Dodgenz Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 I'm thinking I have to convert my '36 D2 to 12v for a while. It's in storage and I only get to drive it now and again. It would be simpler to just be able to throw in a 12v battery to give it a run on the odd occasion I do get to drive it. What I'd like to do is just run the engine on 12v and keep everything else 6v through some sort of transformer/reducer if possible, so gauges and lights etc (if there is much else!) will still be 6v. Is this possible and what do i need to step down the 12v to six if so? I imagine the engine is simple enough - 12v coil, condenser and alternator (i think the starter will cope with occasional 12v through it). Does this sound about right or am i getting a bit hopeful?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Call Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Your car was designed for a 6 V system and has worked all this time on 6 V so there is no reason to convert to 12 V. Make sure all cables are the right size, in good condition and connections are clean and tight. Get a battery tender and keep it connected to your battery when the car is not in use and you will have a fully charged battery that will fire the engine right up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nearchoclatetown Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Your car was designed for a 6 V system and has worked all this time on 6 V so there is no reason to convert to 12 V. Make sure all cables are the right size, in good condition and connections are clean and tight. Get a battery tender and keep it connected to your battery when the car is not in use and you will have a fully charged battery that will fire the engine right up.Amen!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgenz Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 I know! Believe me I'd rather not do it, this is why I want to do as minimum as possible and to be able to have it relatively easy to change back when I'm ready to use it more. The thing is it may be two years or so in between runs and there is no power to the storage shed to trickle charge/maintain it. I don't know anyone with a 6v vehicle in the area where the car is (am still on the hunt), otherwise I would just borrow a battery to run it. (I can't really put one in my hand luggage when I fly back there to use it...!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hchris Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I recently helped a guy out with his 52 Dodge, he is replacing his second starter motor in 18 months, after changing to 12 volts; this one had solder running out of the commutator. Enough said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
platt-deutsch Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Not sure where to obtain one but there are solar panel battery chargers available. Google it and I am sure you may find one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) Not sure where to obtain one but there are solar panel battery chargers available. Google it and I am sure you may find one..This is what I was going to suggest. I bought some solar chargers at camping world and Harbor Freight has them as well. Only about twenty bucks. I don't think they are voltage specific as they only supply a miniscule amount of voltage. But I would research that. I have a couple of trailers and a motor home that I leave them on. Edited May 17, 2015 by JACK M (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I converted my 26 DB to 12v and have no regrets. It starts up so easy now that the starter spins to much faster. I put in a 12v coil and condenser and disconnected the generator. I have to charge the battery every couple of weeks.I had to put a 1 ohm resistor across the horn as it sounded wrong on 12v. This is a completely reversible change so I don't feel bad about the alteration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Romberger Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) To solve your problem, add an extra 6 volt battery to your car.Connect your car circuits to terminals B and C. All the wiring in the car stays the same. I can charge this pair at home with a 12 volt charger or if I break down on the road, I can accept a jump start from anyone with a 12 volt car. They are not hard to find. Your generator will only charge the one battery, but if you change the generator to 12 volts, you can charge both batteries. Two of the 6 volt optima batteries will fit in the battery box. This youtube video explains it better than I can: Edited May 17, 2015 by Dwight Romberger (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 That is not the problem. He is too cheap to buy a 6 volt battery and only drives the car once every 2 years. My suggestion is, sell the car while you can get something for it. Leave it in a shed unattended for 2 years and it will inevitably deteriorate. A flat battery is the least of your worries. Bad gas, leaky roof, rodents, wasps, it won't take long to turn into a "barn find". If you don't like that suggestion, throw a 12 volt battery in it and drive it. The battery won't get charged but who cares if you only drive it a few miles every 2 years. The lights will work great, for a few minutes. Next suggestion, take your 12 volt battery and drive a screw into the top, in the middle, to hit the strap that connects the 2 middle cells. This center tap will give you a source of 6 volts. Use 12 volts to the starter, connect the 6v to everything else. I know you want to make some simple change for 50 cents that will make it into a new car with a funny looking body but it's not going to happen and anyone who tells you different is kidding you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 If you only want to drive it every two years or so for a couple of miles, you will have no end of problems. I have experience of this. Valves will stick. My water pump stuck. Corrosion protection in the cooling system will degrade and corrosion will take off - you will need to change the antifreeze each trip. Others have mentioned other problems. You say there is no electrickery in the shed: the car will be in a cool, humid environment and deteriorate quickly. I hope it is not on a dirt floor. You would be better to store it properly (e.g. inhibit the engine with Shell Ensis with clean oil in the sump and new long lasting anticorrosion cooling contents) and come back in 10 years when you are able. Even better would be to sell it and buy another when you are in a position to play with an old car. Or even better, find a museum to keep it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgenz Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 Hey Rusty, it's nothing to do with not wanting to buy a 6v battery, it wouldn't matter whether it's 6 or 12 it would still sit there - so I don't appreciate your derogative comments and attitude. This forum is a great source of information for many people and full of HELPFUL advice and doesn't need people like yourself using that sort of tone. I'm not sure what sort of sheds you may have, but don't make assumptions about people, their situation and things you know nothing about. Perhaps asking a few questions before you pass judgement on something or someone would be more helpful. On a more positive note, solar chargers (and the fact they have a very small output/voltage) could help, long term antifreeze, engine preserving oils etc and perhaps even the museum idea is an option to keep the car in reasonable health. It has preserving oil on the body and is turned over by hand now and again and it is in a considerably better state than when I bought it sitting in someone's garden, so as much as it's not an ideal situation it has some degree of protection until my circumstances change. But you never know...perhaps I will actually sell it one day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 That is not the problem. He is too cheap to buy a 6 volt battery and only drives the car once every 2 years. My suggestion is, sell the car while you can get something for it. Leave it in a shed unattended for 2 years and it will inevitably deteriorate. A flat battery is the least of your worries. Bad gas, leaky roof, rodents, wasps, it won't take long to turn into a "barn find". If you don't like that suggestion, throw a 12 volt battery in it and drive it. The battery won't get charged but who cares if you only drive it a few miles every 2 years. The lights will work great, for a few minutes. Next suggestion, take your 12 volt battery and drive a screw into the top, in the middle, to hit the strap that connects the 2 middle cells. This center tap will give you a source of 6 volts. Use 12 volts to the starter, connect the 6v to everything else. I know you want to make some simple change for 50 cents that will make it into a new car with a funny looking body but it's not going to happen and anyone who tells you different is kidding you. The gentleman is turning to us for options. Why be rude and judgmental? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Guess Rusty just got out of bed the wrong side today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30dodge35 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 It would be great to keep it 6 volts, but do to your circumstance of no electrical system available for charging, it is your decision.I have converted a few dodge and ford tractors from 6 volt positive ground to 12 volt negative ground with no adverse problems. Change battery, and generator to 12 volts with a voltage regulator, Installed a 12 volt coil with a inline ballast, or use a coil with a internal resister, Install a 12 to 6 voltage reducer for dash lights and fuel gauge, Change tail light and headlight bulbs to 12 volts, The starter will turn the same direction just faster, and less amperage, Had my 54 dodge converted for 10 years put about 500 miles a year no problems ,Do a search on internet, good source for wiring, send me a pm and I will send you schematic If you are going to leave for a couple years , pull plugs and squirt oil in cylinders and rotate, Good luck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It's my opinion that a twelve volt battery might not be much, if any, improvement over a six volt in a scenario where either battery would remain in the car uncharged for two years at a time. Also, given the fact that batteries don't last for an eternity, I guess that I suggest that you resign yourself to removing the battery when you don't foresee using the car for long periods and putting it in a location where it could be placed on a trickle charge occasionally. Up here in Minnesota, it wasn't too unusual for some people to take their batteries out and bring them in the house when a night of well-below zero temperatures were predicted and starting in the morning was imperative. It really isn't that much of a hassle removing the seat cushion, removing the battery and then placing the seat back in place. A battery lifting strap is inexpensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vermontboy Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Leaving any battery in your car for two years unattended will drain it - the voltage makes no difference. Since you are going to eventually need a new battery anyway when you want to drive it regularly just take a 12V battery and a set of jumper cables. Works great - I did it all the time for hot starts on a 50 Chevy until I replaced the battery cables with welding 00 cables. You do NOT want to use extended life antifreeze in your car - http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/288065.html?1336871099 And after all that I concur with those who are telling you that if you keep your car in storage without driving it for long periods of time it will NOT age gracefully. Read what Hagerty has to say about things that will cause your car to deteriorate - one of the primary reasons is lack of use....... Just my two cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 The battery cables in my car had been replaced with standard (12v) cables. As mentioned above, the 12v starter draws less current. So if you stay with 6v make sure you have heavier cables. Get some good multi strand cable from a welding supply shop. I made my own cables.....after I'd already converted to 12v so it wasn't necessary.....but some day I will change back to original 6v. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 Interesting issue with positive ground..... I have a pretty nice battery charger and it senses the batter type and the voltage and charges accordingly. I have used it many times on my old 6V positive ground car to charge the battery. I put a 6V battery in my new '26 DB and it barely turned the engine over. So I put the charger on the battery and let it charge overnight. When I tried to turn the car over, with the charger still connected, it would not turn over at all. And the horn would not blow. I took my meter and checked the voltage at the coil and got 12V. Yikes!! I disconnected the charger. It obviously thought the battery was a 12V. I connected again and it went thru its sensing and ended up picking 12 V again. I did this several time and finally it settled on 4V. So now I'm thinking I have a dead cell or something is screwed up with the wiring in this car. I take the batter terminals off and the check the voltage at the battery and it reads 6V. I put the charger on and it senses 6V and goes into charging mode. So now I'm scratching my head. What could possibly be wired wrong in this car? There are no electronic components on the car just simple switches and a few coils. I've charged the 6V battery with positive ground in my other car with no issue. Then it occurred to me, I have one of the wheels off the car and the car is on jack stands. So the chassis ground of the car is actually tied to earth ground in my shop thru the jack stands. When I charged my other car with 6V post gnd, the chassis was isolated from earth ground. So my theory is, the sensing circuitry in the charger is detecting a little current between its own earth ground and the car's chassis ground which is actually tied to earth ground too but with the high side (6V+) of the battery. This is just a theory but I will test my theory when I get tires back on the car since one test better this old electrical engineer's opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 HMMM, Interesting theory for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgedh2 Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I just did a quick Google search and found a solar battery charger for 6 volt batteries, so it looks like there is a simple solution out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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