12 Volt generator cut out

[Tom Wesenberg]

The stock Ford cutout is a coil of wire with 40 ohms, so 6 volts divided by 40 ohms is only about 1/7 amp of current to run it. When you change to 12 volts it will use twice the current, or just about 1/3 amp, which the stock cutout will handle without overheating and burning up. Some of the repro cutouts only use about half the wire to make the coil, so they draw about twice the current, and will heat up more. But the aftermarket cutouts I've seen are such poor quality, I'd never use them, even for 6 volts.