What voltage is a 1955 ford? (NEWBIE)
- Thread starter Jayce
- Start date
Lanny
Well-known member
===============================================
My '55 was 6 volt Positive Ground.
Jayce, simply hook your charger up, positive to positive post, and negative to negative post.
.
dmsfrr
Well-known member
Originally they were 6 volt Positive Ground.
But that may or may not be what you have, lots of things can happen in 60 years.
A 6 volt battery will have 3 cells & fill caps on it, a 12v battery has 6 cells.
The '+' positive and '-' negative terminals should be marked on top of the battery case right next to each battery terminal post.
Check that the battery has water in it. You should not be able to see the tops of the internal plates above the water when you look under the caps. Fill with distilled water as needed, but don't overfill, the water/acid expands slightly when being charged.
Set your battery charger to the correct voltage and connect the red charger cable to the '+' terminal of the battery and the black cable to the '-' terminal.
Find the battery cable that's bolted to the engine block and look on the battery to see which terminal post it's on, that's the car's "ground" cable.
The other battery cable will go to the starter solenoid.
If your car is original the cable from the block will go to the '+' terminal of the battery, and the '-' cable goes to the solenoid.
If you've got something different, let us know.
.
But that may or may not be what you have, lots of things can happen in 60 years.
A 6 volt battery will have 3 cells & fill caps on it, a 12v battery has 6 cells.
The '+' positive and '-' negative terminals should be marked on top of the battery case right next to each battery terminal post.
Check that the battery has water in it. You should not be able to see the tops of the internal plates above the water when you look under the caps. Fill with distilled water as needed, but don't overfill, the water/acid expands slightly when being charged.
Set your battery charger to the correct voltage and connect the red charger cable to the '+' terminal of the battery and the black cable to the '-' terminal.
Find the battery cable that's bolted to the engine block and look on the battery to see which terminal post it's on, that's the car's "ground" cable.
The other battery cable will go to the starter solenoid.
If your car is original the cable from the block will go to the '+' terminal of the battery, and the '-' cable goes to the solenoid.
If you've got something different, let us know.
.
Attachments
Last edited:
Alaska Jim
Well-known member
be careful when charging a battery indoors, they give off hydrogen gas which is very explosive. you have heard of the Hindenburg right? batteries with bad cells and ones with sulfated plates sometimes will not take a charge but will boil the water out of them giving off the aforementioned gas's. good batteries can also give off the gas's if overcharged, or charged at to fast a rate.
dmsfrr
Well-known member
To check the state-of-charge or find bad individual cells in a battery there is a DIY tester you can use after it's been charged for at least 6 hours.
Here's a couple examples of what they look like...
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web/PartSearchCmd?actionSrc=Suggest&pageId=partTypeList&searchTerm=battery+hydrometer%2Ftester&zoneAssigned=1&catalogId=10051&vehicleIdSearch=-1&top_category=&langId=-1&searchedFrom=header&storeId=10151#storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&vehicleIdSearch=-1&isAllVehicle=true&navigationPath=&sortBy=4&searchTerm=battery+hydrometer%2Ftester&pageId=ajaxPartList&category=&l1_categoryId=&l2_categoryId=&partType=&beginIndex=0&prCnt=9&filterValue=priceBucket%3A0&filters=&selectedPartNumber=&qty=1&ship2HomeClicked=
Here's a couple examples of what they look like...
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web/PartSearchCmd?actionSrc=Suggest&pageId=partTypeList&searchTerm=battery+hydrometer%2Ftester&zoneAssigned=1&catalogId=10051&vehicleIdSearch=-1&top_category=&langId=-1&searchedFrom=header&storeId=10151#storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&vehicleIdSearch=-1&isAllVehicle=true&navigationPath=&sortBy=4&searchTerm=battery+hydrometer%2Ftester&pageId=ajaxPartList&category=&l1_categoryId=&l2_categoryId=&partType=&beginIndex=0&prCnt=9&filterValue=priceBucket%3A0&filters=&selectedPartNumber=&qty=1&ship2HomeClicked=
Attachments
Last edited:
Y-Blockhead
Well-known member
Just as a side point: The Hindenburg did not explode; it burned. Big difference!
Tinker
Well-known member
Count the cells, should be apparent. But I'm not a battery expert....
dmsfrr
Well-known member
Yep, but I didn't want to break the spellchecker.Commonly known as a hydrometer...
3 cells = 6 volt, and 6 cells = 12 volt
If you want to really confuse the situation some folks use a four cell 8 volt (tractor/specialty) battery in their 6volt cars for a bit more kick to the starter, and you don't have to change bulbs and other things on the car, so it's an easy non-conversion conversion.
.
Last edited:
Alaska Jim
Well-known member
40 Deluxe, you are correct, poor choice of words on my part, but hydrogen gas is explosive in confined spaces. I have had it happen to me.
Ole Don
Well-known member
This was common in the late 50's and 60's, but the regulator must be reset to properly charge the eight volt battery.Yep, but I didn't want to break the spellchecker.
3 cells = 6 volt, and 6 cells = 12 volt
If you want to really confuse the situation some folks use four cell 8 volt (tractor/specialty) batteries in their 6volt cars for a bit more kick to the starter, and you don't have to change bulbs and other things on the car, so it's an easy non-conversion conversion.
Dobie Gillis
Well-known member
A 6V generator or alternator will not charge an 8V battery no matter how much fiddling you do with the regulator. It will die trying. Been there, done that, got the T shirt.
56 Fairlane
Member
Good to hear you got it started. You said you were a newbe, I'm glad you asked on here about the voltage and remember there is no such thing as a stupid question. So, be safe and ask. A shop manual would also be a good thing to have. Good Luck with your 55.
Hello my name is Alexander, just wanted to know what you ended up doing to get your car started. 6volt positive to ground or what was the fix.
alanwoodieman
Well-known member
my Dad bought a new 55 town sedan from beaudry ford in atlanta, thunderbird engine, 6 volts, engine would turn over two times it would start, but that was a joke if it tried to turn over 3 times the battery would be dead. after having to tow this car numerous times, beaudry changed car to 12 volts--end of problem.
