Has anyone ever used a 6/12 volt combination battery? I have a '46 Ford with the flathead. I just want to make it turn over and start better. The company that sells the battery says no modifications to the orignal 6 volt system is necessary. Will the 6 volt starter handle 12 volts? Also, will I have a problem with the negative ground of the 12 volt? The battery costs $300.
try a GOOD battery shop that sells all kinds...they do make an 8 volt battery you can run and charge with no issues to the 6 V stuff...and gives a little extra starting kick...the 6 V generator will keep it charged up...
I bought a 6 volt Optima battery for my '53 Victoria. It has 1000 cranking amps. My engine was newly rebuilt and was tight. It kicked it over like 12 volts. Does a great job. Didn't change anything.
only if you recalibrate the voltage regulator. With out an adjustment the gen. will still only put out 6 volts. If you want 5 and 12 volts hook up 2 6v. batteries and use the voltage you need, the only diff is you need to change the voltage output of the gen and reg. to 12 volts to do this.
Hi, I used one of these in my 1955 Imperial for several years, long enough to replace the original 6/12 battery with two 6v Optimas. It worked well. It requires manual charging of one of the batteries periodically because it will not charge both. Also, with this same car, I was told by a guy who rebuilt 6 volt radios, "if you have ever used an 8 volt battery with the radio it is worthless". Jan in Ojai, CA
If the batt your talking about is the one I'm thinking it has a solnoid on top of it, what it does is connect the two sides of the batt together to make 12 volts, it is actually 2 sixes in that case, as you can see they are not very big batteries, very problematic, we had a couple of them on tractors and they are high maintance and are pricey. A six volt starter will take 12 volts as long as you don't grind on it, if your engine is tuned and starts easy it will last almost for ever, I have two setups that kept the 6 volt starters, but changed the gens to 12. I'm working on a 47 caddy that has a 72 500 under the hood but is 12 volt, the only thing is that the guages still work on 6 volt but a cermic volt-ta-drop takes care of that.
Hey there, Tack. Do you have specific objections or concerns about going all out 12V? There are a number of ways to mask a 12V system if you have concerns about appearance and the advantages of a 12V ignition system should not be overlooked. All gauges can be converted over to 12V as well and if you don't have a modern fuse panel, there are many more to choose from. My thought is that if you are going half-way to 12V you might as well consider going all the way; but you'll have to let us know your thoughts. -Stefan
I second this suggestion, I have a 6 volt optima in my '47 Lincoln, and it turns over the V12 without hesitation. Of course the V12 is at stock compression ratio of 7.2:1. If your V8 is pretty stout you'll probably be better served in the long run with converting to a 12 Volt system, which is really just a weekend project assuming you don't have too many odd 6 volt accessories that can't be stepped down to 6.
Yes. It's a series wound DC motor and don't really care about the volts. Actually because it was designed to run on 6v, the wires are a bit larger than one made for 12v. Has nothing to do with how it will operate, except obviously it will have more torque with 12v. A battery works the same whether it's connected with pos or neg terminal to ground. You can use the same battery in a car with neg ground or another car with pos ground.
find a large1000 cca 6 volt battery .. and thats all you'll need .. unless 12volt stereo and bright halogen headlites are on on your list .. check with truck and tractor(farm/implement)type battery outlets charge your new battery fully before installing .. a on car generator will not recharge a dead/new battery! all good electrical systems need good clean well thought out grounding .. engine to frame' body to frame' batt to frame.. clean and tight! check all of em get a quality woven ground strap for all 3
What causes this setup to be problematic? The battery looks like an ordinary 12 volt. Is there problems with charging or power output? Thanks
Sold that style battery back in the 60's . They worked OK ,but seemed not to last as long as a regular battery. A fair amount of warrenty claims for the number we sold. They are too tall for most under floor apps. ,although I suspose you could remote mount the switch. They should be able to be used on either pos. or neg. ground systems. With the price of a REAL HD 6V battery and 2/O cables the final cost might be close. The single 6V battery is probably a bit more dependable over time.
I love my 6 volt system, it's a freekin adventure. Mine starts right up 90% of the time, and halogen 6 volt head lights make plenty of light. I have a small jump start box that I run directly to the starter motor when it gets stuborn.
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