6 volt or 8 volt??

G

graderman

Junior Member
Hi to somebody!! I just became the owner of a 1938 ford 81a deluxe kar. It has been restored but came with a 8 volt battery! I have had the generator rebuilt should I change it to a 6 volt battery ??? Graderman
 
I would say yes. If you are running a 3-brush generator, most definitely. A two brush generator with a regulator should be too. Many folks think the 8 volt battery is the savior for all there electrical problems but it tends to be detrimental in fact. An 8 volt battery needs to be charged at 9-volts to stay hot and the 6-volt system was never designed to put that much voltage out. Light bulbs suffer a rapid decline on 9-volt if you can even get the system to make that much.
 
It's a pretty common swap to put an 8v battery in a 6v car to make it easier to start. I wouldn't worry about it unless you are having issues.
 
Here we go again. Proper sized cables, good grounds and connections, and an 800 CCA Optima. Problem solved, AND you get to keep your light bulbs!
 
Do a search and you will see that this subject has been covered many times. As tubman suggests, make sure ALL your connections including and probably most of all the grounds and a 6 volt battery is fine.
 
I have never felt the need for 8 volts and after reading the posts I don't think I would ever try. Six is fine if the cables are the correct 6 volt size (not the modern 12 volt cables) and all of the grounds are clean. If I changed anything it would be to go to 12 volts negative ground. Do a search for "8 volt". BE SURE TO INCLUDE THE QUOTATION MARKS WHEN YOU DO THE SEARCH. If you still have questions post again.

Charlie Stephens
 
You need to have 2.4V per cell over rated voltage to properly charge any battery. If you have a 8V battery on a 6V charging system, you will NEVER properly keep the battery charged and it will sulfate and die sooner, requiring replacement. Run whatever voltage you want, but have your charging system set up for it. Your charging system will need to put out 9.6V to properly charge the battery.

IMHO, run 6 or 12. Both are common enough to get parts if you're stranded. As said before, if you're having problems 8V is a band aid. Replace your wiring. Unless it was a restoration, I would just run 12 just for the fact someone might need a jump start and 12 is universal.

(I may wrong about the numbers for charging, I'm recalling from memory. If I am off, please correct my numbers.)
 
I changed to 8 volt on two of my cars works great. been several years with no problems. Change to a 8 volt alternator, battery and twek the voltage regulator that all and enjoy your ride.
 
If a person going to do a change, why not go all the way and change to 12-volt. This subject gets pounded to death and it boils down to whether you want OEM or Rube Goldberg to fix your problems.
 
I have made the 8v change for years on old Fords and VW,s. worked on VW,s for 45 years for a living and it works great..!!
 
Check and recheck all of your ground connections. Make sure they are clean, bright/shinny, and tight. Once I had all the connections on my '35 fordor as mentioned above, my 6V Optima spins the engine at start up as if I had a 12 volt system. I feel there is no need for an 8 or 12V system in my cars, when 6V works so well.
 
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swanwaco32 said:
I have made the 8v change for years on old Fords and VW,s. worked on VW,s for 45 years for a living and it works great..!!
Click to expand...
Don't believe anyone is saying it won't work, were saying there are much better ways to go! Fix the 6v to work correctly or convert to 12v. Their are many advantages to using common parts.
 
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