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need help with my 12 volt conversion????

2802 Views 9 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  snowcrash
Hey guys,
This looks like a really nice place with a lot of helpful topics and already seen some stuff that I never knew existed before coming over here!

Here's my problem, have a Ford 2000 with a loader on it and had the regulator tweeked to run on a 8 volt battery but we are always replacing them and it just doesn't charge up good. Figured we would change it so I bought a 12 volt conversion kit that came with all the accessories needed to get the job done. There were minor issues with the bracket with the loader so close, changing belts was a chore due to the pump shaft going thru the front connecting to the bottom pulley on the tractor and also the wiring harness being taped up wrong. Like I said, all of this was minor so got it all back together today and went to crank it and nothing!

Had the original 6 volt coil on it, so I ran a wire from the terminal block(hot with the switch on) to the resistor that came with the kit, and then a wire to the + side of the coil like the instructions said to do. Went to crank it and we had nothing checked with a test light and to begin with, the 12 volt side of the resistor was burning bright and the other side was dim like it has been resisted going to the + side. The coil's negative side didn't even saw a light on the test light. Later though after trying to crank it, sometimes both sides of the resistor were burning bright as was the coil so thought the resistor is bad or something? Check the points and they had fire even though the test light didn't light up going to the distributor from the - side of the coil. Checked with a volt meter and the 12 volt side of the resistor would show 12 all the times and then the other side would show a different number either low or when the test light would be burning bright, 12, the same as the hot side where it should be 12.

Not sure if the coil was burnt up or something, I decided to try a 12 volt coil that I am pretty sure is good. Trying not to spend a lot of money troubleshooting this problem, my old street rod had a resistor on the firewall I used when I used a different distributor on it but now with the electronic distributor, I no longer need it so it was just sitting there. Now with a 12 volt coil and the resistor, I put that stuff on and got it wired up like I was told by a parts man back in the past when working on my uncles 2000 that has been already converted. I ran the 12 volt switch wire from the terminal block to the + side of the coil and then ran a wire from the negative side of the coil to the resistor and then a wire from the resistor to the distributor. I was always told that if you have 12 volts and have a 12 volt coil that it should receive the full volts and then be dropped down for the distributor. Went to crank it that time and still got nothing. I put a test light on the coil wire and did see that it was firing for a moment. Not long after that the tractor did crank up but only a few seconds later cut off and has not fired since.

I checked the points again and it does have more fire with the way it is hooked up now than before with the 6 volt coil on it but for some reason still isn't firing. If you pull the plug out of the top of the coil and try to start it, you don't see a spark.

I'm at a lost with this conversion and really need some assistance to get it back running. I don't know if I need to buy another coil, resistor, coil with a resistor built into it, points, condensor or what I need to get it fixed and running so we can move hay with it.

If you have any ideas or points, part numbers or anything, please help and I'll try anything in the morning. I see that if you get a coil that is internally resisted and you don't need to use a resistor I am assuming but not really sure. I saw in some post that a guy said that an AC Delco U515 didn't need to be resisted but not really sure on that. After reading things, I am not sure what needs to be changed but from the beginning, it looked as if you just resist the wire going to the coil, you would be fine and it should run but I don't guess so right now!

I know how to work on stuff and this just has me confused, maybe I'm just not thinking straight but any help would be greatly appreciated.
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I have NEVER found a condenser that cared about the voltage, all it does is act like a filter to smooth out the voltage pulses. Your problem was coil related and using the NAPA true 12v coil fixed that.

The nice thing about the 3 wire alternators is that they do start charging as soon as you start the engine unlike the 1 wire that does have to rev to about 1800 rpm to start charging.
Your confusing a condenser with a resistor. The condenser does nothing but act as a filter like I said, the resistor whether it is an external one mounted before the coil or an internal resistor built into a coil is what regulates the voltage. And no you do not need to find one to keep on hand since you have replaced the coil with one that has the built in resistor.
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