The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 6-volt weak

Have 6-volt system very unreliable with starting ,any suggestions?

number of possibilities: most likely 2= undersize battery cables, like the common ones for 12V instead of proper heavy 6V ones, and poor grounds - might also be a weak cell in the battery - or it needs a tuneup - carb iffy

Bill

Ever considered installing a 8 Volt battery? Your generator will charge it if you adjust the regulator.. it does mess up the gages tho unless you use a voltage reducer for the dash.

I got by this way for several years before converting the truck to 12 V

good luck

You got by with a bandaid fix for several years. With proper grounds and the right size cables there's no need for an 8 volt "fix".

An 8 volt battery is a solution to a nonexistent problem. The only time I've ever seen one used effectively was on the family race car, a 1934 Ford coupe in the mid-1950's, and we didn't run a charging system!
Jerry

In no particular order of importance because they are all important: Proper size battery cables - absolute minimum size 1 gauge, 0 or 00 would be better; clean battery cable contacts, both ends, both cables; good high amp battery, a 400 amp tractor battery is marginal at best (I use Optima 800 amp); sound starter with a clean ground to the block. All that is if "hard to start" means is cranks slow. If it cranks OK but fails to fire that's a different issue.

Hard starting on a 6v system is indeed a problem that is often reported. Using an 8v battery sort of hides the problem and is, at best, a temporary solution (which can be tough on 6v light bulbs).

As, posted above, the most common cause is incorrect or bad battery cables and/or bad grounds.

Here is list of progressively more costly "solutions" that many people have posted over the years.

Good luck.

Please tell me what application the 8 volt battery is made for because I have forgotten the answer.

The only application I can think of was on some farm tractors from the mid-1940's through the early 50's before everybody went to 12 volts. In a situation where there were virtually no electrical components other than a battery, starter and generator, and the ignition system was usually a magneto, it made a little sense, I guess. The tractor gets started once, works all day, shuts down overnight, and fires up again the next morning. A 3-brush generator trickle-charges the battery during several hours of running, and there's little if any load other than the occasional shutdown and restart. None of that applies to a street-driven vehicle!
Jerry

It is quite amazing that they still make them. I have seen the odd one at car shows and seeing four caps is always intriguing.