Just an FYI for folks who might need a new 6 volt battery. I got one today off the shelf at Farm and Fleet. It was in stock and on the regular rack with all the other self-serve batteries. I was surprised I didn't have to ask special for it. They had over ten 6 volt on the shelves. It was $64.00 +tax for a 350 ampere battery. We'll see how long it lasts. My last regular lead acid just gave up the ghost after 8 years (it was 400 ampere).
I was wondering how the Farm & Fleet 6v battery is working out. I also bought mine from F&F. After a trickle charge is complete, engine cranks quite well, fires up and runs. I get the engine up to operating temp and then shut it down. It will not restart. The engine cranks way too slow. I have to wait till the next day to fire it up again after a charge. The grounding strap ends and frame were cleaned. There are no lights hooked up at this time.
There is: Rebuilt generator. Generator belt is good and snug. New voltage regulator. New 00 gauge negative battery terminal wire. Amp gauge that moves just slightly to the charge side if at all. Never see it go to discharge side.
Truck has never been roadworthy since I owned. I'm still restoring. I only fire it up now and then. The Optima batteries are high dollar. Not sure if I would be wasting my money.
Unrelated: If fuel gauge goes to full, might the sending unit be bad? I hooked up a wire to the neg. battery terminal and with the other end, contacted each of the wire points at the sending unit. This made no difference and not sure my method was even valid.
54 Chevy 3100 Deluxe 3 speed on column. Keeping original as possible but changed to 12 volt system. JB Weld..."I put that stuff on everything"
FWIW -- I am *very* pleased with my Optima 6V. Has yet to let me down and I think it is about 6 years old now.
It was expensive, but I believe it was worth it.
~ John
A kid raised on Hotwheels, Matchbox and Tonka cannot be reasonably expected to own only one vehicle as an adult.
1949 Chevrolet 3804 In the Legacy Gallery | In the Gallery Forum 1973 IH 1310 Dump 1963 Kaiser M38A1 2001 International/AmTran RE3000 "Skoolie" 2014 Ford E-350 4x4 (Quigley)
I was wondering how the Farm & Fleet 6v battery is working out. I also bought mine from F&F. After a trickle charge is complete, engine cranks quite well, fires up and runs. I get the engine up to operating temp and then shut it down. It will not restart. The engine cranks way too slow. I have to wait till the next day to fire it up again after a charge. The grounding strap ends and frame were cleaned. There are no lights hooked up at this time.
There is: Rebuilt generator. Generator belt is good and snug. New voltage regulator. New 00 gauge negative battery terminal wire. Amp gauge that moves just slightly to the charge side if at all. Never see it go to discharge side.
Truck has never been roadworthy since I owned. I'm still restoring. I only fire it up now and then. The Optima batteries are high dollar. Not sure if I would be wasting my money.
Unrelated: If fuel gauge goes to full, might the sending unit be bad? I hooked up a wire to the neg. battery terminal and with the other end, contacted each of the wire points at the sending unit. This made no difference and not sure my method was even valid.
Sounds like you have a problem other than the battery. What is the battery post voltage after a failed start? What is that voltage just prior to a successful start? What is that voltage once the engine starts? (This will you know if your charging system is working.)
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
IF the cables are properly sized and all connections clean it sounds like a starter issue to me. FWIW you don't need an optima but having one doesn't hurt. I had a optima and got about eight years years out of it. It took a dump on a club tour one year and no one had an optima in stock so I went with an off the shelf from O'Reilly and it lasted about 8 years. Pull your starter and have it tested.
Save a life, adopt a senior shelter pet. The three main causes of blindness: Cataracts, Politics, Religion. Name your dog Naked so you can walk Naked in the park.
Will the warmed up engine crank if you use a 12V boost? It sounds like something might be binding up inside the engine like pistons fitted too closely the the cylinders. Is the engine freshly rebuilt, or does it have some miles on it?
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
[quoteUnrelated: If fuel gauge goes to full, might the sending unit be bad? I hooked up a wire to the neg. battery terminal and with the other end, contacted each of the wire points at the sending unit. This made no difference and not sure my method was even valid.][/quote] Joe, See if these articles will help you. Harold
What gauge cables are you using? 6v systems require the heaviest cables you can buy - 1 gauge or 00 gauge starter cable.
I had a similar problem with my '56 Cadillac some years back. It would not turn over after a drive. It required an hour or so before the starter would work normally. It turned out the be a weak starter. It's worked perfectly after the rebuild for the last 18 years.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Will the warmed up engine crank if you use a 12V boost? It sounds like something might be binding up inside the engine like pistons fitted too closely the the cylinders. Is the engine freshly rebuilt, or does it have some miles on it?
I never thought to use 12v on my 6v. Engine will not restart whether cold or warm. I have yet to test voltage on battery under certain conditions...cold as (won't let me use the word) here right now. The battery is new from Farm and Fleet and, yes, I know from past posts, new doesn't necessary mean good. I thought about getting a load test on battery. I use a trickle charger for about a day or so on battery to full, start truck, shut down truck, no restart, and repeat trickle charge for a day or so. The engine is definitely not a fresh rebuild. I bought it from Shwanke Engines in Minnesota. The owner had a customer who wanted to replace the engine. Customer stated he recalled that his father had the valves ground at some point. Shwanke will test run the engine and send a video of it running. The only difference is that the engine came with 12v starter and generator. I am keeping 6v. I swapped my rebuilt 6v starter and generator...and yes, Pertronix ignition for 6v system that some people hate. There are posts referring to the flywheel number of teeth. It looks to me that the gear on 6v starter and 12v are the same, besides, engine cranks fairly well initially (but not fast like a 12v).
54 Chevy 3100 Deluxe 3 speed on column. Keeping original as possible but changed to 12 volt system. JB Weld..."I put that stuff on everything"
Too many errors here to address- - - -"looks the same" doesn't take into account the angular and height difference between the 6V and 12V starter pinion gears. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Did you polarize your generator after installation? Has your voltage regulator been checked for proper operation?
Buying new parts and putting them on requires adjustments to get them to play nicely together. If not, the charging system won't work.
When I had my generator rebuilt, I also gave them the voltage regulator. I've tried to adjust the voltage regulator myself, one area I hope to learn more about as whatever I did, didn't work. When I got both my parts back from rebuilding, (place in So. MD near some guy I know down there) my Optima battery has been happy as a clam!
SWEET Sergeant At Arms: Old Dominion Stovebolt Society BUNS?!?!?!Where we're going, we don't need no buns..... 1950 GMC 450 1951 Chevy 1/2-Ton The GreenMachine In the Stovebolt Gallery
I am not familiar with polarizing. Please explain. Should my amper gauge be swinging far to the charge side if the battery is low? I researched on the voltage regulator. Mine may very well have been 60+ years old. While the truck runs, if I pull the cable off the battery negative terminal, the engine stops running. This tells me, possibly, the voltage regulator is bad. I bought a new one and repeated the latter. The truck stays running. I will test the battery voltage when our temperature here gets up about 20 more degrees. I'm not convinced yet that I have the proper battery for our trucks or that, just because it is new, it's 100% perfect.
54 Chevy 3100 Deluxe 3 speed on column. Keeping original as possible but changed to 12 volt system. JB Weld..."I put that stuff on everything"
With everything installed and the engine turned off, use a pair of needle nose pliers or a jumper wire to briefly connect the BAT terminal with the GEN terminal on the voltage regulator. You'll get a little spark and that's all you need. Your generator will be correctly polarized.
I believe you'll find these instructions in the FSM but I may be thinking of my Cadillac manual.
Yes, I just checked. Section 12-18 of the 1948-1952 Chevrolet truck service manual details this procedure.
Last edited by Otto Skorzeny; 01/27/20222:37 PM.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
With everything installed and the engine turned off, use a pair of needle nose pliers or a jumper wire to briefly connect the BAT terminal with the GEN terminal on the voltage regulator. You'll get a little spark and that's all you need. Your generator will be correctly polarized.
Thank you for that info.,will try. Simple procedures are what I like. Should the ignition switch be on when I do that? I did a bit of research on this forum about my start/no start issue. Someone with a similar problem found out that his 6v starter was rebuilt for a 12v starter. I had mine rebuilt and maybe the guy mistook it for a 12v. Is this possible? I know about heat issues with 6v and 12v and know that if I crank too long on the starter, it gets so hot that I can't keep my hand on it.
54 Chevy 3100 Deluxe 3 speed on column. Keeping original as possible but changed to 12 volt system. JB Weld..."I put that stuff on everything"
Fed-up now with my 6v truck...hard start then no start. I will convert to 12v. The engine that came from the engine supplier had a 12v starter and assumed 12v generator (see pics). The generator has a ballast. I do not know why. Should I be switching out my 6v voltage regulator? If so, any 12v with an original look? I will get the voltage reducer for the fuel gauge. I know the heater fan needs one too, and bulbs, but much later for that. Should the horn relay be switched to 12v also?
54 Chevy 3100 Deluxe 3 speed on column. Keeping original as possible but changed to 12 volt system. JB Weld..."I put that stuff on everything"
