The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts voltage decision

I am in the process of starting up a 1954 6400 with a head number of 3836850--I believe it is a 261 ci. after following advice to lubricate valves, clean fuel lines, changing the negative cables, clean the connections, and purchasing a new battery, the engine turns very slow. I searched previous posts but still can not decide if I should change to a 12 volt system? Also, the foot pedal sometimes engages and currently won't engage the starter....nothing. thank you.

Go with 12 volt, it will turn over better and your head lights won't be so dim.

As far as the starter goes, sometimes the gear wears out. Mine takes a couple of taps before it engages. Other problem could be worn gear on the flywheel Hope you don't have that.

When you say engine turns very slow, am I to assume you mean when cranking engine with starter?

Still 6 volt?

Have you checked the switch on the starter?

Does the ground strap connect to the frame to rear of battery or direct to the starter?

Is there a ground strap between the frame and the starter?

The cables size should be either "0" (zero/aught) or even "00" (double zero/aught), but no less than "1". The lower the number the larger the size. Most 12 volt battery cables are "2" or "4",
to small for 6 volt systems.

Is the battery at least 540 cold cranking amps? 600 would be better.

Converting to 12 volts is not to expensive and seems to work much better. I have changed all my trucks to 12V negative ground.

You would need to change the battery, the coil and add a ballast-resistor to ignition circuit. Starter will still function at 12V, just do not over crank (20 seconds)else it will melt the solder connection inside the starter.

Amp meter will still work OK, but gas gauge and temp gauge if electric would need to be changed, as well as all lights and turn signal blinker. A voltage reducer for heater and radio if so equipped. Are wipers electric or vaccum?

I have done the conversion several times.

Good Luck and Happy Trucking.

Also head light switch, dash light dimmer will not work unless you change to a 12V headlight switch.

I have had no problem using original 6v headlight and dimmer switches in Chevrolet trucks where I have unnecessarily converted from 6v to 12v.

May be I'm using the wrong light bulbs...?

6 volt switches are designed for a heavier current than 12 volt switches. 6 volt switches do just fine with 12 volts.

"May be I'm using the wrong light bulbs...?"

Presumably, you changed from 6v light bulbs to 12v light bulbs?

You oiled the valves did you also oil the cylinders a bit? You mentioned changing negative cable did you also change positive. After you cranked a bit the cables may have heated up or arced, clean and retighten connections. remove starter button on top of starter and clean button contact and contact on top of starter. Was the battery at full charge when you got it? Some times they sit on shelf for quite a while. With the plugs out, no compression, does the engine still fail to turn. 12 volt will turn the engine faster but these trucks will run fine on 6 volt.

I'm not overly concerned with originality so I went from six to twelve volts on two of my old trucks. I'm happy with the results and love the way they fire right up with the faster starter spin.

12 v OR 6 v clean cable and ground strap connections go a long way in getting the starter to turn over correctly. Also with your six volt system make sure a previous owner didn't replace the cables with the later 12 volt ones, they are not of a heavy enough gauge and will cause starter problems in a six volt system.

-mike-

thank you so much for all the ideas--over the last couple/few months I have searched the forums and always get a plan for the next step.

Currently, I can only claim fuel to the fuel pump (using a spray bottle pump for suction) and current to the starter. I have been able to turn the flywheel, but will try without plugs. I will use the suggestions posted and keep trying to start with the 6 volt system. If I can't get it started, then I guess I will change to 12 volts. Sounds like the 6 volt system should work, but once I start buying plug wires, coil, etc I should change to 12 volt.

One more question (for now): using a hand-held starter/trigger to bypass the foot pedal and key--where do I hook the two connections? I have been unsuccessful finding the right combination.

Louis,

Your starter doesn't have a solenoid (relay) like modern vehicles, it has a foot switch, so there isn't any way to connect the hand held starter switch to it. Those hand held switches are not rated to carry the full current the starter needs when cranking, they are pilot duty only.

Take the foot switch off and clean the copper contacts with some fine wet/dry sand paper and make sure the arc shield is still in place.

Mike B

If you have a foot starter, there is no way of bypassing it. If you want to make a one man operation out holding down the starter and squirting in the carb, put a snatch block towards the front of the inner fender. Tie a rope to the starter linkage, go through the snatch block and put a lever for some leverage on the driver side. I have done that to crank them while I squirted the carb.

thanks for explaining--I understand enough to keep going (although slowly). Hopefully, I will be able to start the engine in the near future and then move onto brakes.

When I rebuilt my truck, I had the gen. and starter rebuilt,($100 each) new battery and wiring harness,all 6 volt. I've never had a jumper cable or battery charger on in in the 3 years or so of driving it. Including starting the rebuilt 235. One thing I leaned 30 years ago when I had my 42 half ton in Iowa, in a 6 volt system your battery and starter need to be 100%.

Louis,

Reread and heed Sleeve's post: "12 v OR 6 v clean cable and ground strap connections go a long way in getting the starter to turn over correctly. Also with your six volt system make sure a previous owner didn't replace the cables with the later 12 volt ones, they are not of a heavy enough gauge and will cause starter problems in a six volt system."

If both your battery cables are not 1 gauge or fatter, get new cables (0 or 00 are better - also called 1/0 or 2/0).

Purists - please close your eyes for this comment. I LOVE a 12-V system with a 6V starter! I don't drive this 1.5T all that much now, but when I was a kid I had a '40 and changed it to 12V - it was my daily driver and I needed reliability. I kept a spare 6V starter at all times, and in those days I think a rebuilt one was $20 at cheapie-auto-parts. When I was 17 it was no trouble to slither under there and swap a starter - probably a 15-minute or less job. In my opinion, it WILL burn out the starter eventually. __When__ is the question. I don't spin my starter for more than 1-2 seconds, as an engine in tune should start instantly. I agree with the imperative to run huge cables if you decide to stay with 6V. Non-negotiable. Good luck, have fun with the beauty-full old iron!