B414 Cranking slow

[Mrsmackpaul]

mate I think your regulator is working ok as it holds the voltage between 12 and 14 volts if you rev the motor does voltage increase to around 16 - 18 volts if it only goes to 14 volts the regulator is working and when the tractor idles I would expect the voltage to drop to around 12 volts as you are then measuring the battery as the genny isnt producing enough power to go over 12 volts
I wouldnt make a habit of putting 40 amps to your battery it will stuff it real quick
If you charged it for a couple of hours and then put it back in the tractor and it started ok it tells me one of two things either the battery is not getting charged or the battery is stuffed
We now the battery is getting charged so it means to my understanding that the battery is on its way out and as I have said before these IH tractors need a spot on battery working 100%
good luck with it all

Paul

[dctaz37]

I had charged the battery overnight with my regular charger and the voltage was okay but the Gravity of electrolyte was low. The person I borrowed the charger from instructed me to use 40 amps. He does that on his batteries and has owned a shop for over 40 years.

[TrevorJ]

If the battery took 40 amps for a couple of hours, it sounds very typical for a supposedly almost fully charged but knackered battery less than 20 kg.

Edit :- missed your last reply on page 5. Yes, sometimes high current can recover to a point, heavily sulphated batteries, but again, it begs two questions, the condition of your batteries, and whether or not they have been getting a good charge while on the tractor.

[martyn williams]

A life of a battery is around five years at best,cold weather will also knock it back.Put 40 amps into it will destroy it, it may even explode in certain conditions.I use a trickle charger on my batteries, this prolongs life of a battery . Been working on my International Drott today after its starter was repaired.Positive post was sheared off. The guy I take my starter to has a proper test rig to check the motor is good.Its no good just putting a supply to it of the tractor with no load on it. These Internationals need all its starting system spot on.
Good luck
Martyn

[dctaz37]

Okay thanks for the info. So the tractor starts now but I would like to know it is going to charge.

[Tillywolves]

Might help someone in the future....

http://thenuffieldandleylandtractorclub.co.uk/wp/wp-content/themes/nuffield/images%20two/Diesel%20engine%20problems.pdf

[TrevorJ]

Martyn the "no load" starter test is just the poor mans test for an obvious issue with the contact bar /terminals in the solenoid.

Taking the starter to someone who has the gear to check them out thoroughly is the better option as they might be able to fix any issues before it becomes a more expensive fix.

Whether the starter has issues, typically it comes down to disassembly, cleaning, inspection and finally testing. At the inspection stage, some all too common problems can be readily identified and fixed.


"So the tractor starts now but I would like to know it is going to charge."

Well, I though it always started, just a little slowly.

I'd strongly suggest replacing the busted amp meter with one that works. In fact lately (in Australia my region) I've noted a few amp meters being sold that have only bright steel (very lightly galvanised or finished) washers supplied for the connection terminals, which over time with only slight corrosion, insulate or hinder good current flow.

[dctaz37]

It got to the point where it didn't start. I'm going to check the charging on the weekend. What can I expect to see if I get the amp meter working? Right not it doesn't move at all. Can I put my multi-meter on the Amp meter terminals and read something that will tell me it is charging or not?

[Jeremy Rowland]

It got to the point where it didn't start. I'm going to check the charging on the weekend. What can I expect to see if I get the amp meter working? Right not it doesn't move at all. Can I put my multi-meter on the Amp meter terminals and read something that will tell me it is charging or not?

If you have a multi-meter you would only need to put it across the battery terminals to check the charging was okay!

Jeremy

[TrevorJ]

A fully functioning ie "working" battery - all you need is to measure the voltage as Jeremy states.

However without a working amp meter, it's just guesses how much charge the battery is absorbing.

I have fixed some "charging issues" in the past by simply tossing the dodgy amp meter or "fixing" the stupid steel ffs terminals (tinning and soldering or other.) If it's an older and or better quality gauge it might be worthwhile to strip down and fix or take it to someone who can. Even a cheapie amp gauge would allow you to work through this "charging" issue.

Realistically though, my money is on your batteries, but I'd love to know if the batteries aren't merely discharging through the regulator overnight before I'd drop a wad on it. That's one of the various things that can go wrong, which is why an isolation switch in the battery circuit is very handy.