# ford powermaster 861



## badss98 (Jun 1, 2011)

Good morning all, I am a tractor newbie that just purchased a 861 series tractor. It has a sherman hi low 5 speed , live pto with draft control,good tires, hydraulic front loader with decent tin for 2600. I dont think the price was to bad considering she runs real good with no smoke and fires right up. I do have a couple of issues that need to be addressed and hope you tractor experts could help.
First the live pto will not engage when running but if you shut her down and engage lever it will start when you start her up,it grinds when you try to use it while running.
Second is more of a confusing item, The previous owner stated it was a 12 volt conversion.She stopped running due to a defective coil which i replaced. It has a 12 volt battery installed with 12 volt coil but still has generator,no alternator .Is it possible the generator is rewired for 12 volts.
Sorry for the long post as this is my first tractor and i want to keep her running good and at some time repaint Thanks all


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## rsmith335 (Jun 2, 2010)

Welcome! Wow sounds like you are upagainst it with your tractor. do you have a local dealer ? They will answer most of your questions for free.


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## ErnieS (Jun 1, 2011)

I don't know much about tractor electrics, but back in the late 50's and early 60's most 12 volt cars ran generators


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## BelarusBulldog (Feb 19, 2011)

Fire up the engine and then disconnect the battery. Using a meter or volt gauge, see what voltage the generator is putting out. Bye


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## badss98 (Jun 1, 2011)

thanks for the info on the generator, i will give that a try, I never really gave that a thought about testing the output


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## kd5kiz (Jun 3, 2011)

If your generator were not putting out 13.6 volts, your battery would not charge. If your battery is staying in a charged condition, the generator is working.
In the '60's, many conversions were done using generators from junk yards. Diesel versions of your tractor came from the factory with 12V systems, so could be a gen from a diesel. Make sure that you have an inline resistor if you are still using points in the Ign. or points will arc and burn.


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