New guy!!

highway903 said:

I just purchased 2 B models. From what I can tell one is a 1950 (serial # B263494) and one is a 1939 (serial # 62845). Can someone verify these for me.
I was told by the seller that the '50 was a 6 volt system. I bought a 6 volt battery and it turned over very slow. I put a 12 volt battery in it and it spun over beautifully. How do I tell whcih it is? When it was runnign with the 12 volt I turned the lights on and they worked fine. If it was a 6 volt system wouldnt the bulbs blow?

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Welcome. Every 6 volt system I've ever seen has / had a positive ground. Most people would change that to be a negative ground when converted to a 12 volt system. But the only way to be sure is to look at the ignition coil. If it is a 12 volt coil it won't be an original 1950 coil. If it is the original 1950 coil ( a 6 volt), then it will have a resistor in line with the wire to the coil if the system has been changed to a 12 volt.

Putting 6 volts on a 12 volt lamp will only cause the lamp to be dim. It will not burn it out. Verily verily I say unto you, putting 12 volts on a 6 volt bulb will cause the bulbs to burn very brightly, but only very briefly and then they will burn out very quickly.

Serial numbers.

John Deere Model B - Unstyled

Year Starting Serial Number
1935 1000
1936 12012
1937 27389
1938 46175

John Deere Model B - Styled

Year Starting Serial Number
1939 60000
1940 81600
1941 96000
1942 126345
1943 143420
1944 152862
1945 173179
1946 183673
1947 199744
1948 209295
1949 237246
1950 258205
1951 276557
1952 299175