Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:44 pm by nikkinutshop
The positive ground systems were popular fifty or more years ago because someone with a government grant was studying which direction the electrons flow in a conductor. Rather than change what was proclaimed to be obvious, to the early nerds, many manufacturers just "went with the flow", so to speak.
Here is the thing, this is 2013 and the old positive ground thing is mostly unknown to all but a very few persons. Cornbinder 89 might be the best expert on these old systems and mystery gauges that were popular, back in the day. If I were going to be concerned about anything to do with this obsolete positive ground system and 6 volts, it would be for safety sake.
Here is something to think about. You have decided to use the old negative ground system and your truck will need assistance to get it started. The Auto Club person shows up and common sense tells him to put the positive cable clamp to positive battery post and the negative clamp onto the engine somewhere away from the battery to avoid igniting the off-gassing from the battery. It is very likely that the battery will explode from the reverse polarity and the voltage differential. It is more than likely that any gauges that are on will be destroyed along with the senders. If you go away in your six volt truck and a light burns out, where will you get a replacement? Who will fix your generator or regulator? Almost all of the older mechanics from my generation have or are bout to retire and the "new guys are not being trained for the old systems, and why should they, it is obsolete and uncommon.
Forget about using an generator in a 12 volt conversion especially if you are considering putting any modern electronics into your Binder. Generators in combination with the regulator cause large voltage spikes that will certainly destroy anything with a transistor in it. The coils in the regulator act like capacitors and discharge a lot of volts when the points cycle.
Delco have made hundreds of millions of alternators for their own vehicles and their very reliable alternator can be seen in some exotic cars and it was the first choice of IHC when the finally got smart. There are so many of then in the auto recyclers that they often send them out as scrap. Even the earliest 55 amp Delco alternators are better than the best generator. Always look for an alternator that is internally regulated and I would not advise anyone to use a single wire unit. Rather than waste space here, Google how an alternator works. It is genius. There is some good information on the single wire units. BTW, an alternator is too easy to mount
A mixed system of voltage drops and resistance inline to try and cooers 12 volts to do something else is not good in any way. If a person is starting from basics with a restoration, it is best to start with a new wire kit. While I cannot name them all, here are some that I am familiar with. Ron Francis, Painless Performance, American Autowire, Hot-rod wire and Speedway Motors. Google what you are looking for and make a decision. I would doubt that one is better than another, but I prefer the Ron Francis system even though it is more money. RF has some innovative fusing and other good ideas.
All of these kits are so easy to use. Each wire is labelled with its intended use and the direction it should go. Take it one wire at a time and you will not become overwhelmed. All of these wire kit suppliers have tech guys available to help sort out your situations. They have heard it all and are a super resource that you, the purchaser should use, without guilt. A trip to the corner store is one step at a time.
First question is often: What about my 6 volt starter? Ohm's law says that when the volts are raised by double the amps that are required to make the starter operate go down by half. An overbuilt 6 volt starter will thank you for 12 volts and run for many happy years, unless it is near the end of its service life, but then it would have gone poof, anyway. It is the amps that make thing heat up. Amps are the torque and volts are the horsepower, so to speak. To apply this to a garden hose, the amps are the pressure, the volts are the volume in litres per unit of time.
Last edited by
nikkinutshop on Sat Oct 12, 2013 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Artificial intelligence is no match for real stupidity....
