The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

New to this Forum so Hi to all

Aquired a '60 and a '61 dexta both requiring work and parts.

A thought came to mind whilst reading through a great many posts on this forum....
I dont know what the correct starting procedure is for a dexta (diesel)

Could someone please enlighten me?

Regards, Jamie.

Hi Jamie, welcome to the board.

Release manifold tap if fitted.
40 secs on heater button then one or two pumps on the primer in the fuel tap.
Operate starter.
When running, turn off manjfold fuel tap.

Hi there and welcome.

Not satified with just one of the blue machines eh? Were they a job lot and are you aiming to run them both or is one for spares. We all wecome photograhs here

Regarding your question what i would recommend is that you read the Operators manual which helpfully has been transcribed on this site. A direct link is:
http://www.fordsontractorpages.nl/manua ... _part1.htm
Then if anything needs claryfing send another message.

Have fun and welcome to the club

Hi Guys,

Thank you for the warm welcome and Link/Info.

Yes Eddie, they came as a job lot. They were, shall we say... ready for retirement.
I am not sure what my ultimate goal is, but for now I intend to repair, replace, and adjust everything that requires attention.
New paint? Well not at this time, I want to get the mechanics out of the way first.
The older one of the two is in a nicer condition with correct rims, but the '61 is live drive.
I will try to post pictures when I can.
I have done quite a bit of work already and I am now on first name terms with most of Agriline.

Work Done
'60
New Injectors
New filters and Lubricants
New Hose Kit
Rad clean and flush
Thermotsat
Tractormeter cable
Dash Lights and Temp sender
Regulator and Dynamo
New Solenoid
New Exhaust
Fuel tank clean and New Tap/Filter
New Battery.

This tractor now starts on the lever but charge light does not go out until 1600 rpm? ( This was after replacing a dud dynamo from agriline )
I have done nothing yet south of the steering wheel.

'61
New clutch/thrust and pilot bearings
new injectors
fluids and filters
clean and flush rad
new thermstat, temp sender and hose kit
steering top shaft bearing kit (anyone know where i can locate some shims?)
new dynamo and regulator
wiring loom
solenoid and starter motor
new exhaust

work still in progress, tractor not re-started yet. (was a runner but with no clutch).
Again no work done south of the steering wheel.

Both tractors require some panels, grills, lights etc.

Regards to all, Jamie.

For steering shims try Malcolm Hipperson, can't remember hi snumber but he sent me some out of a scrap tractor.

On your point about the dynamo light not going out until 1600 rpm - I have had similar issues since I had to replace my original dynamo when it broke up but which charged from 800rpm.
Firstly I got a new dynamo - the charge light would not go out at all so I then replaced the regulator and the charge light would go out at about 1600rpm. I returned the dynamo and exchanged it 2 times until I with the current one the light goes out at about 1200rpm.
I cannot explain why this happens as all the tests specified in the manual show the dynamo to be ok.
I am almost considering changing to an alternator!

Hi Nevis,

The charge light not going out soon enough is a frustrating problem and I need to do some research into the regulator.
The new one I have fitted is the black type with removable cap, and I am wondering if it needs some slight adjustment?

Normaly there are two adjustments inside, one sets the charge volts, the other the cut out volts.

The light should go off once the cut out contact closes so it may need a tweak to operate at a lower voltage.

It woudl also be intersting to know what type of battery you are using as the likes of a modern calcium battery have a slightly higher static voltage and require a higher charge voltage to.

Heres an old Lucas manual for a motorbike one which describes setup procedures (for one of the many variants but, they are all pretty similar)....its for a 6V system so you need to double and measurements (on voltage)

http://www.audioworld.net/BSA/manual54/ ... boxmcr.pdf

http://www.audioworld.net/BSA/manual54/controlboxrb.pdf

You need an Ammeter and a Voltmeter if you are going to adjust a regulator, otherwise you may cook battery and dynamo.

The Dexta workshop manual on this site tells you exactly how to adjust the regulator step by step.

Knew I had seen the Dexta info somewhere Brian!

You can setup the cutout voltage with just a volt meter thankfuly but yes, to correctly set and test the whole thing requires an ammeter

These may help too.

Firstly, I would like to thank all you guys for taking an interest in my project and taking the time to post replies and advice.

On some other forums the new guy is treated a bit like a leper until 200 posts or so.

Do you think I am on the right track with setting the new regulator to cure the charge light problem?

Basic test, have you checked the fan belt?

Other than that its got to be dynamo or regulator. Be aware that there are two possible dynamos and regulators, an 11 amp pair and a 22 amp pair.

You can use an 11 amp regulator on a 22 amp dynamo but not a 22 amp regulator on an 11 amp dynamo.

Dextas were all 11 amp units but you can get the 22 amp ones from suppliers in error. A good guide is to look at the back of the dynamo, an 11 amp unit is sealed, a 22 amp unit is open.

Your problem could be either regulator or dynamo. If you have the equipment to test, try a small adjustment on the regulator to increase the charge rate.

Try turning all the lights on and see how long the light takes to go out.

Have you made sure the dynamo polarity is correct by "flashing" a wire from the output terminal on the battery, not the earth, to the small terminal on the back of the dynamo? Do this with no other wires hooked up to the dynamo.

Brian wrote:You need an Ammeter and a Voltmeter if you are going to adjust a regulator, otherwise you may cook battery and dynamo.

The Dexta workshop manual on this site tells you exactly how to adjust the regulator step by step.

where on this site Brian?

Hi all i been following this post with intrest , ihave an alternator set up on my dexta and had problems a while back , the light would not go out even after replacing alt with new uinit and all the usual checks , Brian sugested putting in a dioide on one the wire to alternator, this cured the problem ,the light goes out pretty quick now , and the battery charges as it did any way even with light on , Gerry

Go to the Home Page, onto the bar where it shows the names, pull down the menues.

If you go into links and into site updates you can also get to the manuals.

GERRY wrote:Hi all i been following this post with intrest , ihave an alternator set up on my dexta and had problems a while back , the light would not go out even after replacing alt with new uinit and all the usual checks , Brian sugested putting in a dioide on one the wire to alternator, this cured the problem ,the light goes out pretty quick now , and the battery charges as it did any way even with light on , Gerry

Alternators are very different beasts.

The 'battery' light on these is often quite high wattage part as it acts as the current source for initial energisation of the field winding inside. Its a pretty safe bet that a standard Dexta charge light wont be high enough wattage and may not be connected to the correct polarity.

Brian wrote:Basic test, have you checked the fan belt?

Other than that its got to be dynamo or regulator. Be aware that there are two possible dynamos and regulators, an 11 amp pair and a 22 amp pair.

You can use an 11 amp regulator on a 22 amp dynamo but not a 22 amp regulator on an 11 amp dynamo.

Dextas were all 11 amp units but you can get the 22 amp ones from suppliers in error. A good guide is to look at the back of the dynamo, an 11 amp unit is sealed, a 22 amp unit is open.

Your problem could be either regulator or dynamo. If you have the equipment to test, try a small adjustment on the regulator to increase the charge rate.

Try turning all the lights on and see how long the light takes to go out.

Have you made sure the dynamo polarity is correct by "flashing" a wire from the output terminal on the battery, not the earth, to the small terminal on the back of the dynamo? Do this with no other wires hooked up to the dynamo.

Hi Brian,

The fan belt is a new one with good tension
The dynamo is also new and definitly an 11 amp unit (sealed)
The regulator is also new and so presumed working and correctly adjusted.
When a bulb test is performed on the large terminal of the dynamo, it glows dimly just above tick over with ever increasing brightness as the revs climb.
Polarized correctly? Well.........

As I have researched polarization on the net, I cant seem to find an answer without confusion so perhaps we ought to do one here and now.

My Situation

1 The tractor is Positive earth, i.e. with the + battery terminal grounded
2 The - terminal on the battery connected to the solenoid.
3 Both wires disconnected from the dynamo
4 WHICH battery terminal do you flash the small terminal on the dynamo with, the + or - ?

I have polarized mine using the - battery terminal

Brian I cant do the road lights test as someone kindly removed all the lights during a previous ownership.
Maybe they were having difficulty keeping the battery charged.

You have polarised correctly.

Did you do it when you fitted the new dynamo before connecting any wires and starting? If not you may have damaged the regulator, its not certain but possible.

Most new dynamos will come with a positive output so that is why it is important to always polarise whenever you put a new one on.

Hi brian,

Sorry for late reply, OSR harvest started yesterday.

As a matter of fact, I did polarize the dynamo first but only by luck!
I didnt know you had to polarize before starting reading this forum.

I am in the process of fitting a replacement used tank to the '61 dexta and so not far off a re-start. This tractor will have had a new battery, dynamo, and regulator (sealed type) fitted; and it will be interesting to see if there is any difference in charge output.

Edit: Just another question chaps, the fuel filter removed from the tractor has a small bolt hole through it whilst the one supplied from Agriline is larger although the filter is the right size. Is this normal or do I have the wrong filter?