A little 12 volt help and problem??

1948SD

1948SD

Junior Member
Hey guys and girls I have been using yall's information over the years to help me restore my flathead but now I am stuck and need some help of my own. I have a 48 running a 59AB, 6 volt, and as original as I can get the car to be. Only mod I am trying to do is to have a 12 volt batt in the trunk along with a 12 volt solenoid to use on those days when my starter might drag a little with the 6 volt. Problem is, I can't get it to work. I have a 2 prong starter button installed on the dash, and power is getting back to the "S" post of the terminal. I have it bolted to the frame rail. Yet I don't get any power going to the starter and not even any clicking from the solenoid. Could it be a grounding issue? I have replaced the solenoid twice now thinking it was faulty but to no help. If anybody could help it would be greatly appreciated!
 
If you are running on 6 volts and wanting to start on 12 volts.
1 Put the power cable from trunk to starter.
2 Mount solinode on block of wood or your choice.
3Put good ground cable to frame that would be" Pos ground"
Then run one wire to starter button under dash from S on solinode,
other side button to ground.
4The 12 volt battery put a short cable same size of cable,
to solinoid then the long cable to other side.
Thats the side that be comes hot when starting.If backwards won,t run starter.
You may need wire from neg to frame of solinode.
Give it the smoke test
keep both battery pos ground.
 
There is nothing wrong with the six volt system for starting unless the integrity of the wiring or components are not up to par so I would suggest redoing the starter first and then make sure the wiring is excellent and you will never have any problems, even in the cold of winter. Remember, in a six volt system, everything has to be good even the grounds.
 
I didn't see anything that said you had a battery cutout for the 12v. Without it the 12v will discharge to the 6v level and the solenoid won't work on 6v.
 
I would think this idea will kill your 6volt regulator and possibly ruin other components as well. I agree with Cecil. Just fix your dragging starter.
 
i had an old hotrod 40 ford w/an 49 olds engine it had 2 6v batterys the guy had it wired with a series parrel switch ,it would start on 12v and run on 6v,that was 1956 tech,something to consider
 
Some solenoids are grounded base and some are insulated base. On a insulated base solenoid, you need to run a ground wire from one side of the actuation coil to ground. The other side of the actuation coil goes to your switch. Most grounded base solenoids only have one small terminal that gets its power from the switch.
 
I guess what he want is to get it started if it won,t start on its own 6 volts.This is just a jump starter and has no way to charge battery.The good thing is the voltage to coil is not affected when starting this way.But you need TWO starter bottons.
 
Stay with 6v and make sure you have good grounds. Everything need to be shiny and tight.

Grounding is VERY important in a 6v system. Pays to check each and every one. Adding extra grounds is not a bad idea either.

Just my 2c
 
On a 6 volt system, buy the best battery that you can afford. Check the cold cranking amps on comparable batteries. Perhaps you could add another 6 volt battery in parallel for more reserve power. All connections must be tight and very clean, extra ground straps are a good idea. Add ground straps between the body and frame also. Check your electrolyte level often and keep your battery terminals clean and sealed with a battery sealer spray.
 
Thanks for the replies; I have read in the past that if you: run a seperate starter button and as long as you dont hit the 6 volt button at the same time it wont backtrack into the 6 volt system. I always try to use the 6 volt starter and 9 times out of 10 I dont have a problem. I was setting up the backup "emergency start" as I call it for my 80 year old dad who likes to drive the car. If their is a problem with trying to start it and he is by himself, I just feel better if it is there for him to use.
 
I do agree though that it works perfectly fine on 6volts and starts like I say, mostly fine every time. I just keep having this bad memory when about 2 years ago I was on vacation and he decided to come over to check on the dogs and decided to take the car out. He got stuck on the side of the road in 95 degree heat bc he didn't know I had a faulty gas gauge at the time and the car ran out of gas! Bad memory...
 
Seems obvious that if you have a starter motor problem, fix it first!
My '49 stock wagon ran on 6V for years, no problems. You need big fat cables,
to reduce the resistance to the starter motor. I used a #1 cable to the starter motor. Grounds need to be cleaner than a Safeway chittlin'.
Either get it right on 6V or do a complete swap to 12V, but get that motor problem
/situation fixed first.
 
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