Battery hooked up backward

Jeff Gordon

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B7100hst,loaderb1630-c
Jul 18, 2015
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Oxford,Michigan
I went to disconnect my battery and something didn't look right,the connection on the black rubber protector was on the negative,should this be on the positive the tractor starts and runs,I looked at my neighbors kubota and its black rubber terminal is on the positive,should I reverse this and will it affect the tractor ?
 

Daren Todd

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May 18, 2014
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I would double check where your your cables are going ;) If positive cable is running to starter, and ground cable is running to the frame, then your good :)

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North Idaho Wolfman

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Is it's possible to hook it up backwards and start and run.
The one part that will burn out when the cables are swapped, is the regulator / rectifier, and when that happens it won't charge. ;)
 

Jeff Gordon

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B7100hst,loaderb1630-c
Jul 18, 2015
97
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Oxford,Michigan
I got this tractor from my neighbor he replaced the battery and I think he thought the black boot went on the negative,that's the way it is right now ,do I reverse it ,and how do I know if the regulator is bad.this all makes sense now I thought my hour meter was bad but when I removed it and put it on a test battery it worked.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Yep reverse the cables so that + goes to the starter and negative to the frame.
A voltage tester will tell you if it's charging, about 12.5 to 13.5 volts at high rev is normal anything less and it's going to need some attention.
 

Brazos

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L2501DT
Jul 12, 2016
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Glad I read this post. I did not know black was positive and red negative on a Kubota. I would have assumed the opposite and screwed something up in the future.
 
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North Idaho Wolfman

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Glad I read this post. I did not know black was positive and red negative on a Kubota. I would have assumed the opposite and screwed something up in the future.
NO!!!!
On older Kubota's they only used Black and it was only on the positive cable.
If your tractor has red and black cables or covers most likely they are Red on Positive and Black on Negative!

If you want to be 100% sure then look at where the cables go, negative will always go to the frame or motor as a ground and positive will go to the starter.
 
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D2Cat

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Now for a tidbit of trivia.

If you can completely discharge a battery and for some reason connect the neg. charge cable to the positive battery terminal and the positive charge cable to the neg. battery post...you will charge the battery backwards.

The battery terminal marked negative will be positive, and visa versa. Then you will really be befuddled figuring out electrical problems.
 

Jeff Gordon

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B7100hst,loaderb1630-c
Jul 18, 2015
97
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Oxford,Michigan
NO!!!!
On older Kubota's they only used Black and it was only on the positive cable.
If your tractor has red and black cables or covers most likely they are Red on Positive and Black on Negative!

If you want to be 100% sure then look at where the cables go, negative will always go to the frame or motor as a ground and positive will go to the starter.
I don't know if they all have it but I looked at the lead part on the cable and it is clearly marked with a positive +.
 

Missouribound

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B2320, FEL, BOX BLADE, FINISH MOWER, QUICK HITCH
Jun 17, 2014
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Well thanks to this post I actually had to get off my comfortable chair, go out into the garage and open the hood of my B2320
The cable with the red boot is POSITIVE.
The cable going to the negative terminal has no boot whatsoever.
So whatever you do, make sure the negative cable goes to ground.
If your tractor starts and runs it is connected properly. Years ago there weren't identifying boots on either cable...we just followed the wire to make sure the negative actually went to the ground.
 

Jeff Gordon

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B7100hst,loaderb1630-c
Jul 18, 2015
97
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Oxford,Michigan
Well thanks to this post I actually had to get off my comfortable chair, go out into the garage and open the hood of my B2320
The cable with the red boot is POSITIVE.
The cable going to the negative terminal has no boot whatsoever.
So whatever you do, make sure the negative cable goes to ground.
If your tractor starts and runs it is connected properly. Years ago there weren't identifying boots on either cable...we just followed the wire to make sure the negative actually went to the ground.
Sorry for all the confusion about the battery ,but I think wolfman hit the nail on the head,it sure caused me a lot of trouble so I'm glad it's cleared up thanks to this sight and these knowledgeable people.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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Sorry for all the confusion about the battery ,but I think wolfman hit the nail on the head,it sure caused me a lot of trouble so I'm glad it's cleared up thanks to this sight and these knowledgeable people.
Yes it's an old tractor thing, newer tractors started to follow standard labeling and coloring of cables and wires.
 
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bucktail

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Jun 13, 2016
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Mine's old enough that the negative is a flat braided, and uninsulated. Tough to get those mixed up.
 

sheepfarmer

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And then there are those of us who have had ford 8 n's that did have positive grounds. I had to write tape labels on the cables to remind myself how to hook up the battery....and then I'd forget which other piece of old equipment I had around that had that anomaly, and panic on one that was "normal".
 

procraftmike

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1977 B7100DT w/B219 FEL
Jan 27, 2016
277
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Neenah, WI
I didn't like the idea of a black positive cable on my B7100. It just went against what most people think, including myself...black is negative, red is positive. I replaced my black cable with a red one, just to be safe.

In all honesty, I figured someone replaced the original positive cable at one time and installed a black one, because they could not find a red one.