> VOLTS or AMPS <

[BILL WZOREK]

What makes the starter turn / Volts OR amps

Because a 6Volt Battery Has **** amps
Does not mean that a 12 Volt Battery would have twice as much.

So many Questions so little time

THANKS ALL

BILL W

[Planojc]

both, it's like amps or current being water flowing through a hose and voltage as the pressure behind it.

[Vic Piano]

Bill, the starter will work on 6 or 12 volts, the only problem you may encounter is broken Bendix spring or sheared bolts... (been there, done that) If you are converting to 12 volts I'd recommend having the starter converted to 12 volts as well.

[biggeorge]

Are you just trying to understand how the electrical system works? If so this may help ohm's law
http://www.hamuniverse.com/ohmslaw.html

[Karl Wolf]

I saw a guy that put an old starter drive spring into the cable going to the starter, as part of the circuit- as a resister... He showed how that slowed the impact on the starter drive... I've been meaning to try using a piece of steel rod instead of copper cable, to do the same thing... It has not become a priority, so I have not got around to it...
Karl

[BILL WZOREK]

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Vic:

I am just curious I plan to stay with 6 Volt but was wondering " Y " people would Change to 12 Volt Does the Volts get through dirty conection ware as the 6 Volt won't
We know that with all conections clean 6 Volt works great.

Another thought what is the higest amp 6 Volt Battery you can get ? ( any one / any one )

BILL W

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by BILL WZOREK

Vic:

I am just curious I plan to stay with 6 Volt but was wondering " Y " people would Change to 12 Volt Does the Volts get through dirty conection ware as the 6 Volt won't
We know that with all conections clean 6 Volt works great.

Another thought what is the higest amp 6 Volt Battery you can get ? ( any one / any one )

BILL W

Why would I change to 12 volts? The only reason for me is bright headlights. Using the "Brite" bulbs from Ron Francis Wire Works, (800) 292-1940, wire-works.com, will give you lights equal to or better than modern cars. Every other reason I have heard would not push me to change. A 6 volt system with clean contacts works fine and when you remain stock if you ever have a problem on a tour someone will probably have the parts to loan you that you need to get home. If you change you had better carry spares.

Charlie Stephens

[Jack E/NJ]

Bill W>>>what is the higest amp 6 Volt Battery you can get ?>>>

That's the wrong question, Bill. You should be asking 'how much do I want to spend?' 8^)

Go to www.napaonline.com, search for '6 volt battery' and take your pick.

Jack E/NJ

[Vic Piano]

Bill, I agree with Charlie to a degree. Changing from 6 volts pos. ground to 12 volt neg. ground is an individual choice. Obvious benefits are, as Charlie mentioned, brighter head and tail lights. I have three Flatheads that I converted to 12 volts and three that are still 6 volts. The primary reason (for me) to convert to 12 volts was for ease of obtaining related parts while out on a road trip. I will say that I've taken the 6 volt cars/trucks on extended road trips as well; I just make sure that I keep extra 6 volt parts in the vehicle. 6 volts requires more attention to detail as far a size of wire and good grounds and preventative maintenance go. You know what they say, if you have extra parts with you, the ones on the vehicle won't give you any trouble... Your car will be fine either way as long as you follow the basic rules of up keep.

[Mart]

To do the same job a 12V system requires half the amps. As wires need to be rated for the amperage, they need to be thicker for a 6V system.

Mart.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Planojc

both, it's like amps or current being water flowing through a hose and voltage as the pressure behind it.

Example: If you wanted to get 20 gallons per minute out of a pipe you could pump it though a 1 inch pipe with 12 lbs of pressure but you'd have to pump it through a 2 inch pipe if you only had 6 lbs. of pressure. Same with electrical current. If you want to get 20 amps through the circuit, you can pump it through an 18 gauge wire with 12 volts but have to use bigger wire, say 14 gauge, if you only have 6 volts. Same current either way. It's just that with lower electrical pressure (volts) you have to have larger wire. If you use big enough wire with 6 volts you will get the same result as with 12 volts. Capish?

[Mike51Merc]

OK, it's hard to explain without getting a headache. Voltage is what causes electricity to overcome an obstacle (resistance). Given enough voltage, electricity can flow through the air, as in a lightening storm. This is why 12 volts can overcome bad connections better than 6 volts can.

If the voltage is fixed (at like 6 or 12 volts) then amps is the draw that the appliance (lights, starter, radio, etc) pulls in order to work. A starter motor pulls more amps than a lightbulb for example, because it has less resistance to the power flow.

It is a myth that 12 volt lights are brighter just because of the voltage. What is true is that 12 volts can often overcome bad connections better than 6 volts can. A well connected 6 volt bulb is just as bright as a 12 volt bulb. The rating of the bulb determines the brightness, just like in your household light bulbs.

The lightbulb myth is reinforced by the action of a generator as compared to an alternator. A car with a generator (usually a 6 volt car) will dim its headlights at idle. A car with an alternator (usually a 12 volt car) will not dim at idle.

[B_man_Al]

Here's the thing ....

Lets say a 6V starter needs 100A to turn it over ( I don't know what the actual number is, however that's not what is important). That is 600 watts in this example ( 6v x 100A=600W)

A 12v starter, to do the same work, requires 50 A (12v x 50A = 600 W). Since currrent = voltage/resistance, the field windings of a 12v starter will be twice the resistance of a 6v starter , because the current is half that of a 6v starter.

So if you use a 6v starter on 12v, you get 2x the current into it , and 4x the power. (6v x 100 A = 600W, but 12v x 200A = 2400W). As long as you don't do it for too long its OK , but it will run a lot hotter if you lean on it for too long. Also the force applied to the bendix is a lot higher because of the much higher magnetic field and hence torque at the instant of closing the starter switch.

Al

[BILL WZOREK]

Mike51Merc:

Very good explanation.
So let me summaries if we convert our 6 volt gen.to 6 volt alternator ( doing the one that uses the parts from the gen. / for appearance sake ) and clean every connection or in my case I'm going to replace every wire.and install stock looking halogen lites One might be able to say I CAN SEE THE LIGHT

THANKS to every one.

BILL W

[Mike51Merc]

Originally Posted by BILL WZOREK

Mike51Merc:

Very good explanation.
So let me summaries if we convert our 6 volt gen.to 6 volt alternator ( doing the one that uses the parts from the gen. / for appearance sake ) and clean every connection or in my case I'm going to replace every wire.and install stock looking halogen lites One might be able to say I CAN SEE THE LIGHT

THANKS to every one.

BILL W

Bill, you don't need an alternator for bright lights, you just need to step on the gas.

[jack orchard]

Another reason to convert to 12V is the convenience of product selection. Little things like adding a 12V power outlet, a modern 12V radio, CD/DVD player, USB playback device. Even simple things like charging a cell phone are so much easier...jack

[Kerk]

Bill, Ifd you are ordering a new wiring harness think about adding extra ground wires for your lighting circuts as that is one of tne common problens. JMO Also are you still selling the Oil pressure sending units wrenches? I would like to get one. kc

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Mike51Merc

Bill, you don't need an alternator for bright lights, you just need to step on the gas.

That's what I use my throttle knob for all the time at night - to keep the idle speed fast enough to keep the generator charging the battery when I'm stopped at a light instead of everything that's on at night discharging the battery.