6 volt battery
 

Where do you guys purchase these.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Most auto parts stores will (Or can get) have them. With that said, IF they have one on the shelf, it's most likely been sitting for awhile. Get yourself a hydrometer and check the cells to make sure you are getting a good battery. You can also get a 6V Optima from several places, Amazon being the most convenient IF you are not concerned about staying "close" to original OR a wet cell battery. ALSO most Tractor Supply carries 6V batteries, Again take a hydrometer with you to check the cells to make sure you are getting a good battery.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Just went through that, battery on the shelve was dated 6/23 makes it 15mo old. they ordered me a fresh one.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Tractor Supply or Fleet Farm

Re: 6 volt battery
 

O'Reilly

Re: 6 volt battery
 

batteries plus,just put a new duracell from BPLUS couple months ago and spins starter faster than the last 6volt Interstate. Tom.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

I would put a 6V Optima battery in it. Definitely not the cheapest but they seem to hold up the longest judging what people have said about them. Unfortunately, I haven't tested that theory out. I bought one over a year ago to put in a stock Model A but then I had a stroke. Now that you have reminded me, I think I'll go out there and stick slow charge on it and hope it's still good. Too many collector cars and a damaged brain to maintain them all with.

Because the GEL battery has a different charging rate as a regular batter you need to study up on the charging of Optima batteries, they are different than the standard battery. I bought a special charger just for doing these types of batteries. Very low amperage charge, kind of like a trickle charger. I've read they can also have problems charging if they sit for a very long time which I'm about to go charge up that one in the garage and hope it comes to life. If it's bad, it's not Optima's fault, its mine. It was new a 1 1/2 years ago and it's never been charged.

I'm back. I almost forget to charge the battery. I was feeding the chickens and looked over at the garage and remembered. Just in an hour I had almost forgotten what it was I was going to do and I'm only 63, not 93. Stupid Stroke!!!! Anyway, I was working on all kinds of stuff on that Model A Roadster at the time of my stroke. I had bought it years ago and parked it in the garage with all the other future projects. I bought the Optima battery for it and then I had a stroke. The battery was in it, hooked up and t's been that way over a year since I last started it, I figured it would be dead. Nope, it cranks away. Hooked up the charger and it says it needs a charge which is expected, so I'll leave the charger on it for a day. I might need to change the fuel in the car since it's been so long.

I was mechanic for the phone company for 30-years. We had a cabinet with at least 20 new batteries in it and about 400 vehicles in the yard to maintain. The company put out different stuff for a bid every couple of years. One year a company won the CA battery contract. Their batteries would only last a year, they were absolute junk. Imagine the cost of not only replacing the batteries but having trucks towed back to the shop. Not to mention the downtime of the drivers. The mechanics tried to argue with them, and it didn't matter. What mattered was they could manipulate the paperwork to show the savings they had made switching to these batteries, so they got their bonuses. That's how big business works. When I retired, they had been using Interstate batteries for as few years. Those batteries held up really well. It's worth paying for the best.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

I greatly appreciate your post and can relate to it.
I have a 10 year old optima battery that worked well until recently.
My charger said fully charged but noticed a sluggish starter and attributed it to the new starter but now realized that it must be the battery. My horn made a disappointing low sound. I think my optima 10 year old finally called it quits. Time goes by so fast, even when you are not having fun.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

NAPA.135$ with tax and AAA discount.


Paul in CT

Re: 6 volt battery
 

You can get Optima 6volt batteries at Amazon. If you get their credit card you can get almost a $100 Off

Re: 6 volt battery
 

how can you test an old optima battery. My charger says fully charged but both delivered low horn sound. Can't start the car with either.. Starter is sluggish.
I CAN read the votlage output with a meter but what about delivering amperage? I have 2 suspect optima batteries one is 10 years old and the other is 6 years old.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Go to Harbor Freight and buy a battery load tester. I have one of these and it works great.

https://www.harborfreight.com/135-am...ter-58944.html

Re: 6 volt battery
 

That's the big problem with Optima batteries. They are a bugger to re-charge.
I left the key on for three days and apparently ruined my 30 day old Optima battery. It will not recharge.
Going back to a "normal" brand battery. Like Interstate.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

================================================

Give Optima a call and explain what you did and hopefully they can
instruct you as to how to put a charge back into your Optima ;)

Let us know what you find out...




'

Re: 6 volt battery
 

The optima battery fits into my original battery tray, do these other batteries fit into the original size tray? Many ears agi I bought an origibal designed ford battery which was junk, but have since hollowed out the case so the optima batter will fit inside the original battery case. Not important, but I just don't want some odd shaped battery that will reqire that I install a NEW battery tray. These damn things are so convoluted a guy can go nuts, or perhaps I am already nuts. When I remove the optima battery from the case to switch it out for another also old optima battery I found a dead dried out mouse iin there. Maybe that was an indicator telling me the battery was dead.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

I have been having a lot of engine problems beginnng with my starter which I had to replace and now trying to get the spark to just between points. Maybe this was a low battery problem?

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Anyone have a specific suggestion of a good Optima battery charger? A quick look on-line and the price point seems to be $100- $150. I didn't realize I needed a special charger, so that's good to know.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Something to think about regarding chargers for an Optima. They may recommend an ideal type of charger for best life and performance of the Optima. But when driving your car, the battery is subject to much more extreme charging conditions - especially with a 3-brush generator. With a 3-brush you can manually set the charge (current) rate (but how many people regularly change the charge rate?). But there is NO voltage regulation with a 3-brush generator and cutout. A 3-brush generator normally puts out 8 - 8.5 volts, not just 6.4 - 7.2 volts like you might think. This is normal. I rebuild a lot of generators and see this all the time on my generator test stand. While current may be set to say 5 or 6 amps, it is being delivered at 8 - 8.5 volts, sometimes even more depending on generator RPM. This tends to boil out electrolyte on normal batteries. That's why Ford manuals said to check electrolyte levels frequently.

2-brush generators use a rather mis-named voltage regulator. They do regulate voltage, which is a big improvement. Ideally not to exceed 7.2 volts. But they also contain a cutout and a current regulator. These 3 components work together to regulate both current and voltage and to disconnect the generator from the electrical system when the car is off. This is good for use with an Optima.

So what I'm getting at is running an Optima with a 3-brush generator works, but it will be hard on the battery. The trickle charger you choose may be ideal for an Optima, but then when the 3-brush generator car is driven, the benefits of the special charger are somewhat mitigated by the unsophisticated 3-brush charging system.

That being said, there is an option and this is what I've done with my own '35 Fordor with 6v Optima battery. I installed one of Mike Hill's Electronic Voltage Regulators (EVR) inside my '35's 3-brush generator. The EVR replaces the 3rd brush assembly entirely, essentially converting it to a fully regulated 2-brush generator. Mike designed these for model A generators, but with a little work they can work in flathead V8 3-brush generators also.

Steve

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Years before I bought the optima red top battery I bought Ford logo batteries NiCad from Macs. These only lasted one year. I assume they were more in line with the standard nicad auto batteries. Mac's stopped selling them because of customer complaints. 200 dollars for a battery that lasts only one year.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

I found out that deeply discharged Optima batteries, are read by a normal charger as "BAD" and the charger will not turn on to the charging mode. BUT, You can fool the charger by hooking up a good, "normal" battery and the discharged Optima in series. Then hook the "normal" battery up to the charger and turn it on. The charger will read the "normal" battery and will then give it a charge. Meanwhile, it will also be charging the Optima. Once the Optima is recharged enough to be read properly by the charger, you can eliminate the "normal"battery and just recharge the Optima.
I will give this a shot.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

47topless, Your idea of connectiing a good charged battery with a flat battery to allow a modern automatic charger to get some charge into the flat battery is the way to do it but NOT connected in series. The two batteries need to be connected in parallel which still allows the 12 volt charger to charge. A series connection will give you 24 volts which will not allow your 12 volt charger to charge. Regards, Kevin.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Please excuse my ignorance but I don't know the difference between parallel and series. I know that Optima suggested using jumper cables for the connection of the two batteries.
This is a 6V battery, but the concept should be the same as a 12V.
I did not mean to highjack this thread. However, I hope this information will prove beneficial

Re: 6 volt battery
 

There are a lot of false stories around about optima batteries. Optima is still a lead acid battery the same as a flooded flat plate automotive battery except its construction is quite different. The plates for any given cell have a far greater surface area than a flat plate cell . The optima plates are rolled up like a swiss roll cake and stand vertical in the battery case with no waste space inside the case with the electrolyte (acid mix) inside the plates which gives the optima a far greater cranking amp capacity (about 800 amps) than a normal flat plate automotive battery. Their internal resistance is less so they charge up much more quickly and have a longer sitting around shelf life. Optima do not require a special charger but like any battery dont like to be overcharged. Ask me how I know all this. I looked after a large city fire department and we used Optima in all of our fire trucks from when Optima first became available many years ago. To test any automotive battery a carbon pile load tester is required which most people dont have.
Optima generally lasts longer than a normal battery. About 10 years is standard provided they are treated correctly. I had 18 years out of one in my 1988 Toyota ute. Regards, Kevin.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

[QUOTE=47topless;2331229]Please excuse my ignorance but I don't know the difference between parallel and series. I know that Optima suggested using jumper cables for the connection of the two batteries.
This is a 6V battery, but the concept should be the same as a 12V.
I did not mean to highjack this thread. However, I hope this information will prove beneficial[/QUOTE
Rather than me explain series and parallel to you ,you can look it up on the net. I guess Optimas instructions only referred to 12 volt batteries. Most people dont talk 6 volts these days. Regards, Kevin.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Here you go.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

For 6v Optimas, at full charge they should read 6.3 to 6.4 volts. If they start losing voltage after maybe a few hours to a day, they say that is a sign of a bad battery. I’ve also had mine load tested before at Interstate Battery.

Frank, how are your battery and ground cables? Any of them getting hot while cranking? There may not be enough juice left for the ignition with old/bad cables. They would also not give the starter it’s needed power.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

================================================


Thanks for getting back to us, with a good detailed explanation on how
to excite a discharged Optima battery to get it to take a charge...;)





.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Tractor Supply or Interstate or Napa, 6 volt Group 2.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Thanks. I will try a brand new battery...Maybe the old batteries just don't have enough anymore. If I wasn't getting false full charge indicators, I would have bought a new batter before trying everything else. Hope the fresh battery cures the problem.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Try Costco, I sure they wouldn't have one in stock but they could probably order one.

Charlie Stephens

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Thanks for your help guys.
I ordered the optima red top battery from amazon, the cheapest.
The optima redtop is the only battery that will fit inside my hollowed out ford signature battery case. I remember spending days years ago grinding out the ford signature battery case so that it would fit the optima battery.
anyway....I hope a fresh battery will solve my engine woes or its back to troubleshooting.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

So, my 6v Optima is now reading 5.8. It is a year old. I have a 6v alternator on the engine. Most of my engine running is at idle, or under 25mph. I stay in the neighborhood because my outlet is on to a local highway at 55mph.
The alternator starts putting out 6.5 - 6.8 at 1000rpm, so I set the idle between 750 & 800rpm to try to keep it from discharging the battery. Doesn't appear that I am being successful. Is there anything I can do to get it to recharge back to 6.2 ( the original new reading ). JP

Re: 6 volt battery
 

It is important to have the proper size battery cables. Big is better.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

If you push on the alternator fan can you make it slip on the belt with finger pressure?
Why can’t the car go fast enough to drive 55? I regularly drive the model A over 60, the generator has no problem with halogen lights or keeping the optima charged ( optima 10 years old, never on maintainer )and 50% night headlights on driving.
If your belt is slipping it can cause low charging, if the pulley ratio is wrong you may not be spinning the alternator fast enough, perhaps you need the original slow speed generator version.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

my negative battery cable is so thick you can't bend it. almost an inch thick.
howver, my positive is a mesh.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Looks like you have the cables set up well.
I like the idea, just posted, about making sure your belts are tight enough to provide the correct recharging current back to your battery.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

This is a totally different topic than the original thread, but if you only drive your car around the block under 25mph and your battery is (no surprise) getting worn down, put a trickle charger or a 6v AGM charger on it. Your driving isn’t getting charge back to the battery.

6.2 is low, but the cheap voltmeters will say that for a full charge. My professional volt meter indicates 6.4 when my cheap one says 6.2. I’ll bet your battery will come back full after a charge.

I’d recommend the NOCO Genius 10 charger. It has a 6V AGM setting for these batteries.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Thanks for your help.
I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF THE FRESH BATTERY REVIVES MY ELECTRCAL SYSTEM.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

Just replaced my Optima with a battery from Farm and Fleet. Mfr Date was 7/24 and was $87 with a 2 year warranty. If I have to replace it every 3 years I'm still ahead.

Re: 6 volt battery
 

That's about half of the cost of an Optima at NAPA. If you can get 5 years and can live with the lower CCA, go for it.