Ferguson TO 35 polarity

Fiddler

Treehouser
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
10,156
Location
Michigan
We have two TO 35's at the golf course.

The '56 has an alternator and is negative ground

The '52 has a generator and isn't rolling over.

The battery on the '52 is showing full charge, but reverse polarity

I'm wondering if anyone here would know if that is correct. My boss thinks they might have switched polarity on that model when they switched to using alternators.
 
Damn, how long can y’all write off equipment purchases in MI?

If it’s 12v it’s negative ground, if it’s 6v it’s positive ground.

 
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The early Fergies made in England in fact did run positive ground but the later also in the 50's was positive ground .I don't fool with generators any more just convert them to GMC one wire alternators and have no more problems .
With regards to numbers if I'm not mistaken TE or FE would be England and TO would be USA .These old tractors are bullet proof they last forever . A six volt starter used on 12 volts just needs the brushes changed more often .It really winds them up though .
As far as negative or positive ground some of the USA made tractors might have been positive which I only assume would use Lucas components .I've seen many Fergies but I have not seen them all you know . I own two both To-20's with big bore cylinders and pistons that raise the drawbar HP by about 4 or 5 . Over the years I've had these things clear down to the bones for certain repairs including welding the block on one I operated at 12-14 years old and later bought from the owner .
 
While on a roll I might mention that second gear seems to be the range these things are used for on heavy loads. After 40-50 years the gear slop becomes such if you stall it under load it will lock up the transmission that you need to pull it backwards to unlock it .The fix is a stack of shims on the back of the tranny slider gear you just remove a shim or two . That's a job to do .like a couple of days .
 
I might mention if it does not crank over often times it's the start switch which is in the front of the tranny-clutch compartment under the gas tank .Jump it straight from a battery to find out .If it still doesn't roll look at the starter .Then often times it's the brushes worn down or stuck or a dead spot in the armature .Brushes are inexpensive .
 
You have to remember I've been around this stuff since I was a toddler .It's just the way I grew up and where it was .Just a wide spot on a rail head in the middle of the eastern corn belt in the middle of no where .Being a smart aleck teenager in a leather jacket those old WW1-WW2 vets took me under wing for some reason. They are all gone now but never forgotten .
 
Back to the Fergies .As far as I know the TO-35's all used a Continental Z-134 engine ,the 30's were Z-129 and the 20's were Z-120's which is the displacements of the engines .These days there is an abundance of after market parts you could keep them running forever .In decent shape these sell for more these days than they sold for new .It might sound odd but I once saw a To-20 with a 65 HP Opal engines that would run over 50 MPH .I don't recommend that though ,they really were not designed for that .Nor do I recommend cranking the gov speed up .That Continental engine will run up to about 4,000 RPM but I doubt it would last very long .
 
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