I still run 6 volt and a stock generator with cutout in my model A pickup. While this truck is a "hot rod" as far as the electrical system it is "stock". This thing is a daily driver. So it does see a lot of use... Anyways. I seem to kill a battery about every 9 months. I am using generic 6 volt batteries from Orielly's. These are supposed to be "heavy duty" or "industrial". So far, my parts store likes me and warranties them no problem. (I have a commercial account and am a pretty good customer). I'm just getting tired of randomly coming out and having my battery be flat and not take a charge. I'm hesitant to try another brand of 6 volt battery for the lack of warranty support. I'm thinking of updating the charging system at this point. But I dont want to put on an alternator. In fact, it's out of the question. My other thoughts are convert a stock generator to 12 volt. Or a modern diode cut out. So is this just a fact of life with a stock model a system or shitty batteries? I'm kinda just bouncing around ideas right now. Looking for some real world experience. No need to chime in if you're a 6 volt positive ground hater. This truck is very period correct and I daily drive it. Modern stuff will ruin that claim. Thanks for any input Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Outside of having it freeze when it was dead the quickest way to kill most any battery is to continually overcharge it. The amps may be within what looks right but what is the voltage output when you are running down the road? Back in the 50's it was common for guys to crank up the voltage on six volt systems to get the lights to be a bit brighter at night and lights and batteries neither one seemed to last that long.
Mmmm. Good question. Dont know the voltage its pushing. Just what the amp gauge is showing. Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Have you checked for a current draw? Diisconnect the battery ground, put meter in series on amps to the battery and cable you just disconnected, see if current is flowing. Should be none from the sounds of your build...i/e no stereo memory, etc..
You may have a parasitic draw, kind of unlikely if the truck is basically stock. Generator over/under charging? Bad wiring? Starter drawing to many amps? Only things I can think of right now.
You can change the charging rate by moving the third brush, have you done anything with that? Also there are electronic voltage regulators available, installed in the generator housing that look factory. They give more consistent output. Good Luck
Let’s start the big argument. I converted by positive ground ‘46 GMC to an 8 volt battery in 1997. A simple adjustment to the voltage regulator boosted the charging output to 10 volts. I then badgered the (late) distributor for Battery Tender ( some will remember Saul from Carlisle and Hershey) into getting the company to make a new batch of 8-volt Battery Tenders. Since then, I get 7-9 years out of each battery; and the starter spins over like a 12-volt unit. I try not to crank it for long periods, but the thing typically starts in the first 15 seconds anyway. I get the batteries at our local Battery Warehouse and I think they are Exide brand. The truck has no radio and it has not blown any of the 6-volt bulbs. I keep the BT hooked up 24/7.
If you look at Owners Manuals for all cars that did have a cut out, they say you need to adjust the charging rate to fit your driving, like using it a lot at night, it needs more. But warnings that if it's set too high, the battery will overcharge and shorten it's life in a big way. A cut out is not a regulator, it's more like an on-off switch, so you simply must (like Rex said) adjust the generator output to "best match" how much it needs to charge. But it still will overcharge the battery if it's set for your daily short trips to town, but then you drove 4 hours the next day. as a daily driver, I think a true voltage regulator would be a good start. Model A's start fine on 6v...and the Bendix spring in the 6v starter often will break with 12v, because it kicks in too fast. .
I'm not a fan of using 8 volt batteries to cure 6 volt problems. If the OP batteries continuously die prematurely, then there is likely a system problem and not a battery problem.
Here's some info on Ford 6v tractor charging and electrical systems. I'd guess that most, if not all that's stated here would also apply to a Model A. At least it appears to be thorough, logical approach to troubleshooting and upgrading an old 6v system. http://www.myfordtractors.com/electrical.shtml
Here's the answer for eliminating the cutout and keeping it looking stock. No need to tweak the third brush if you're going to idle around for a couple hours, or take a long drive at night. It costs about the same or less than a new battery, and in your case sounds like it will pay for itself in nine months. https://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_...AYbICh3-ywg7EAQYAiABEgKHu_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#
I have run those "cut out" regulators and they work well. Just be careful with them...they come with instructions and you can fry them if not hooking up correctly.
You'll have to measure the generator output for the correct charging voltage and current. If batteries are dying prematurely then it is likely the output isn't in spec, either too high or too low. Any resistance in the grounds and cables, generator to block connection etc, will cripple the current output of the generator. Corrosion starts out invisible. It's not enough that the voltage is in the ballpark, the current output is what re-charges the battery in a reasonable amount of time. Generators do not charge very well at all at idle, or stop and go driving, or at night, because of the cutout. But if you dig in the manual and start troubleshooting you'll find the problem. It's important that the regulator is checked for proper adjustment, this is tricky, there are several steps to be followed that are necessary. Be sure to use an old school Analog Voltmeter. If you look at the battery charge tables in the manual notice that the correct charging voltage is about .5 volts higher at any given temperature across the board in a generator system compared with an alternator. I don't know why this is, I figured because maybe a mechanically regulated voltage is more choppy, than solid state diodes, but I don't know for sure. The next thing you'll see on the charge tables is battery charging voltages are temperature dependent. This is very important and commonly overlooked. The generator voltage regulators are temperature compensated, but they need to have the initial setpoint adjusted accurately. If you are lucky enough to still have a Motor Repair shop in your area, bring the generator and regulator in together and they can spool them up together and check for proper cutout, voltage, and current.
Don't go using diodes in a 6 volt system, as any silicon diode will drop 0.6v across it when forward biased. That means even with perfect wiring, your load will see about 5.4 volts.
get the regulator that looks like a cutout. fuck macs, buy from the guy who makes em, its called "fun projects" google it up. i have two, been fine for several years. most likely your third brush is set too high, and you are cooking the battery dry. been there, done that.
I googled "fun projects" don't have any real need to build a bird feeder wreath or upside down Tomato planter right now. The general consensus was in line with my original thought though. Overcharging the battery.
I kept going through batteries once a year when I was on 6V. While all the trouble shooting here is on point, my conclusion was 'shitty batteries'. Lots of posts on the Ford Barn that arrive at the same conclusion for those still on 6V + grnd. People have had a lot of success with the 6V Optima batteries, but they stick out like a sore thumb.
If your charging rate is too high and you need it there for night driving try running your lights during the day. Charlie Stephens
Two things: I've heard that MANY 6 V batteries are deteriorated when sold simply because they have very low sales and most have been sitting on a shelf for a long time. AND a battery with a cutout system has a single charging rate as set by the third brush all the time it is running fast enough to charge...SO it is certainly charging too much or too little most of the time. This is and old system which is and was crap because it has no ability to adapt to need. Get one of the simple regulators sold. Forget properly setting a cutout-only system. You can only set it to a particular setting which will necessarily be WRONG most of the time, either frying your battery or letting it rundown depending on whether you set it high or low.
...and if you like keeping a cutout-only setup for amusement, remember that your Model A came with a hand crank under the seat, and still needs one if unregulated!
That has to do with how 'smooth' the raw charging system output is. Generators have fewer poles than an alternator, and also don't use the full waveform. A generator is also single-phase, most alternators are three-phase. So a generator has fewer waveforms, further apart than an alternator, with a bigger difference between the minimum and maximum voltage; it's output is 'choppier'. Because of the way meters are 'weighted' to read 'average' (actually, it's usually RMS which means 'root mean square') voltage, to get the same charging voltage at the battery you need a higher read 'average' voltage with a generator to get the same effective output.
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