Power draw for ignition?

B

bikemaniac

Senior Member
Hi,

Lets assume the battery and generator dies and I want to buy four 1.5V AA, C or D batteries and put them in series and use them for the ignition. Does anyone know how many amps or power the ignition system draws?

Furthermore I: Does Walmart carry 6V car batteries?
Furthermore II: Can the ignition be operated with a 12V battery or will it fry the coil?

Lucas
 
We have successfully used a 6v lantern battery similar to the one shown to power the IGNITION circuit to run a flathead. These lantern batteries are of about an 11,000 ma/h capacity. DD

Not sure if Wal-Mart carries 6v batteries any more at every store, but they can be found at Tractor Supply Stores nationwide. DD

s-l300.jpg
 
Points closed and engine not running, the coil will draw 4 amps, which would quickly kill small flashlight batteries. With the engine running the coil draws 1 1/2 down to 1 amps. More RPM's means less drain.

I can't imaging why the generator and battery would go bad at the same time. With proper maintenance neither will go bad while you're on a trip.

Carry a solar panel to keep the battery charged, just in case you are in the middle of nowhere and the generator goes out.:D
 
That little meter on the dash will tell you when your generator stops working. Your now on the clock you are now discharging your battery and a jump start will not help. If you're that worried about it and want to buy something just in case. buy another generator keep it next to your spare fan belt. You will have an hour of driving maybe little more to find a spot to do the swap. Save enough in battery to restart. PS I have never heard of this happening. Bad connections sure.
 
If you have a roster and let people know the route, you'll have lots of help in case of trouble, and you may also have some Model A drivers following you for short bits of the trip.

Did you ever get the car thing worked out? Are you going to buy and sell the car here in the states?
 
The Model T used the built in AC generator on the flywheel every year of production. Pre T's used dry cells and coils or a normal type magneto.
 
As far as dead battery's for "non-every-day" Model A use, some have reported a battery's life in a Model A is about 3 - 5 years ....... others may have had entirely different varying experiences.

FWIW: Battery Type: I have a six (6) volt "Energizer" battery from Tractor Supply in my Model A which is seven (7) years old and still going strong.

After buying it, I tried keeping it up with a very small compact:

"Schumacher SP-1 2/4-Amp 6/12-Volt Automatic Battery Charger/Extender"

which has a unique "Desulfation Mode" that not all battery tenders incorporate in their specific battery tenders.

Some Wal-Marts carry these SP-1's for under $30.00, and it is under $40.00 with free shipping from Amazon Prime, just in case anyone is interested.

Used it again just yesterday ...... first time in (2) months.

It charged this 6V battery at (2) amps for 1-1/2 hours.

The green light came on indicating fully charged.

Also bought one for my son w/ marine batteries ..... works great!
 
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Ive heard you can run a model A on a T ign coil...

but yea every farm store has 6V batteries. probably alot of small farm towns automotive stores would carry them as well (like napa)
 
What's that funny looking lug wrench for? When I first owned my A I was pushing it a lot, my dad said not to hand start it, if it didn't break my arm he would ! Later in life I did hand start it, not enough battery to turn it over but enough to run! It came with a delco gen, now has a long style ford gen with Tom W's EVR !!!! No worries :-)
 
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