'68 Electro 12

[Furious 23]

Does anyone have a part number or know where I can get a voltage regulator for a '68 Electro 12?  I'm picking the tractor up this weekend for $250 with a working mower deck, but someone has really messed with the wiring and there's no spark.?  The ignition is a Battery points setup, currently set up to positive ground.  I'm guessing that the VR is only PART of the problem, but I want to get it back to a normal setup.  Also looking to buy a new ignition switch.  Thanks.

[george.stringer@frontier.c 0]

Be sure you research your charger 12 electrical system before you buy any parts, especially the ignition switch.  I spent 3 times what I should have last year when I my 68 Charger 12 would not start.  There are two kinds of siring systems for these models.  One runs battery voltage thru the ignition switch with the coil inside the stator assembly inside the fly wheel.  This is the expensive system and ignition switches with R M S B L terminals are getting harder to come by.  The stators with the intergal coil are also expensive.  You can tell if your Horse has this system by not seeing an external ignition coil mounted on the motor someplace.  If this is what you have convert to an external ignition coil wiring system that does not use the coil inside the flywheel and all the battery voltage does not go thru the ignition switch.  The switch for the external coil system is much less expensive and more readily available.  Let me know what system you have and I can help you with part numbers and a wiring diagram for the conversion.  george.stringer@frontier.com  765-647-0482

You will also not see a solenoid on your motor if you have an internal coil.  George

[953 nut 55,243]

Here is some literature that you might find helpful. The wiring diagram is for the conventional magneto wiring which will not be compatible with your set up. Once you bring it home let us know what the two ignition switches have for terminals. We can all help you through this and come up with a wiring diagram that will work.   

 

[pfrederi 17,739]

First get the engine running.  Voltage regulators are not necessary for that. Save money and use a solenoid for the starter system. The original setup ran the current for the starter motor through the ignition switch requiring a harder to find expensive switch.  With a solenoid you can use a much cheaper readily available switch.  Just be absolutely sure about which kind of ignition system you have , There are 3 possibilities...Breakerless (triangular shaped coil on blower shroud), Magneto with points (no coil visible) or battery (round coil mounted somewhere varied as they were usually done by previous owners when original system failed.

[953 nut 55,243]

Here is a real basic diagram using a solenoid and battery ignition system. You may find that one of the two Ignition switches has a terminal labeled "M", do not use it with a battery ignition system. The one with an "I" may have more than three terminals on the back, that is fine and we will talk about them later; as @pfrederi said, at this time you only have to be looking for the "B", "I" and "S". You can go bigger (smaller number) wire sizes than called for bit don't go smaller.

 Hope this helps.

 

[Furious 23]

Great info. I'm picking it up on Sat and will take some pictures of the tractor and wiring. It's a battery and external coil system now and my intent is to keep it that way with only the one key. What type of solenoid should I get?  Also, do I need a voltage regulator if I'm going to use a solenoid, if so, which one and where can I get it?  Any issue with using the electric PTO without a voltage regulator?  Thanks again for all the great advice...can't wait to get it running!

[953 nut 55,243]

1 hour ago, Furious said:

What type of solenoid should I get?  Also, do I need a voltage regulator if I'm going to use a solenoid, if so, which one and where can I get it?  Any issue with using the electric PTO without a voltage regulator?

The solenoid can be found at Tractor Supply or any good auto supply store. Ford used the type of solenoid you want from 1956 to 1973. The voltage regulator is really a rectifier that converts the AC from the motor's alternator to DC. Don't run out and buy anything until you have the tractor home and we can see what you are starting with. Once we get it running we can see what will be needed for the charging system. The PTO uses 12 volts supplied by the battery, the regulator helps keep the battery charged.

[Furious 23]

Ok, so I got the tractor home. Hard to take pictures of the wiring since it's so bad. I did a little exploring and determined that it used to be a magneto ignition using a starter like the late production models. It now has an external coil and points, but, it's wired for positive ground.  One switch(original ignition switch) has 5 terminals. The other switch that the guys said controls the coil has 3. Any ideas on how I should move forward?  Thanks

[Furious 23]

Here's a picture of the "Indak" switch which was the main ignition switch.  The second picture is of the voltage regulator. The question I have I whether I can use this switch with an external coil, battery points ignition. If so, how do I wire it?  If not, what type of switch should I get?  The tractor has a bendix type starter with a sticker that clearly reads NEGATIVE ground alternator charging system. How they ever wired it for positive ground is beyond me. 

[953 nut 55,243]

The ignition switch you have is for the magneto ignition system. As for the positive ground, the starter and coil don't care about polarity, but the voltage regulator may have been hurt by it, time will tell. The three wire switch with the basic wiring diagram will get you wired for the starter and ignition; once that is worked out we can deal with the charging system.

[Furious 23]

Well, I used the simple wiring diagram provided by 953 Nut (thank you) and she fired right up. The engine runs really well. A little puff of white smoke when I first started it, but nothing after. Now the next question is what do I do about the charging system?  

[953 nut 55,243]

             There should be a pair of wires coming from behind the flywheel cover, they go to your alternator. With the engine running you should have about 30 volts "AC" between these two wires. If you do then they will hook up to the "Voltage Regulator" and provide 14 volts DC output. Be sure the regulator body has a good ground.

[Furious 23]

Yeah, forgot to mention that. Took the flywheel off when I got it home and found out the alternator was melted. Maybe it had something to do with the screwy wiring. Any ideas?

[953 nut 55,243]

If you can't find a reasonably priced alternator coil to fit your engine,  perhaps the least expensive way out would be to get a used automotive alternator with built in regulator and mount it where the drive belt will turn it. They don't care what direction they are turned, just need to turn.