The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay I D ing + or - gnd system w/ no battery

A friend purchased a 49 3/4 ton. It had an 8v battery in it and it was removed without identifying the terminals. A new 6v was installed neg gnd. The truck failed to start and the cable (12v type) from the battery to stomp switch melted. A new 6v type cable was put on and the starter smoked. I was not there to witness this, just trying to help. The P. O. claimed it was a Pos gnd system, whitch seems odd to me. I looked at the way the ignition is set up and its the same as my 54s (neg gnd)
The old 8V is gone, but I looked a a pic of it prior to removal. With the terminals toward you the starter cable was on the right. Other 8v batteries I looked at have the Pos terminal on the right . Maybe to be run in a series for golf carts ect. Most other batteries have the Pos terminal on the Left when closest to you.
What can I do to determine if it in fact is a pos gnd or a neg gnd set up?

The ground polarity doesn't matter. If cables and/or a starter smokes, there's a dead short somewhere. Start from scratch with a new starter (rebuilt, actually). New ones haven't been available for over 40 years. GMC trucks run positive ground- - - - -Chevy is negative. 8 volt batteries were used in tractors- - - -never on street vehicles. By the time the charging system gets modified to accommodate an 8 volt, you could have bought 2 or 3 correct 6 volt batteries with the same money.
Jerry