Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth
With 12v you don't need as large of a cable as with 6v. Twice the voltage, half the amps. If you are having issues spinning a 6v starter with 12v I suggest you check your connections.
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This argument only holds true if the starter continues to produce the same power but as we all know, the starter spins faster on 12 volts than on 6. That means it produces (and consumes) more power. In fact, a 6 volt starter running on 12 volts will produce 4 times the power.
Put another way, the resistance of the starter remains the same. If it was say, 1 ohm on 6 volts, it is still 1 ohm on 12 volts. At 6 volts, it would draw 6 amps while at 12 volts, it would use 12 amps. Clearly then, the current is doubled for a 12 volt system, not halved.
Now that that is said, smaller cables are a good thing when you've converted to 12 volts because there will be a (small) voltage drop in the cables, which is a good thing here but bad if you are on 6 volts.
IMO, this half the current thing is just another myth amongst Model Aers like a restricted radiator will cause the coolant to overflow but that is a whole different subject and not part of this thread.