VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt Change from 6volt to 12 volt system

Is there a benefit to switching from 6v to a 12v system?
How much is involved?

I have never done a change over on A Chevrolet but I have done them on model a Fords and from my experience they’re not really worth it. I believe that the main reason that people do this it’s probably because they want to have brighter lights , better starting and they can have accessories.
Since the brightness of lights are measured I lumens and not volts, it doesn’t really matter. A 6V and 12v lights of the same lumens have the same brightness besides 6V LED lights are popular now and are a lot brighter. Most accessories are now computer based so can run on 5V so …, if you keep the 6V starter it will spin faster so that might be a plus but if you need that, something else might need to be looked at.
And then there’s the cost…. New starter, new 12V lights…. Front, rear…., new coil, labor…. + etc….
Wiring should be fine….. higher voltage less current.
Many are done, I see a demand but don’t really know why.,,,, 6V seemed to work fine when they were first built…,

Mike

Agree completely.

We run several 6 volt systems and they work fine.
I've never converted one because I've never seen a reason to.

I've never seen the reason for converting except you spend a lot of money for no gain! But you can brag that you converted it to a 12 Volt system.

When I see cars advertised as coverted to 12 volt it turns me off strait away.

There is really no advantage converting to 12 volts. When everything is in good condition 6 volts works just fine. Back when I drove my 37 and my 42 to work every day in Iowa I have started them both siting out doors at temperatures well below zero. If you want to run 12 volt accessories you can get a voltage converter to change 6v to low amp 12 volt.

Why do you want to break into jail ???????????

If you have a specific problem you are trying to solve, I see changing to 12 volts as treating the symptoms instead of treating the disease. I realize that it is getting harder to find a local rebuilder for starters and generators. I am lucky to have a guy near me who still does this kind of work.
All of my old Chevys are still using the original 6 volt system. I drove a '38 Chevy 1/2 ton as my daily driver for a few years. I don't remember having any significant problems.

Mike

Thanks Mike, if it’s not broken don’t fix it!

Thanks Ed, I’ll save the money for something else.

I just converted to 12v .. 1937 chevy master. My 6 volt system was working just fine up until recently. Car would start fine untill it ran for a while then wouldnt start untill system was cold. I converted because needing a jump start in emergencies and also got tired of carring around a portable speaker . Other than that no real reason to convert. I converted system myself so it wasnt has costly as if i would of took it to a shop.

Facundo, why are you carrying around a portable speaker?

Lol .. For music … didnt want to put to much effort in radio for a 6volt system ..

The ignition coil probably was shorting out when it was hot. I have had that happen.

Ed funny you say that , when i was changing out the 6v coil , the cap covering the ignition wire was missing the nut that screws it down .. figured that was the problem, but i was already in the middle of converting.. like i mentioned i didnt put effort into figuring what was wrong with the 6v system i just converted.

I changed my Canadian 1951 GMC (really a Chevy) to 12 volts. I wanted better lights for driving at night and being around modern vehicles on the road. By myself, the old six volt lights were fine. I installed headlights that were reflector systems and they have H4 bulbs. They do a great job. The headlights look completely stock unless you go up close to read numbers on the lens.