6 Volt battery- jumping

[Guest PetePontiac]

Can you jump a 6 Volt battery thats in your car with a "12 volt " jumper pack ?

or will it mess up the wiring system in your car and anything else ?

thanks PETE

[bhambulldog]

I've jumped off 6v with 12v .

maybe it's not a good idea.

Nothing bad happened when I tried it.

[Guest WEB 38]

Just make sure all lights and accesories are turned off. Bill

[Owen_Dyneto]

As has been said, you CAN do it, probably been done millions of times. But consider it an emergency use, and don't leave the cables connected for absolutely any longer than necessary. If you leave them on more than a half-minute or so the cables will get VERY hot. If the car hasn't started by then, disconnect, allow things to cool a bit, and then try again but always for only very short intervals.

[Jim Bollman]

I do this often. If your 6v battery isn't completely dead, the safe way is turn on the ignition key to give juice to the points and jump the 12 volt battery directly to the starter terminal (or that side of the solenoid . This way you will not take a chance in blowing up the 6 volt battery (unenergized solenoid is in between them) and you also will not blow anything else out that happens to be on. This is harder on V engines with the solenoid on the starter.

[keiser31]

I blew up a 6 volt coil that way.

[Guest Al Brass]

If I need to jump a 6V system, I drop the ground cable clamp and connect the 12V jumpers to the positive 6V battery post and the negative clamp. When started, I drop the negative jumper off and quickly attach the clamp back to the 6V post.

That avoids frying the 6V battery and puts no more than 12V (probably less when voltage drops are considered) into the 6V system.

Al

[ply33]

In my younger days when the engine had not been rebuilt and was hard to start I resorted to jumping my 6v positive ground car from a 12v negative ground car. As mentioned earlier, don't leave them connected any longer than necessary and have all accessories and lights off. But also: Don't have the cars touching, make sure positive to positive, negative to negative, and don't make the final connection anywhere near either battery.

[Guest prs519]

We occasionally used 24 volt welders to jump 12 Volt heavy equipment by going straight to the starter. Do not know of ill effects. If the battery has been over- charging, the safety issue is setting off a sulfuric acid (hydrogen gas) explosion on a hot windless days. This I know from experience having sparked a battery, catching two good eyefulls of sulfuric acid right in the eyes. I thought I had lost my eyesight, for sure, but the master mechanic just laughed at me and said, "well, go wash your eyes out with water". I did so and was amazed it had no apparent lasting effect.

[Rusty_OToole]

Have done this many times. There are 2 good methods. 1st disconnect the ground cable off the 6V battery, start the engine with the 12V jumper cables, take off the cables and quickly stick the 6V cable back on the battery before the engine stalls. This cuts the 6V battery completely out of the circuit for safety.

Second method is to have one person stick the cables on while another starts the engine, then quickly take the cables off. The object is to not have the 6V battery subjected to 12V. Too much voltage for too long could be a bad thing.

As others have pointed out be sure the lights, radio etc are turned off for safety. I have never damaged a starter, coil or anything else this way but of course there are no guarantees.

[Dwight Romberger]

Pete,

It is very smart to be concerned about jumping a 6 volt car with a 12 volt source.

I would purchase a 12/6 volt charger/ starter to use at home (one on wheels under $130 at HF. I love mine). And, if you are a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy like me, take along a fully charged 6 volt battery on trips. It will have more cranking amps than your 12 volt jumper pack, and no worries.

Dwight

Edited June 14, 2013 by Dwight Romberger
corrected the price (see edit history)

[Model56s]

I had to jump my 49 Buick (6v) with a 12v battery many times with no damage.No damage to the fuel gauge or lights. I decided to take the starter apart and clean & lube it, which took care of the problem. I have no desire to convert to 12v now.

[Joe Block]

Can you jump a 6 Volt battery thats in your car with a "12 volt " jumper pack ?

or will it mess up the wiring system in your car and anything else ?

thanks PETE

I burned up a six volt coil, so do it sparingly

[Den41Buick]

I purchased a 6 volt jump start several years ago on ebay. It was made by Battery Butler. I believe it was made in England. Not sure if they are still available, but I carry mine all the time.

[TexRiv_63]

In the olden days of Chicago winters my father and I jumped a 6 volt 55 Ford from a 12 volt 60 Ford MANY times, only way to turn the 55 over when it was 20 below zero. We would hook up the negative cable to both cars and hook the positive cable to the 60, my dad turned the key on the 55 then I would touch the positive cable to the 55 battery. That sucker would turn over really fast and usually start and I would pull the cable away. We never thought about the accessories but everything was always turned off so I guess we were lucky. In aged hindsight I was probably very lucky the battery never exploded in my face. Today I would recommend fixing the problem the right way and not jumping it at all.