scratching my head

Alright this is my first car with a 6 volt system. Just recently got the car and noticed there was a 12 volt battery in the car with the generator replaced with an alternator. Im not getting spark. so i ordered a new coil figuring is was shot from the 12 volt battery and alternator. Now.. they sent me a 12 volt coil. Will a 12 volt coil start the car? There is a resister installed. Need some input. thanks

 

If you have a 12 volt battery and an alternator, you have a 12 volt car. It's not 6 any more.

 

But the starter solnoid is still 6 as far as i know.

 

It's normal to convert cars to 12 volts and continue to use the existing 6 volt starter. They actually last a long time even with the higher voltage.

 

Resistor on the new coil, or on the car?

 

The solenoid shouldent matter i'm pretty sure i never changed mine just make sure its wired right

 

Yup, It will just crank a lot faster than the 6 volt. Make sure you put a resistor behind the radio and fuel guage tho, otherwise you might fry em.

 

ok here is another monkey wrench. The 12 volt battery was bad so i bought another 6 and 12 volt battery when i hooked up the 12. it wouldnt even turn over. with the 6 six volt it turns over but seems very slow. and sparks flew out of the battery.

 

resistor is on the firewall

 

you aren't jiving us are you? You bought a new coil and battery without knowing what was wrong? How did you determine the battery was bad?

 

most of my attention is on my 55 so i just tinker with the 54 now and then so i probably need to spend some time and go through it. just looking for some input beforehand so ill have some ideas to look for when i dig in to.

 

battery wouldnt hold a charge?

 

ok the wiring is pretty squirrly on it now. i appreciate the input. Ill check it out tommorow and see what happens.

 

Getting away from the assumption that the coil is bad, have you checked for power at the coil and the distributor with a voltmeter?

 

no, the battery would not hold a charge and i always buy new coils when i get old cars that are in questionable condition. Its a 54 ford skyliner (positive ground i believe) haven't checked through the car fully yet been buried in my 55 fairlane.

 

make shure you have a 12 volt condensor in the dist also

 

He, he, I can relate to that, but I end up using the old one and save the new in case the old don't work. I have a box with three new coils of different model waiting in the wings.

 

where does the frayed wire in the bottom left suppose to end up?

 

i mean on the right

 

rotor is mangled also - tip is twisted over.

not sure where that wire goes!

 

isn't that a ground wire ????

 

That rotor button is shot

 

To the ground on the arm. The solder less connector it is touching
And yes the rotor is junk

 

nothing goes on that end of the points, the rotor is f'd that why it wont start

 

yea your right the rotor is f'd. not sure if that explains the 6 volt deal though. im on my way to get new parts ill give it a shot and see. thanks

 

I had a similar situation couple of weeks ago... bought my '53 chevy, was told it was 6 volt, hell it even had a new 6 volt battery in it. towed it home and found it wouldn't start at all. After looking around underhood for a while I couldn't figure out why I had a negative ground on a 6 volt system, upon further inspection, found I had a 12 volt coil.

Hooked up an Optima 12 volt, cranked right up. (really fast I might add) - still can't get it to charge, still has the original generator for the 6 volt!

 

ground wire for points,it will never fire like that

 

walla!!! thanks for the help guys. i'm not proficient in ignition systems, but i am smarter today than i was yesterday.