ELECTRONICS ( 6V to 12V )

chicagodon

chicagodon

Member
I converted the start and run part of my 47 Mercury convertible to 12VDC. Starter runs much faster and draws less current and I can use an off the shelf battery. But now for keeping the original 6V instruments. Probably can't run all off of a dropping resistor as varying resistance of all gages will cause voltage to very an effect reading of gages. Questions, would one constant voltage dc to dc voltage regulator with a 6 VDC output work for all gages. I assume the gages don't draw a lot of current.

Any recommended suppliers?

Don
 
ford gages were 6v into the 80s they had a small volt drop behind the gage cluster in the 60s mustang , falcon etc and it works super if you can find one its the answer:cool:
 
The answer to your first question is yes.
Any industrial electronics parts house should have them.
 
As stated earlier, Ford used 6V gauges well into the 80's (1985 to be exact) and used an IVR (instrument voltage regulator). They are available from NAPA and other old Ford parts houses. The '59 Ford unit is best for use in a car liek yours because the contacts on the unit are spade terminals as opposed to the later unit that used snaps to attach to a printed circuit board. simply install it with 12 volts in and the output wired parallel tyo the oil,fuel, and temp gauges.It is a factory set up that has been used on millions of Ford products with no problems. I have used them for many many years without problems and just finished a '49 coupe and the owner was very pleased. You can use aftermarket reducers like Runtz but why mess with a proven design that Ford used from 1957 until 1985.
 
Wow that was easy. THANKS GUYS!

I knew the answer was not to put in a droping resistor. This could probably work for a certain gage but why take all the electric engery that you burned gas to make and convert it back to heat.

Another challange: To generate and store electricity why not use new technology. A modern 12 volt alternator with a built in voltage regulator should do a great job and be cost and have a long service life. After all, we are just generating 12 volts and regulating the flow of this juce to keep the battery full. Has anyone and any good/bad experiences with this approach.
 
Search on here - lots of discussions. I prefer a true 6V CVR (Constant Voltage Regulator) to either a dropping resistor, chopper (Ford OEM), or a Zener diode.

An L7806 is a small, 6V, electronic voltage regulator that costs less than $0.15. It will likely power two gauges, but they're so cheap, I install one per gauge.

Unlike any of the other solutions, the CVR always provides 6V to the gauges regardless of the input voltage.
 
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