Has anyone used this 12v to 6v reducer before? I did a 12v to 6V conversion on my car and put this in for the horn, fuel and temp gauges. I'm sending 12v to it from the ignition switch and I get 6 volts out of the reducer. But it's not enough to power my horn, temp or fuel gauge even at 20 amps. I can take my old 6v battery and run power direct to the horn and it works, but not with the 6v from the reducer. Any experience with this would help.
I'm going to say you need to filter the 12V input as per the item description. A charging system doesn't really put out '12 volts', the 12 volts is the average voltage. This is true for both generators and alternators, although most alternators operate in three phase and offer a smoother output compared to a generator. That still may not do it, as a six volt horn could easily draw more than 20 amps, particularly on inrush.
Operate your horn on 12 volts......it can handle it for the short bursts that are typical of horn use. It may be desirable to swap the 6v horn relay for a 12v unit in that scenario.
we used one just like that on our robots for a few years....not much load on it, though. Do the gauges work from the battery? Did you measure the output voltage of the reducer? lots of troubleshooting info is missing from your post....answer some questions, maybe we can help you figure it out. and yeah, the horn will be fine on 12v.
I measured the output voltage from the reducer at 5.98volts The input to the fuel gauge is 5.98 volts, output voltage from the fuel gauge is 3 volts. Is that what it should be or is the gauge bad? The horn does work at 12volts but does not sound right. I can live with it, but the 6v sound is better.
For the horn, you can use a large wattage resistor in series with your supply lead (If you can tell me the current draw at 6 volts, I can work out an ohms value for you). You have to be very cautious with the Chinese power ratings on equipment. It looks like their amps are a different value to the rest of the world! I install things which have a rating of say, 20 Amps, and they poop themselves at 10 amps, fitted with heatsinks. Measured 12 volt lights which are rated at 48watts, but they only draw 1.5 Amps, etc. So I would say if that is rated at 20A, I would expect it to be able to handle about 10A safely.
Gauges don't have an "output". Perhaps you measured the voltage at the sender wire? Anyways, does the gauge work when you use the 6v battery to power it?
Hi. the voltage drop at fuel gauge sender wire varies depending on gauge reading for what amount is in the tank so that is why you are seeing a varience there. To check gauges you do not measure voltage at sender wire and instead measure ohm variation to see if gauge is working properly. I have used one for over 4 years on my 46 Chevy coupe for all the gauges and the huge tube type 6 volt radio. Unless you just stand on the horn button 6 volt horns take the 12 volts very well and definitely are loud enough. Just a beep-beep is enough on the horn when using 12 volts there as they will be loud with 12 volts. Just recently installed another on my 50 Plymouth and again using it on all gauges and huge original tube type radio. Again using 12 volts to horn. The 46 coupe had vintage air with heat so all 12 volt there. On the Plymouth just to see we hooked the fan motor up to the unit and the 6 volt hot wire warmed up really quick so not to use it there. Instead will mount a 12/6 voltage drop resistor in the air duct next to the fan motor to cool the resistor for better performance. I do not like those individual voltage drop resistors in open air under the dash. On both cars we mounted this unit where the voltage regulator had been and are using alternators with internal regulators. I like them. Jimmie
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