8 volt battery?

R

rusted

Member
A friend of mine says his car is hard to start. By the time he gets it started, the battery is about dead. He is thinking of putting an 8 volt battery in his car. I told him to just fix the car right and a six volt would more than be enough power. My question is, is it OK to put an 8 volt battery in or will it make the alt. work to hard? Oh, it does have an alt in it now. He also has all the stuff to switch it over to 12 volts but neither one of us know how to do that! Any thoughts or advice? thanks
 
Actually NO, the alternator will NOT work with a 8 volt battery, the 6 volt regulator will sense the 8 volts and never put out, as if you had a 6 volt generator , you could readjust the regulator manually, BUT not with a transistor alternator regulator, YES they make a 8 volt regulator for alternators, and I can Help you with that if you desire to do so, send me the alternator and I can install one, BUT honestly as they say, what are your reasons to go to 8 volt? and if truly a reason, ex. more starting power, more accessories added, ect then I would suggest to go all the way to a 12 volt system, or make your 6 volt system operate properly if no other reasons, There are a few ideas and options
 
Have him check his grounds to the frame, run a separate one to the trans/engine and ensure that the cable to his starter is of adequate size and condition (no corrosion).
Then if all that is in good shape it’s probably the starter. Does he have float a motor mounts or did he recently repaint the engine?

Edit

I just reread the original post, I guess I misread that it was hard to start; I thought it said it was hard to turn over... Please disregard my advice in this instance.
 
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AS far as I can tell, the car has set for about two years because of the hard starting. When he got the car it was in real good condition, and it still is! But, he is not mechanicaly inclined and does not know how to check the timing or how to work the gav or chock. He will now let me go in and do whatever needs to be done to get it to start and run right! Now my question is, with a 6 volt alt. on the car, is it still a positive ground> Thanks so much for the help on this so far
 
rusted said:
AS far as I can tell, the car has set for about two years because of the hard starting. When he got the car it was in real good condition, and it still is! But, he is not mechanicaly inclined and does not know how to check the timing or how to work the gav or chock. He will now let me go in and do whatever needs to be done to get it to start and run right! Now my question is, with a 6 volt alt. on the car, is it still a positive ground> Thanks so much for the help on this so far
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It could be either positive or negative depending upon the alternator. Check which battery cable is grounded. You can easily change a generator from positive to negative ground but if you try the same thing with an alternator you will fry the diode. As far as what is wrong check the point gap first.

Charlie Stephens
 
YES definitely DO not change the ground with an alternator :) I would assume it is positive ground though , haven't found anyone sticking with 6 volt and changing the ground to negative really
 
Hard to start could be other problems, if the ignition and carb are set up correctly it should start with out a lot of cranking.
 
take the battery out and have a auto parts store ck it to make sure you have a good 6 volt battery may only need a new battery
kevin
1930 tudor
1923 model t
 
how does it crank with the key off? that takes the ignition out of the equation
5 million model A's were made with 6v and worked
 
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Mitch makes a VERY good point. If the initial timing is too advanced, it will cause the starter to kick back and act like the battery is too weak. If the starter cranks the engine faster with the ignition switch in the off position, this is a sure sign the the timing is TOO advanced
 
Rusted, what Mr. A was saying is spot-on. In order for a battery to charge, current must flow INTO it from the charging source (generator, alternator, charger, whatever) and that won't happen unless the source voltage is higher than the battery voltage. A 6V source won't charge an 8 V battery, and in fact, the source must be over 9 V for it to charge. (This is because lead-acid cells are about 2.1 volts each, and require about 2.3-2.4 volts to charge - a "12 volt" battery is actually almost 14 v (13.6 roughly) with no load on it.

I'd check the battery connections first, then the ignition timing as recommended above. If you want to go to an 8v system, you'll have to change regulators.
 
rusted said:
A friend of mine says his car is hard to start. By the time he gets it started, the battery is about dead. He is thinking of putting an 8 volt battery in his car. I told him to just fix the car right and a six volt would more than be enough power. My question is, is it OK to put an 8 volt battery in or will it make the alt. work to hard? Oh, it does have an alt in it now. He also has all the stuff to switch it over to 12 volts but neither one of us know how to do that! Any thoughts or advice? thanks
Click to expand...

If your "friend" :D is really set on changing to 12V, (if you, I mean your friend, are not planning to use and high amperage accessories like a CB radio the change is not necessary) here is some info from http://vickyman.tripod.com/12volt.html Note that prices and part number were good when he wrote this and I don't know how long ago that was no they could be wrong.

This web page is to pass on to you how I converted my 1931 Victoria to a 12 Volt negative ground system. I don't pretend to be an expert nor imply that mine is the only way to go. I do hope that my experience may be of value if you decide to convert your car.

Battery


Any good 12 Volt battery will do as long as it will fit your battery box and hold down. I selected a 72 month, 675 cranking amp, universal battery.
Generator

I installed a GM 63 Amp Alternator with an internal self exciting voltage regulator. The hook up is one wire, the same as the existing generator. You will need to make two small brackets to mount the alternator or you can use two shackle bars and drill out for the proper size bolts.
An alternator pulley can be purchased from your friendly Model A parts supplier.

Starter

No modifications are necessary to the starter. Just touch the pedal and enjoy really fast starts.
Ammeter

I changed the standard 20 amp ammeter to a 30 amp ammeter as an alternator will peg the standard meter (see headlights below). You must reverse the leads on the ammeter due to the change in polarity of the battery.
Your neighborhood Model A parts supplier carries the 30 amp ammeter.

Headlights

Since I installed an alternator I opted to go all the way for headlights and convert to Halogen bulbs. The conversion is relatively easy. You can purchase a kit to modify your existing reflectors or you can purchase new reflectors with the Halogen sockets installed. You must install an alternator to successfully operate Halogen bulbs.
6 Volt kits are available.

What a pleasure to be able to really see while driving at night.

Ignition

You could install a 12 volt coil and a resistor to reduce the voltage to the points.
I elected to install a PerTronix IGNITOR electronic ignition system. This is an extremely easy system to install as it fits entirely inside the distributor; no outside boxes are required. Kits are available for the standard Model A or B, early V8, and Mallory distributors. Both 6 and 12 kits are available.

Kits are furnished with a new coil as the correct coil resistance is very important for proper operation. Kits are distributed by:

Remund Ignitions, Inc.
P.O. Box 857
Lemon Grove, CA 91946-0857
(619)460-3620

Horn

Getting the horn to work properly was the most perplexing part of the conversion. I tried several "voltage reducers" from the local parts stores but none could handle the current demands of the Model A horn. I finally purchased a 0 to 2 Ohm variable power resistor with a 100 watt rating from an electronics supply house. I selected a variable resistor in order to optimize the voltage to the horn.
The resistor I purchased was am Ohmite D100K2RO ($15.87) with two Type 12 brackets ($0.55 ea.) (Newark stock nos. 13F671 & (2) 13F099) from:

Newark Electronics
1-800-463-9275

Branch offices of Newark are located throughout the United States. Minimum order is $25.00.

An alternate approach would be to puchase a 12 volt horn.

Light Bulbs

The following bulbs can be used with a 12 volt system:
Cowl, Tail, and Dash Lights - #89, 6 cp
Dome Light - #67/97, 4 cp
Stop Lights - #1156/10, 32 cp

Turn Signals

If you have a Signal-Stat turn signal it will be necessary to change the flasher to a Signal-Stat #180 and the bulb to a #1445.
 
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If the car sat unused for 2 years you'll probably need to start off with fresh gas and may a carb and sediment bowl clean.

Do as Mitch said to check for advanced timing. Once the engine cranks over with a well charged battery, pull the coil wire and hold it 1/4" from a head nut to check for a hot blue spark. The points may need to be cleaned if you don't get a good spark.

Pull the choke and release it after about one revolution and you should have gas dripping out the carb. If not, then you must a fuel flow problem.
 
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