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Re: Conversion to 12 volts

To: Simon Favre <simon@mondes.com>
Subject: Re: Conversion to 12 volts
From: mhenry <mhenry@uswest.net>
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 17:46:08 -0700
Simon Favre wrote:

> There are a few problems with this approach, but they're mostly cosmetic. A
> 55 T-Bird is not the kind of car you want cobbled together with a lot of
> extra stuff that doesn't look right. Where are you supposed to put the 2nd
> battery? You would need 2 main battery cables, unless the 12V section only
> goes to the 1.5 Amp charger. To hide the 2nd battery in the trunk, you would
> need to run a 2nd "main" battery cable from the 6V battery under the hood to
> the other battery in the trunk. If the 2nd battery never sees any more
> current than the charger provides, this would not have to be a big fat wire.
> So, this is doable, if show-quality aesthtics are not a consideration. If
> you go this route, I would recommend rotating the 6V batteries periodically.
>
> The other option I can think of is to have one of the 12V chargers you like
> re-engineered to keep a single 6V battery happy. I could do it, but I'd have
> to charge you (pun intended). ;=)
>
> I have seen ugly things called "dropping resistors" advertised in the J.C.
> Witless catalog. These are supposed to let you use 6V electrics in a 12V
> system. I wouldn't recommend it on something that costs $$$$ to fix if it
> doesn't work.
>
> I'd be very surprised if the real T-Bird experts don't already have a good
> solution to this problem.
>
> David Laver wrote:
> >
> > Just an idea...   Two 6v batteries.  Charger goes over both of them in 
>series.
> > Draw from both where you can.  Draw from the 'lower' battery where you have 
>to.
> >
> > David

I found a 6 volt charger at Sears, for my 50's Ford tractor. You might also try
Ford,  John Deer, etc. tractor dealers. I'd also try Hemmings. There are still
enough 6 volt systems around to keep 6 volt batteries available, so I would 
guess
with a little work you could find the charger you want. If I understood what you
were interested in, there are also a number of sources for solar "keep alive"
chargers.  Last resort, it just couldn't be that difficult to build your own 
1-2 amp
charger.

Mike Henry




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