Voltage Regulator

Bruce of MN

Bruce of MN

Well-known member
A recent post mentioned a voltage regulator to replace adjusting the third brush. I have searched the forum to try to find it with no luck. I also looked at the Bratton's, Snyder's, and NuRex sites to see if they sold such a device, but didn't find anything. This is probably one of those improvements that aren't necessary, but I am curious about it.

Any suggestions?
 
I use the fun projects voltage regulator. It takes the place of the cutout. It looks just like the replacement cutout but is a voltage regulator. Just install like a cutout, set the third brush for maximum charge and that is it. To me this is the easiest way out, you don't have to go in to the generator or make any modifications. They make them in 6,8 and 12 volt. You can get them in positive or negative ground. You will have 15 amp maximum charge for 6 volt or 8 amp maximum with 12 volts. These little jewels work just like a modern day voltage regulator. Try funprojects.com
 
Ok i'm confused. Funprojects offers both a 6 volt and an 8 volt regulator.

The generator *i thought* puts out around 8 volts in order to charge the battery. Do I want a 6 volt or 8 volt regulator?
 
Mr Tube.. I think I'd match the voltage regulator to the battery.. There are some folks that install 8v batteries in these monsters..
 
AHHhh I see.

I never heard of an 8 volt battery. Probably cranks better I bet. I assume the A's generator is capable of almost 10 volts then?
 
The model A generator is capable of probably 40 volts, it depends on what battery is used. You match the regulator to the battery that is being used. Eight volt batteries or seldom seen but were popular in the fifties for brighter lights and easier cranking. Eight volt batteries have to be special ordered, I only mentioned it because they are available.

Fun Projects offers a variety of regulators. I have used the 6 volt version in the model A's with 6 volt batteries. I am running my 31 roadster on 12 volts with the 12 volt regulator. I use the original wiring and still run positive ground. With this setup you get the advantage of 12 volt cranking with the original starter. The car keeps the original electrical system with the benifits of 12 volts. Of coarse you would need to change the bulbs and other common sense things like a coil or voltage reducer for the horn. The easiest thing if you already have a driver running 6 volts would be to use the 6 volt version. Eight volt batteries are pretty much obsolete and six volt batteries will be getting harder and harder to find , So are the large guage cables that are needed for 6 volt. I put my roadster together with 12 volts because I could. I will say that it scares the bejesus out of the old die hards. They never know the difference unless I tell them and then they begin to frown up, oh well.
 
Purdy : the coil and bulbs are easy but what do you do about the starter?

Do the starters hold up fine running on 12v?
 
The starter works great on 12 volts. I use the barrel starter drive. The original Bendix drive is bad about dropping bolts in the flywheel housing, even with 6 volts. You can run the original coil but if you do you will need a ballast resistor. I run the Pertronix flame thrower coil. I use the 3 ohm epoxy filled version, it looks just like any other replacement coil but No ballast is needed. The epoxy filled coil doesn't have the tendency to leak oil like some oil filled replacement coils when mounted with the wire connections at the bottom as model A coils were mounted. When I mentioned coil in my previous post, I was refering to using a coil as a voltage reducer for the horn
 
I don't know of a farm supply store around here that doesn't carry an 8v battery in stock. Very popular on old farm equipment because of better cranking power and no worries about instruments and accessories. I googled 8 volt tractor battery and go 59,200 results so there must still be some demand for them.
 
I don't recommend an 8 volt battery. It's not needed and it will eat the lights much quicker. Somewhere on the internet is a voltage chart and bulb life. As soon as you go over the bulbs rated voltage, the bulb life really shortens. Model A's don't need to crank fast to fire right off. Pulling up on the hand crank is pretty slow, but fires the engine right away.
 
There are actually 3 that I know of;

One that replaces the Cut out - Fun Projects
One that mounts inside the end cap - Tom Wessenberg
One that replaces the third brush and mounts in the band - James Peterson
 
The old Jeeps that had 8-volt also had a voltage regulator for that system. They are set up to charge near 9 to 9.5 volts to keep the battery up. A 6-volt system with a 3 pole voltage regulator puts out near 7 to 7.5 volts and that's not enough to keep an 8-volt battery charged. 6-volt bulbs will work with 8-volt but don't last as long. As far as I know 8-volt bulbs are not available.
 
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