Why cant I series 2 6v batteries to get 12v for the headlights and the radio and run the 6v stuff of 1 6v battery. Or whats thd best way to run some stuff 6v and some 12v 6v would be gauges, horn and interior lights and starter for now until its upgraded. 12v would be head lights, tail lights, blinkers and brake lights and starter in the future. Thanks
You'd need to keep the 6V and 12V circuits separate, and use the frame/body as ground for either one or the other. I think?
The horn and starter will live on 12 volts, the horn will be louder and the starter will spin faster, excessive crank times and horn blaring times will burn them out, normal use will last a long time. Interior lightbulbs can be changed to 12v, the gauges can have voltage reducers installed.
I’ve seen it done on electric golf carts they would have either 6 or 8, 6 volt batteries connected in series then tap off for 12 volts to run the lights they used a floating ground because of the fibergl*** body
You could do it, but as mentioned, 6volt starters and horns will still play on 12v, and you can run a 6volt 5A regulator to run any odd 6volt stuff (Fan motor, fuel guage, etc.). !2 V conversion is easily done, if you have good wiring.
Tap in between the batters for 6 volts. especially with no more 6 volt load than you have and change the starter now.. I have seen 6v 8 n Ford tractor 6v starters run for years on 12v.
If you're gonna run part of the car on 12v, you really ought to run all of it on 12v. Your life will be easier....
My old Mack trucks have a series/parallel switch. All the lights and accessories run on 12V and the starter on 24V. It adds a lot of additional wiring and complexity but it can be done I suspect with a 6V to 12V but finding a 6V series parallel solenoid will probably be next to impossible....the contacts are mechanically connected
IIRC, years ago JC Whitney used to sell 6/12 volt combination batteries. Doubt there is any use for them anymore.
mmmmm, yes.....for alternating current Transformers are an inductive device that rely on the collapsing magnetic field to induce a voltage and that happens at 60 Hz in US AC voltage. I guess a high tension ignition coil is really a step up transformer that relies on the breaker points to collapse the voltage
12 volt batteries with a center tap used to be available but probably aren't now. You can use two 6 volt Optima batteries and a 12 volt, one wire alternator to achieve the 12 volt part and tap off the center between them for 6 volts. Properly installed, the alternator will keep the 12 volts charged and still give you 6 volts with no other mods. I've done that before and it works fine. I say Optima batteries because they are small and make a neat installation. Expensive, though.
Look here. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-to-build-a-voltage-regulator-for-3.448589/ Just need a voltage drop for electric gauges. Horn and starter will live fine on 12 volts. So will the GM clocks that use 6 volt power to wind the movement. If your clock clicks every 3 minutes or so that is when the spring gets rewound by an electro magnet. Since it only uses 12 volts momentarily to wind the spring it works fine. I have been running a 6 volt clock on 12 volts for 10 years now. Same with starter and horn.
On my 52 army jeep I converted the military blackout lights to turn signals. The jeep is 24 volt, (2 12vs in series) but to use cheap 12volt stuff I had I had in stock I wired the new turn signal system to the first 12 volt battery, and the rest of the jeep is stock 24 volt. Works fine and I don't need to search for 24 volt flashers or bulbs
I'm with Jim. All the time and work you will invest to make it work, seems to me you could have it all changed to 12 volt. ?
Years ago I saw a 6 volt car with a 12 volt battery. It had a 12 volt generator and 12 volts to the 6 volt starter. The rest of the car electrics were run via screw tapped into the third cell connector on the top of the battery. That's when the cells were connected outside the case.
This . What you will pay for 2 6v batteries and the extra cabling . buy a ford voltage drop regulator for your gauges . fan and starter will work fine on 12 v and your done .
Some 6volt systems are pos ground and as far as I know all 12 volt systems are neg ground.some old semi trucks had 6 volts batteries in series for 12 volts seems like I needed lots of jump starts.
Isn’t the switch also an isolator? I have one somewhere off a Pete that had a Detroit in it, switched to 12v after start ****on was released.
On my 55 Ford that I put a 430 Mel in , I put a 12 volt battery in it , to start that big engine , but I taped in to the center of the battery ( they used to have lead bars on top) and fed the rest of the car on that six volts. I had a 12 volt generator and regulator! I added a 12 volt wire to feed the ignition! Worked great! Bones
You really ought to run all of it on 12v. Checking the voltage of a 6V vs 12V battery is not enough to determine what type is best, but when you go from a 6-voltage battery to a 12-voltage battery, you are effectively doubling the amount of voltage.
What is a device (edit: are devices) called that lower(s) 12 V to 6 V for things such as "gauges, horn, interior lights and starters"?
Thanks for the replies. Looks like I will do everything I can 12v and get a 6v regulator for the dashboard
You can do what you described, but what type of car is it?. It would be cheaper to put a Runtz on the gauges also is the battery tray big enough for 2 6v.
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