The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 6 volt starter on 235 engine

I have a 6 volt starter on my 1948 Chevy 3/4 ton, and I have what appears to are a bad starter, having replaced it not less than one year ago. I was talking with a guy who appeared knowledgable about the problem, and he told me a 6 volt starter does not have enough torque to work on a 235 engine Manufactured between 1955 and. 1957. if that is the case, is my only option to convert to a 12 volt system? thanks in advance for any advice.

That's incorrect. 6v starters were installed by the factory on 235 engines. The starter doesn't know what year the engine was made.

There is no need to convert your vehicle for that reason.

Give us more information about the starter and its replacement. New parts are not as reliable as they used to be. Chinese parts fail if you look at them sideways.

What exactly is happening to the starter? Are you sure the flywheel and starter are mated correctly and that you have a 6v flywheel to go along with your six volt starter? 12v flywheels don't work with 6v starters and 12v starters don't work with 6v flywheels.

everything worked just fine, last week, and they I went to move it, after sitting after a short drive and would not turn over fast enough, ran the battery down, I thought, and charged the battery, tried again and won't turn engine over.

thanks for getting back to me.

Start with the basics before blaming the starter. Is the starter cable 00 gauge? Are the connections perfectly clean without corrosion or even light oxidation?

Check ALL your ground connections to and from the battery to the engine, cab, and chassis.

How old is the battery? They can and do fail sometimes after working just fine one minute and going dead the next.

When you say it worked fine last week, what does that mean? Did it spin the engine over quickly like modern car? Did it drag along slowly and just happen to catch?

Montana Lee Well they have worked for 75 years,either voltage and are tough. Would suspect well worn starter or dirty connections or cables too small.

brand new 00 connectors, clean connections, truck is kept inside all the time.

Sun Electric Co. had a slogan they put on all their equipment- - - - -"We Test Not Guess". Start with monitoring the voltage at the battery terminals (not the connectors) during cranking. It should not drop below 4.5 volts with the starter cranking the engine. After a cranking time of 20 seconds, with the starter still turning the voltage should not drop below that level. If that isn't possible, recharge or replace the battery. Remove and clean EVERY connection on both the hot and ground sides. "It looks good" isn't sufficient. Until they're all clean and tight every connection must be suspected. I owned a flathead Ford V8 for 13 years, with 11.25:1 compression and a 6 volt battery. It taught me a lot about maintaining an electrical system.
Jerry

I am with Jerry on this one. You would be amazed what kind of corrosion and yuck can get in those connectors under normal operation. They still *look* fine from the outside, but the vibration works it just a hair loose and some dirt/water gets in and just stays there, slowly making the connection worse and worse.

It doesn't take long to remove, inspect, clean, and reinstall those wires.

I once had a no-start issue on a 70s Ford pickup.

Everything looked good but I removed and cleaned all connections anyway. Still no start.

Upon further inspection, I found that corrosion had occurred underneath the insulation of one of the battery cables. When I slit it open, it was all green like the Statue of Liberty.

Replacing it fixed the problem.

A perfectly working 6v starter with good cables and connections will spin your 235 engine over as fast as a modern 12v engine.