6V vs 12V problems tally sheet

[HarryVanderpool]

Well the rainy season is approaching.
Who has enough spare time to tally up all of the "12-volt overhaul" disasters compared to 6-volt reliability stats?
The numbers sure don't look good for the cobblers!
Any volunteers?

 

[Ray,IN]

The basis Ohms law applies, voltage is what pushes amperes through a connection. This emphasizes the importance of clean, tight connections and wire of more than simply adequate size.
c

 

[OldBlue61]

Here we go again. God forbid if you change a 6v tractor to a 12v tractor. Yeah, you might ruin the value of it...

Me, I changed mine to a 12v alternator. Would do it again in a heartbeat, partly because I can run my sprayers and other 12v equipment with it now, and partly because I like working with electrical systems.

 

[MeanGene1]

Yep, purist vs practical. I switched my 8N and 850- the 850 had been boogered by the previous owner running it 12V neg when it was still 6V pos, so needed work anyway. The original system on the '50 8N quit charging, so needed work. I did both the same way, 12V alt kits from this site, with my own wiring as I had a big roll of 10ga wire. Converted both to key start as I have a bunch of 60's-70's Ford vehicles, so I used the "car" solenoid and went with key start, causing the purists to shout OMG!!!. I also kept all the original parts for both, just in case. Both start great, have no current draw when off, the alts from the site charge from just off idle (no need to rev them up), and I can jump start other rigs from them. Zero downsides except the twisted opinions of a few purists, and I can live with that. BTW, I have also used the 8V setup with an adjustable regulator, and it also works very well, despite loud protests to the contrary from the purists

 

[Jim.ME]

You need to count the mucked up/dead 6-volt systems and the 12-volt ones working correctly as separate categories to do it right.

My opinion for what it is worth. A working 6-volt system is fine. If you end up needing to replace the battery, generator, regulator, the practical side of going to 12-volts needs to be considered. 6-volt or 12-volt in the wrong hands for repair is not a system voltage problem.

 

[MeanGene1]

You need to count the mucked up/dead 6-volt systems and the 12-volt ones working correctly as separate categories to do it right.

My opinion for what it is worth. A working 6-volt system is fine. If you end up needing to replace the battery, generator, regulator, the practical side of going to 12-volts needs to be considered. 6-volt or 12-volt in the wrong hands for repair is not a system voltage problem.

Bingo. And I can now keep one spare solenoid for all my Ford stuff, and a Mopar ballast resister that will work on almost anything

 

[OldBlue61]

You need to count the mucked up/dead 6-volt systems and the 12-volt ones working correctly as separate categories to do it right.

My opinion for what it is worth. A working 6-volt system is fine. If you end up needing to replace the battery, generator, regulator, the practical side of going to 12-volts needs to be considered. 6-volt or 12-volt in the wrong hands for repair is not a system voltage problem.

Mine had some of the original harness still. Insulation was missing from some of it, there were numerous “repairs” done over the years, it didn’t charge, and the 6v battery was shot. Could I have fixed it up and kept the 6v system? Sure. Just not worth it in my situation.

 

[soaked]

I applaud those who want to engage, and study, and search, to keep 6 volt systems working. Really do. Cause it takes effort. Well done if you've kept yours factory all these years.

 

[olddavid]

JMOR
I say again you are correct. In our world we went from NC/NO devices to 1/0's. Our "over" simplification for understanding was that one device was analogue and one device was digital. Overtime all devices we worked on were either old analogue, (electrical, pneumatic or levers and springs) or new digital, (modern electronics). This over simplification was necessary because as you know, learning new things and changes are more difficult as we get older. You might get a kick out of the movie Pacific Rim. One of the huge robots was considered analogue and the others were digital. The digital robots were shut down by an EMP pulse and the analogue robot survived. Maybe you can shed some light on whether an EMP pulse would knock out my old "analogue" 8N, or would it knock out all the N's with alternators? Maybe something to consider before converting to 12v!
JB :shock:

Agreed. There are a lot of analog electronics such as vacuum tubes, transistors, even some ICs are analog such as op amps and etc. There are even analog computers.