46 Ford heater
 

I am in the process of installing an original heater in my 46 F1.
The electrical system has been converted to 12V.
I am not sure if I would be better off stepping down the power to 6V or installing a 12V motor instead. I also am looking for some wiring instructions.
If someone can help it would be much appreciated.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

There are more 12V motors available - especially reversing type - than 6V versions. The control unit you intend to install will determine the wiring. As a general guide, this diagram has been helpful to me.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

I used an original heater in my AV8 with a 12 volt system. It worked good so I left it six volt and just installed voltage reducers.
The VR-1 , got mine from Carquest, is the ones I used. Three in parallel gives you 12 amps capability. My heater just has two wires, hot and ground, I am using glass fuses, so I just have it wired to a dash switch.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

I replaced the motor in my original '46 heater when I converted over to 12 volts, with one from Dennis Carpenter. Part number B6A-18527-B. The info on the motor itself is, Fasco, 12V, 2807-406-074. It has a 1/4" shaft and comes with an adapter to change the shaft to 5/16". The motor is two speed and reversible. Back in 2003 it was $100.75.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

I used a voltage reducer rated for 7 amps. Easier than swapping the motor. Or you could go really easy and don't change anything; - just always run it on the low speed setting, which cuts the voltage.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

Woodie, I am trying to wire up the 3 door heater on a 47 Merc. I read your posts on this subject and ordered that motor. How did you wire your new 5 wire motor to the switch? We can't really find any info on the motor to know what each wire does.

The side of the motor has some "instructions" that simply read:
CWSE: CONN YEL & GRN, BLK COMM
CCWSE: CONN YEL & BLK, GRN COMM
HI: ORANGE
LOW: RED

In our Merc the switch is the 5 position switch with Off, Heat Hi & Low, Def Hi & Low.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

Here are the installation instructions from 1945 for the '42 - '48 heater. If you need in higher resolution PM me with your email address and I can email it to you directly. Cheers, Meric.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

I am running my 6v heater on 12v. No problems in 5 years.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

lasmith, I didn't use the stock switch. I used a three way toggle switch and placed it in the stock location. With the switch in the left position it's the slow speed, center is off and the right position is fast. On mine the blue wire is on the center pole, left pole is orange and red is on the right pole. You indicate a different color code on your wires though so black or green is the common on your motor depending on rotation. Of course you want the fan to push the air across the heater core out into the car.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

i have used just a common ballast resistor to drop the 12 volts down to run a 6v heater. cheap, worked fine

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

I ran a resistor on my original motor, it lasted a year or two until it burnt out and I had to convert to a 12v motor.

Re: 46 Ford heater
 

I just fiddled with my 47 truck heater. Converted it to 12v, used NAPA motor 655-1022. This is the 12v model, 6v model is 655-1021. Fit pretty well, minor clearance needed. Limited to single direction rotation, original motors rotated CW and CCW for heat and defrost. I settled for single rotation. Best part, cost is $40, not $100.