8 Volt Batteries

The main drawback with an 8 volt battery fitted in a 6 volt car or truck was the shorter life of light bulbs. The stop light globes usually go first because they are on and off all the time. Having said that there are good reasons for 8 volt as well. Back in the 1960s when many 1930s and 1940s engines had been reconditioned and were a bit tight especially when hot and would not crank very fast, then the 8 volt battery solved the problem. Other times when other equipment such as tractors and farm equipment sat out in the winter and were slow cranking then 8 volts fixed it. Ive fitted quite a few 8 volt batteries in my time and they are good. Very little extra current was drawn by the ignition coil and there was never a problem with early ford V8s and their resistors in that regard. BUT a 6 volt system is very good as long as everything is correct as it was built when new. An 8 volt system actually runs on approx. 10 volts and therefore the voltage regulator would require adjusting to suit. Horses for courses as they say. Regards, Kevin.
 
6 volts with LARGE cables, good, clean battery connections and clean grounds.
Plus the engines tuned properly. These cars do not require spinning of the engine to start. They should start on the first or second revolution. One of the biggest problems
is 12 volt cables are being sold for these 6 volt cars. Check the size of the copper not
the OD of the covering. G.M.
 
I have a 6 v in my 53 mercury with automatic starts ok turns slow but starts. If I rewire it I will change it to 12 v. My 53 Victoria is 12 v all is good. I remember the old tractors had magnets so 8 v didn't bother anything
 
Johnnydidd said:
I have a 6 v in my 53 mercury with automatic starts ok turns slow but starts. If I rewire it I will change it to 12 v. My 53 Victoria is 12 v all is good. I remember the old tractors had magnets so 8 v didn't bother anything
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If it turns slow the problem is the size of the battery cables, starter,
solenoid or dirty connections including grounds. These are all easy
fixes and easy to identify. G.M.
 
'53 Ford V-8, turned good when cold, hard to turn over & start when hot. Took starter off -> aircraft starter repair shop. Shop will rebuild to aircraft standards; mech guarantees that starter was bad. Vicky had BIG battery & "0" gauge cables, good grounds. Rebuild shop was aware of some using 8V. battery; strongly advised against it. Starting okay when cold, not okay when hot is common problem with planes; starter rebuild always works.
 
I have often heard that an 8 volt battery is super hard on 6 volt bulbs. Also, how is the battery charging handled? Will a 6 volt generator charge an 8 volt battery?

Tom
 
Everyone I know has advised against using an 8V. battery in a 6V. vehicle; same as trying to put a square peg into a round hole.
 
I don't know if its good or bad but I have an 8v Optma in my 39. I did not put it there was put in by former owner along with a lot of other new stuff. What I find strange is that the top of the battery has 4 lugs. 2 + and 2-. Whats up with that? The car starts the second I hit the button hot or cold. Will I keep it I see no reason not to.
 
NSDWS said:
I don't know if its good or bad but I have an 8v Optma in my 39. I did not put it there was put in by former owner along with a lot of other new stuff. What I find strange is that the top of the battery has 4 lugs. 2 + and 2-. Whats up with that? The car starts the second I hit the button hot or cold. Will I keep it I see no reason not to.
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NSDWS,

Can you provide us with the model number/part number of the Optima battery you have?
 
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