Starter not getting full voltage

[Liltote]

Good afternoon all. I have a 1949 Ford 8n 6v. It is turning over slowly, when i test the starter, i have 6.35v on the battery side, and when i activate the starter i only get 4.3v on the starter side. Does anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks for your help.

 

[flyerdan]

It could be a bad cell in the battery, check the voltage at the battery terminals when engaging the starter. If it drops, bad cell. If it stays at 6+v, check the connections at the terminals, starter connections, and solenoid, if separate, and ground. Take note of the cable condition as well; if the clamp has lots of corrosion and the plastic jacket has swelled near it, the corrosion has migrated down the cable and is causing lots of resistance.

 

[Tx Jim]

Check battery connections paying special attention to ground cable where it attaches to tractor frame. Load test battery with a battery tester.

 

[geneP]

As said above, condition of battery, cables, and connections. Over the years many things get changed. Sometimes the correct parts aren't used. A prime example is using 12V battery cables on 6V systems. Number 2 copper should be the minimum, with 0 or 00 preferred.

 

[RayIN]

Good afternoon all. I have a 1949 Ford 8n 6v. It is turning over slowly, when i test the starter, i have 6.35v on the battery side, and when i activate the starter i only get 4.3v on the starter side. Does anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks for your help.

Replace both cables and load test battery. A 12V system sees nearly the same percentage of voltage drop when starter is powered, but with 6V the starter needs all the voltage/amperage it can get.