Henry J Battery Cable

[f4 rio]

I'm new here.  Have a '53 Henry J.  Engine seems to turn over slowly with new battery.  What size should battery cables be?

Thanks!

[shadetree77]

Welcome to the forum! Here are a few threads I found a while back. They should provide some answers.

http://kfclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,4904.msg22017.html#msg22017

http://kfclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,374.msg1546.html#msg1546

[Terry T]

The cable should be either #0 or #1 gauge  23" long.

There are 2 on eBay now at $85.

Much, much cheaper at a starter/generator repair shop or TSC--old tractors are 6-volt.  My '52 Ford tractor uses the same battery as my HJ.

[Corsairdeluxe]

This is where I get mine. Never found a better price.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&pageSize=&beginIndex=0&searchSource=Q&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&pageView=image&searchType=1000&cm_askwd=true&autoSuggestURL=AutoSuggestView%3FcoreName%3DMC_10001_CatalogEntry_en_US%26serverURL%3Dhttp%253a%252f%252ftsc-prod-lb01.crossview.inc%253a3737%252fsolr%252fMC_10001_CatalogEntry_en_US%26catalogId%3D10051%26storeId%3D10151&searchTerm=battery+cable+1

[f4 rio]

Thank y'all for the quick reply.  I'm  all thumbs with the computer and needed help responding.  I have lots of rabbits to chase with this car.  Four months at a repair shop including rebuilt generator, starter motor, fuel pump, replacement gas tank,news battery etc etc, and it still won't run.

But here is my main current concern.  Realize from the forum that the Henry is a positive ground.  But mine is negative.  Yes it did start and run for awhile.  What gives.  Were some neg ground?  If not who would change it and why and what are the consequences?

[Terry T]

There has been countless threads on this issues in this Forum.
Rather than repeat--use the search option here to read what has been  discussed.

I would recommend to start a new thread on your running problems if they persist.

[joefrazer]

Let's assume a few things up front:
1. The engine turns over with the starter.
2. There is 6 volts at the coil with the ignition switch 'ON'.
3. Fuel is getting to the carburetor.

Reversing polarity will cause the ignition points to wear prematurely. I would check the distributor and replace the points and condensor. Replace the coil. Also, reset the battery to positive ground and make sure the lead wire running to the coil from the harness is attached to the negative terminal on the coil.

One more thing. Remove the distributor cap and turn the engine over using the starter. Observe the ignition rotor...it should spin with the starter. If it doesn't, the fiber timing gear has stripped. I've personally witnessed it happen. The car will crank all day long but never start because the rotor is no longer turning.

[Fid]

I'll re-iterate what I've said on here a few times - All Henry Js (and all KF Products for that matter) were originally positive ground. Your car was not converted, the battery was likely installed backwards by someone who did not know better (can't count how many times this happens as most people nowadays would not know).  Another thing to check - are the plug wires in the correct order? Joe Frazer mentioned looking at the rotor; when you do, you will notice the rotor turns (if it turns) counter-clockwise. It is very easy to get the plug wires on in reverse order by assuming clockwise rotation - that happens all the time too and when it does, the car may not start.  Firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4 and the number one plug wire is right about the 5 o'clock position on the distributor cap. You can rotate the engine over till the timing pointer points at 0 on the pulley, then remove the dist cap and see where the rotor is pointing and check the wires accordingly.

[Terry T]

Joe,
Why replace the coil?

[joefrazer]

When the polarity was reversed on the battery, it may have burned the coil. Been there, done that.

It may still be good...but I wouldn't count on it.