions or diagrams online?


I wish you had posted before you had bought the stuff. There is usually no good reason to convert to 12V and it usually causes more problems than it solves. If you need more cranking power then you have other engine, ignition or fuel problems and you should work on those problems instead. My 6V early front-mount dist. 8N always starts up in zero degree weather so I never fixed what wasn't broken.

If you read the 8N forums at YT mag you will see that a lot of the postings are about electrical conversions.


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## Ford8N (Nov 29, 2006)

John Hill said:


> Not sure that the coil would need replacing. Most coils are for lower volts than 12 and this is taken care of by a resistor (which might be a length of resistor cable) and a switch that shorts the resistor out when the engine is cranking.


He will need a 12V coil now. There are two kinds, one for front-mount and the other for side-mount distributors.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Any old 60s to 70s vintage GM type junkyard 12 volt coil can be adapted with a little massaging of the old cap with a front mounted distributor.


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