wiring a 36 Ford ignition using 12 volt

[Topsterguy]

I'm rewiring my 36 Ford and changed to 12 volt. It's still running the flathead. I want to use the stock ignition switch on the column and the stock starter button. Anyone know how to wire this? Thanks!

[FlatheadTed]

depending on what coil you used you wire it the same as 6 volt ,

[Kahuna]

As Ted mentioned on the coil--If you want to use the original coil, send it to Skip and have it rewound for 12 volts. Change all the light bulbs, fix or change the generator and you are good to go

[G.M.]

Why do you want 12 volts?? 6 volts has worked just fine on these old Fords for over
80 years. I don't consider 12 volts an upgrade, just fix the problems and it will work for another 80 years. All problems with 6 volts are simple, self created or lack of maintenance from dirty loose connections, small battery cables, warn solenoid or dirty ignition switch. The coil is like your heart and 99% of ALL 32 to 48 Fords coils don't work when they get hot. Get a heart transplant from Skip and you will have a clean bill of heath in that area. When the coil and condenser are good then you can define the other problems. A stock 6 volt original car is very easy to diagnose the problem by experienced Ford people. Start changing parts and it gets difficult and the guessing and parts changing starts leading to more self created problems.. G.M.

[Topsterguy]

Originally Posted by G.M.

Why do you want 12 volts?? 6 volts has worked just fine on these old Fords for over
80 years. I don't consider 12 volts an upgrade, just fix the problems and it will work for another 80 years. All problems with 6 volts are simple, self created or lack of maintenance from dirty loose connections, small battery cables, warn solenoid or dirty ignition switch. The coil is like your heart and 99% of ALL 32 to 48 Fords coils don't work when they get hot. Get a heart transplant from Skip and you will have a clean bill of heath in that area. When the coil and condenser are good then you can define the other problems. A stock 6 volt original car is very easy to diagnose the problem by experienced Ford people. Start changing parts and it gets difficult and the guessing and parts changing starts leading to more self created problems.. G.M.

A few reasons. There was no wiring in the car , I wanted to use quartz headlights, I wanted to use an aftermarket wiring kit, new radio.

[Topsterguy]

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Originally Posted by FlatheadTed

depending on what coil you used you wire it the same as 6 volt ,

Re "same as the 6 volt".....there was no wiring etc in it including the fuse / plug block on the firewall that apparently the ignition goes through......in other waords, I don't know how it was wired as 6 volt either. The rest of it I can do by the instructions in the wiring kit, but there's nothing about using the stock ingnition switch or button.

[waterboychuck]

When you go to 12 Volts are you going to keep the polarity the same or change to negative ground? If you change it then you will need to change some of the wiring but will still be able to use the switch.

[jerry grayson]

Originally Posted by Topsterguy

Re "same as the 6 volt".....there was no wiring etc in it including the fuse / plug block on the firewall that apparently the ignition goes through......in other waords, I don't know how it was wired as 6 volt either. The rest of it I can do by the instructions in the wiring kit, but there's nothing about using the stock ingnition switch or button.

The switch and started button does not care if you are 6v or 12v.

[Topsterguy]

Originally Posted by waterboychuck

When you go to 12 Volts are you going to keep the polarity the same or change to negative ground? If you change it then you will need to change some of the wiring but will still be able to use the switch.

I'm changing it to neg ground. Basically I want it updated to 12 volt but I want " the look" and the function.

[FlatheadTed]

Buy a new harness from say Macs ,The red and coded wire go to the ING switch and the two wires with the bullets go to the light switch

[BILLF/TRF]

I would abandon the stock starter switch (frame mounted and switch button thru the floor board) if you are going to use a 12 volt wiring kit with fuse block. I used a starter button mounted under the dash (most mount it on the dash) and that will be wired to the solenoid. The advantage is far less current going through the starter button as the solenoid is actually a relay. And the solenoid can give the coil an extra "boost" of voltage when starting. You will not need an external ballast resistor but will need resistors or voltage reducers to your stock dash gauges. I used the original (stock) ignition switch on the steering column but wired it to a terminal block because of all the extra connectors. If you would like a wiring diagram of how I did my car ('36 coupe) send me a pm with your email address.

[Topsterguy]

Thanks all for the info!

[Mike in AZ]

here are links to MacVP's website showing the wiring for the '36....if you want to change away from the floor starter button to one on dash, etc, you might want to look at later years which had solenoid and button on dash, such as the '37, which is shown in the third and fourth link...easy to modify the '36 wiring to do the solenoid/starter button on dash.....good luck....Mike

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...wiring1936.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...wiring1936.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...ram1937car.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...wiring1937.jpg

[Topsterguy]

Originally Posted by Mike in AZ

here are links to MacVP's website showing the wiring for the '36....if you want to change away from the floor starter button to one on dash, etc, you might want to look at later years which had solenoid and button on dash, such as the '37, which is shown in the third and fourth link...easy to modify the '36 wiring to do the solenoid/starter button on dash.....good luck....Mike

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...wiring1936.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...wiring1936.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...ram1937car.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/F...wiring1937.jpg

Thanks Mike - great info! Larry

[George/Maine]

You will need a 2 wire start button and 12 volt selinode, or you can get a key start switch and put it in hole of starter botton.
Also if you have a resister under dash remove it.
and use a 1.5 ohm if need with 12 volt coil.

[tiger.1000]

I agree with G.M. Why does one want to convert from 6 to 12 volts? I can only think of two reasons. No 1) supposed easier starting with a 12 volt starter and No 2) better lights.

A correctly maintained 6 volt system will work fine and assuming ignition and carburation is in order the engine will start.

As for lighting; how often and for how long is the car driven at night?

[Topsterguy]

Originally Posted by tiger.1000

I agree with G.M. Why does one want to convert from 6 to 12 volts? I can only think of two reasons. No 1) supposed easier starting with a 12 volt starter and No 2) better lights.

A correctly maintained 6 volt system will work fine and assuming ignition and carburation is in order the engine will start.

As for lighting; how often and for how long is the car driven at night?

You only need to get caught in the dark once with stock headlights to realize how bad they are, and I plan on running led tail lights as well.......so overall I have a few reasons I want to change to 12 volt.

[VeryTangled]

Hello Topsterguy, Thank you for being a contributing member of the forums!

IMHO, I fall on the side of the fence that believes that if you change it the owner after you will have MORE problems to chase rather than fewer. But feel free to ignore me.

I've been out after dark our 6V system quite a few times, and yes the lights seem much dimmer than modern cars, I admit that. But I'm rarely more than an hour or so on the headlights. I consider the headlights more of a "Please don't hit me" than a "I can see as far as I want."

As for LED's they can be had in either voltage.

-VT/JeffH

[Topsterguy]

Originally Posted by VeryTangled

Hello Topsterguy, Thank you for being a contributing member of the forums!

IMHO, I fall on the side of the fence that believes that if you change it the owner after you will have MORE problems to chase rather than fewer. But feel free to ignore me.

I've been out after dark our 6V system quite a few times, and yes the lights seem much dimmer than modern cars, I admit that. But I'm rarely more than an hour or so on the headlights. I consider the headlights more of a "Please don't hit me" than a "I can see as far as I want."

As for LED's they can be had in either voltage.

-VT/JeffH

The bottom line is that there was pretty much no wiring left in the car so if I'm going to rewire it completely and I'm not concerned about "the stock thing" ( yes, it's a rod) it seemed more logical to update it to 12 volt , I just want to keep the look . Thanks for all the ifo though!

[VeryTangled]

No Prob. Are you flipping the car or keeping it?

-VT/JeffH

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23523