most items on your car with the exception of your radio if it still works are polarity neutal, a bulb will light either way. Starters don't care, generators don;t care except they need to kow which one thery are dealing with, which is why new ones or rebuilt ones need to be polarized when they are installed, coil will work but may not work as well. as a matter of fact you can run both neative an positive ground using the same ground for both. Electricity actually like to work better with positive ground cause that's the more natural flow, you know positive attracting electrons and such, ut the radi guys whent to negative when the industry wnet to 12V so they didn't need to make different radios for different car brands. I think Rusty meant many 6V cars have been repaired with 12V wires, all to the detrement of their design needs. rule of thumb heavy loads like headlamps and heaters 10 gauge, medium stuff, 12, and light loads 14. 16 gauge wire most common on 12V systems rarely has a place in a 6V car.
You are correct, I meant to say 6 volt. I went back and fixed it. The ignition coil will work better with the current flow in the right direction. All you need to do is change the wires on the coil if you change from + ground to - ground. Not sure what you mean by running + and - ground with the same ground for both. Do you mean on the same car? Don't see how this can work.
Greg, the tube radio won't care either unless the vibrator has been replaced with a solid state unit.
Danny I'm not sure you get the idea of the ground. Imagine a simple circuit of 1 light bulb and a battery. You would have 1 wire from the battery to the light bulb and another wire from the light bulb back to the other end of the battery. Both wires are made of metal. Some smart person said "Hey, this whole car is made of metal. If we used the car instead of 1 of the wires, we could make it much simpler. And save a lot of wire". That is all a ground is. They are using the car for one of the wires. This means, all parts of the car have to be connected. If the motor is mounted on rubber and the body is mounted on rubber, the engine body and frame need separate ground wires to the battery. Or else they need to be connected to each other. In fact somebody figured this out before they ever made a car. Back then they just stuck the wire in the ground. That is why it is called the ground or, in England, the earth.
So if i take 1 wire and lead that to the back of the car, hook that on a light bulb..... Take the other end of the wire and put that on the positive pole of the battery, i only have to hold the bulb to the chassis to make it light up? That's what i think...... I can put a switch between it if i want to. But now i want to make a new turn signal harnass. Where do i put the flasher? My guess would be between battery and switch? Danny
If you do that you don't need a ground. The way you describe you have 2 wires which makes a complete circuit - from the battery to the bulb, and from the bulb back to the battery. That is all you need - no ground. Now if you wanted to save some wire, you could use the car's body in place of one wire. Run a wire from the battery to the bulb. Connect the other side of the bulb to the body. Connect the other terminal of the battery to the body. Presto, the bulb lights up! This is called "grounding" the bulb. For the turn signal harness copy the diagram I gave you. There are other "tricks" in the flasher and turn signal switch. Just copy it exactly, don't go getting ideas of your own, and it will work perfect.
Rusty, how can i make negative ground to the body if it's already postive grounded on the engine and with the little wire you said? Did i miss a piece maybe? And another question,,, How and where do i connect the turn signallight wire to the wire of the brakelight? Electrical stuff is i bit hard for me but like to learn it. Sorry for a these questions. Danny
You can't. The car is either negative ground or positive ground. Yours is positive ground. There should be a big ground wire from the positive post on the battery to the engine and a smaller ground wire from the positive post on the battery to the body. It doesn't matter where you connect the turn signal wires. I would use the place the factory used. Electricity is hard. It helps to visualize the electricity as water in a pipe. Also, it helps to break down the system into its simplest parts and work on one part or one wire at a time.
This is hard... The signallight is the same light as the brake light is, if i step on the brake pedal the lights will burn, but.............. Now i turn on the signal switch, the relay cuts the power so it starts to flash but i still got my foot on the brake pedal. You get what i mean Rusty? Think it keeps on burning without flashing? Where do i put the relay and how do i wire it? Breaking my head over this.......
The light bulb has 2 filaments in it. 1 bright 1 dim Turn on tail lights = dim Step on brakes = BRIGHT Turn on turn signals = BRIGHT -off- BRIGHT -off- BRIGHT -off (other side: off) Turn on turn signals and tail lights = BRIGHT -dim- BRIGHT -dim- BRIGHT -dim (other side: dim) Turn on turn signals, tail lights, and step on brake = BRIGHT -dim- BRIGHT -dim- BRIGHT -dim- (other side: BRIGHT) I already gave you 2 different wiring diagrams. The second one is simpler so I suggest you use that one. Just do 1 wire at a time and it will work grand for you. Or, if it is too tough, don't break your head. Take the car to an electrician or mechanic, give him the diagram and parts, and he will fix it for you. Did you print the wiring diagrams? If you take the second one and turn it over it will make more sense. I had to scan it upside down because that is the only way it would fit in my machine. If you read the instructions on the page it explains that there is 1 warning lamp for both signals, located on the instrument panel. The flasher is on the left side of the dash panel on the engine side. And the circuit is connected to the lighting system circuit breaker which is behind the instrument panel.
I don't know if you are aware of this or not.... American cars have tail lights and front parking lights with 2 filament bulbs. In other words, each light has 1 bulb and each bulb has 2 filaments in it, one dim and one bright. The socket has 2 wires to it, both powered, and the light grounds through the socket (no ground wire). You may not be aware of this because European cars and Japanese cars use 2 separate light bulbs.
Don't worry about how it works. Just put it together like the diagram says. If you can't figure it out take a break for a day or 2. Come back fresh and it will be clearer. Or, if it is still too confusing, get someone to help. I know a lot of people don't get electricity. Do the things you are good at and let someone else do the things they are good at.
Yeeha is right. Good to know you figured it out, now you are the auto electric expert of 50s Chryslers!
Haha, don't think so. Next chapter is the backup lights. They are hooked up wrong. They start to lightup when i turn the lights on. The backup switch must be in the steeringcolumn i guess?
Hello, Is there anyone who can tell me where the switch is located From the backup lights? Steeringcolumn or tranny? Danny
Most cars have them on the left side of the trans, although it could be on the column. One of us is going to have to go out in the garage and look. You are closer than we are. There are 3 electrical devices on the right side to control the trans, it isn't one of them.
Old thread..new question..What's the track width on front and rear axles on the 1951 Windsor club coupe..looking to do a frame swap on this...original frame is hacked up....thanks.
Somebody should take a tape measure and measure the tread front and rear. You are closer than we are.
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