8 volt battery

I appreciate the comments. I have passed on the information that you all have shared with me via email link. I haven't heard back from him yet. I will see him tomorrow evening and ask him about it.
Thanks again.
 
Mike V. Florida said:
12 volt is NOT better than 6 volt in the operation of the car. There are reasons people go to 12 volts but none should be that the car will run better.
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I said "Why do these tales get started?" and "12v is better than 6v" was part of the aforementioned "tales" so you should delete one from your 10,945 posts.
 
John's correct. I had a partner we toured with got the bright idea to put an 8 volt battery in our A's. Well, I followed and you couldn't turn your lights on when going down the road or you would burn out the lights. Didn't leave it in very long, was tired of putting the lights on with the gen not charging.
 
I just came across this paragraph in my Model T manual:

"The lighting system consists of two 2-bulb headlights and a tail light operated by a combination lighting and ignition switch located on the instrument board. The large bulbs are of 6-8 volt, 17 candle-power type. The small bulbs of 6-8 volt two candle-power type."

So I guess the 6-8 volt bulbs should hold up fine with an 8 volt battery.
 
With regard to "30 amp diodes", keep in mind that power semiconductors need the correct heat sink installed with them to achieve the power rating. Without a heat sink, the diode by itself can not handle the power.

Marc
 
Cool Hand Lurker said:
I just came across this paragraph in my Model T manual:

"The lighting system consists of two 2-bulb headlights and a tail light operated by a combination lighting and ignition switch located on the instrument board. The large bulbs are of 6-8 volt, 17 candle-power type. The small bulbs of 6-8 volt two candle-power type."

So I guess the 6-8 volt bulbs should hold up fine with an 8 volt battery.
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Chuck Sea/Tac said:
What's a 6-8 volt bulb?? Can you still by them a hundred years later?
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If I remember correctly, the 6-8 volt bulb is actually a magneto bulb for the T, -which was wired in series due to the magneto voltage output needing to be cut in half.



In reading this and other posts here, at times I cannot help but just shake my head in amazement how so many Model-A hobbyists will seemingly spend hours & $$ trying to come up with a way to 'cover-up' a problem with their car instead of just repairing the root problem. It doesn't matter if it is brakes, electrical, mechanical, or whatever, it seems to happen in all areas. On the other hand, this forum would likely only have half the posts if folks actually restored instead of retrofitting! ;) :D
 
I would think 8V anything is not as easy to obtain as 6V and 12V items... If you're thinking of going to 8V you're likely better off going to 12V... Keep in mind well maintained electrical system regardless of voltage will do just fine.
 
Like Brent said, it's almost on every front with the Model A. If the brakes are done right, the lights are done right, etc etc the car runs great as Ford built it. The six volt is fine, in over 30 years of running six volt there's never been any reason to do anything to it. It has run great, I don't need to put halegon head lights in (I get flashed every time I'm out at night) My lights are silvered and awesome. We just had our spring tune up and had 18 cars out and 99% are basically original and they run great.
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
If I remember correctly, the 6-8 volt bulb is actually a magneto bulb for the T, -which was wired in series due to the magneto voltage output needing to be cut in half.



In reading this and other posts here, at times I cannot help but just shake my head in amazement how so many Model-A hobbyists will seemingly spend hours & $$ trying to come up with a way to 'cover-up' a problem with their car instead of just repairing the root problem. It doesn't matter if it is brakes, electrical, mechanical, or whatever, it seems to happen in all areas. On the other hand, this forum would likely only have half the posts if folks actually restored instead of retrofitting! ;) :D
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I think I should drop out of this thread because I was talking about my Model T, not my Model A even though it is the same problem. My new 23 Model T was in storage for 35 years and it came with a brand new 8 volt battery. So I was not trying to retrofit, just trying to get things working again.

I had no headlights working and the problem turned out to be corrosion on the screw terminals. I cleaned all the terminals and then I had lights but one of the headlights immediately burned out. That is why I thought maybe the 8V battery was the problem. But Brent's comment about the "magneto bulbs" and the series wiring is something I did not know so I will have to do some more research.

Does anybody need a like-new 8 volt battery..... ?
:o
 
Pinesdune said:
Do you know why he is considering it? Does he do much cold weather driving? I know some guys use 8v batteries on some old farm tractors but that's to get them going at sub-zero temps. Others have mentioned the areas to look at if he's having starting issues. Just curious why he's considering it. More clarification would be nice.


Looking for the front bumper emblem that has "Ford, Made In Canada"
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The 1954 McCormick W4 tractor starts just fine on 6 volts even at 30 below. Fix the problems, do not hide them.
 
I'm asked this often and it is well covered here. The big issue is to charge an 8 volt battery you need to be around 9.2V, any less you will run the risk of under charging (not a good thing) any more you will blow out head light filaments and other bulbs.

This requires a well regulated charging system. a cut out will not do..A three unit regulator if of high quality can do it....but why?
 
This requires a well regulated charging system. a cut out will not do..A three unit regulator of high quality can do it....but why?[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure I understand your comment here... Why do you feel a cutout will not charge an 8v battery? It will charge a 12v battery just fine. A cutout just closes as soon as the generator starts to put out current and disconnects when it stops. The generator will put out more than adequate voltage to charge even a 12 volt battery. However, at 9.6 volts your 6 v bulbs are going to become flashbulbs. Use a voltage drop diode as mentioned before to drop the light circuit voltage down a couple three volts. Simplest solution, as many have mentioned, is just get a 6 volt battery and be done with it, however there are ways of making an 8 volt battery work if the OP so wishes.
 
mantta said:
All of the above is correct and there will be charging issues. The cutout on the generator cuts out around 7.4 volts or so. Not enough to keep an 8 volt up to par.
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Mantra is correct in his answer regarding the capability of the generator being able to keep the 8 volt battery charged.
 
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