Probably a dumb question.. pos/neg grd
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2016
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From: Decatur, MI
Probably a dumb question.. pos/neg grd
Somewhere along the line my '53 was converted to 12V. It appears to me that it was also partially converted to Negative Ground.
Not considering this when I first threw a battery in, I simple hooked it up Negative Ground and at first thought all was well. The truck fired up, ran fine, oil pressure gauge worked, as did Bat gauge. headlights worked as did one taillight.
Then I started trying to get factory turn signals to work. They would flash correctly (bright) but dimly flashed on the opposite side.
Wasn't until yesterday when an old timer at the airport reminded me that the truck came from the factory Positive Grd... duh!!!
Question ... is it possible that I have been running this thing the last couple of weeks with the juice running backwards?? Wouldn't that mess-up the generator and voltage regulator?
Sorry if this sounds stupid but electricity is not my forte...
Not considering this when I first threw a battery in, I simple hooked it up Negative Ground and at first thought all was well. The truck fired up, ran fine, oil pressure gauge worked, as did Bat gauge. headlights worked as did one taillight.
Then I started trying to get factory turn signals to work. They would flash correctly (bright) but dimly flashed on the opposite side.
Wasn't until yesterday when an old timer at the airport reminded me that the truck came from the factory Positive Grd... duh!!!
Question ... is it possible that I have been running this thing the last couple of weeks with the juice running backwards?? Wouldn't that mess-up the generator and voltage regulator?
Sorry if this sounds stupid but electricity is not my forte...
Junior User
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 58
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From: Manitoba, Canada
The starters on these trucks will turn the right way regardless of polarity. Typically the charging system will need to be repolarized but will be functional with positive or negative ground as long as it is polarized the right way.
I have a 48 Ford 8n tractor and the previous owner had the battery hooked up backwards and everything worked fine for him. The starter, generator and regulator are similar technology between that tractor and our trucks.
I have read though that the coil will be less effective if the polarity is reversed but I don't know to what extent.
I would expect that your ammeter would have been backwards though. That is a simple fix. You either need to swap the wires or run the wire the other way through the little loop on the back of the ammeter.
I have a 48 Ford 8n tractor and the previous owner had the battery hooked up backwards and everything worked fine for him. The starter, generator and regulator are similar technology between that tractor and our trucks.
I have read though that the coil will be less effective if the polarity is reversed but I don't know to what extent.
I would expect that your ammeter would have been backwards though. That is a simple fix. You either need to swap the wires or run the wire the other way through the little loop on the back of the ammeter.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 791
Likes: 11
From: Louisville
Turn signal issue could be one of a couple things - either the selected side is searching for a good ground through the non-selected side's filament or there's a combination of single and double filament bulbs involved where they should be one or the other.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 228
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From: Decatur, MI
Thanks for all the input!! I swapped the battery around and everything worked exactly the same except the Batt gauge. Ran basically pegged to charge. Swapped back, Batt gauge normal (slight charge when running, discharge when not running and lights on...
I have brake lights so will likely run it this way til winter when we start the rebuild !!
Thanks again!! There will be plenty of other questions to follow...
I have brake lights so will likely run it this way til winter when we start the rebuild !!
Thanks again!! There will be plenty of other questions to follow...
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