12volt conversion question ballast resistor

[whizzernick]

MikeK
Sounds like you are sharp on electrical things. I have a question for you.
I have a 33 roadster---qriginal style eng---12 v neg ground--- original generator .
I set the 3 brush so as to 5-8 amp charge all the time. I have been using this set up for over 30 years---same generator---yes the car has in the past been driven(my son Allan Cassaro & myself drove the rds from Hayward Ca to 1983 early ford grand national meet Dearborn Mich ) back to my question ----- am I correct that the gen is controlled by the battery ( 6v battery charges 6v= 12v battery charges 12v ) also because of different field coils 6v--12v when using 12v battery with 6v generator the charge rate at low eng RPM low or no charge. This is what I have been telling people for years. Your thoughts
Nick

[Jazzjr]

Go to NAPA, use
Coil (12 volt) IC14 Echlin (w/built in resistor)

or have any other Auto Parts Dealers cross reference to the NAPA Number.
I have been running 12 Volt Neg. Ground with the IC14 for 5 years, No Problems.

[Purdy Swoft]

For electronic type performance with points ignition in the model A, I use the pertronix Flame thrower 40.000 volt coil. I use the 3.0 ohm epoxy filled version with 12 volt. I get instant starts, clean running spark plugs and a noticeable increase in power. The coil doesn't look that much different than other replacement coils. Here is a pic of my coil.

[Patrick L.]

I've been thinking about getting a 1.5 ohm Pertronix #40111 [ thanks to Purdy] this winter and trying it just for the heck of it to see if there any difference.

Back on subject. The key is voltage at the points. There is no such thing as 6 or 12 volt points/condenser. The key is having no more than 8 volts at them regardless of system voltage. Thats why there are 3.0 and 1.5 ohm coils and ballast resisters [or resistance wire].

[diomed]

Before I post a question, I search. So far, everything I've wanted to know has been covered before, usually several times!

I was looking for a coil and saw this interesting post and I had to comment. I've never heard of tapping into the battery case to get 6 volts, pretty ingenious! You really do learn something new everyday, thanks Purdy Swoft!

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

I had a 55 Ford that I ran 12 volts in 1963. A lot of my friends thought it was a good improvement I still do. We used the 6 volt starter with no modification and never a problem. They cranked a whole lot better and quicker. There was no problem with the larger gauge wire, it carried 12 volts well. I counted off cells on top of the the tar top battery and installed a self threading type screw into the plates . I ran a wire from this screw to the radio.this rig gave six volts instead of twelve so as not to ruin the good radio. I changed out the bulbs. this was a popular thing and had been done for years. It was the older guys that showed me this stuff when I was a teenager.. I'm running our roadster 12 volt with the original generator and love it . I've had no problems with the roadster since it was done in 06. Low amperage high volt doesn't create heat the same as high amp low voltage. I grew up when cars were mostly all six volt and I remember lots of problems. parking on a hill was common so you could roll off to crank in cold weather . Eight cylinder engines could crank on six volt but I've seen lots of them that sometimes wouldn't crank. The batteries would run down pretty quick if many mistakes were made trying to crank them. ights were dim unless you ran an eight volt battery. We just don't see much of this stuff on cars with 12 volt. I remember that the headlights were brighter and they started quicker on even the first 12 volt cars with generators. I really prefer generators but realize that in some cases an alternator is the practical way to go . Twelve volts is certainly not a sin in any case.

[Purdy Swoft]

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Thanks diomed for the kind words !!! I enjoy posting this type stuff. I hope it will help anybody that is interested in the same sort of thing.