Why Change to 12 Volt??

Because my wiring was totally shot, I had already yanked it, and Dad had already converted it using the old wiring harness, I decided to do it right.

Main things is stuff like finding a jump when needed, buying a battery, lightbulbs, etc, etc. 12v just makes it easier. (Or at least gives the perception of being easier.)

I used the EZ Wiring 18 circuit harness (of which I only used about 6, but I can add all the accessories I could ever want!), converted the original starter over to 12v (it needed a rebuild anyway), used all 12v bulbs, and a volt-o-drop for the heater motor. (actually, the heater is now 2 speed with 6v and 12v. 8) )

I guess I couldn't find any compelling reasons to keep it 6v.

 

Ideally, you can get just as much power from 6V as from 12V. However, I expect that there are some efficiency issues. The power lost in wiring is proportional to the current squared, so the same wire is going to dissipate 4x as much heat at 6V than at 12V, for the same power delivered.

I think this has something to do with the winding efficiency of generators; ie that it's easier to produce 12V at 50A than to produce 6V at 100A from a generator, even though they make the same power.

It's probably moot today, since semiconductors (diodes) make alternators practical.

 

Well all of the above push they dont make lite up fuzzy dice in 6 volt any more , Its a crime.

 

All of the above. Always was told as a youngster that generators won't charge back at idle. For a while got real hard to find 6 volt batteries and bulbs etc. Like someone said, always hard to jump and the lights were more dim and fluctuated with the speed of the engine.

 

Back in the 1960's when a lot of people still drove early 50's vintage autos, the engines were hard to start because the starter wouldn't spin the engine fast enough. The easy fix was to install an eight volt battery and crank up the voltage regulator so that the generator would keep the battery charged. Those old Chevy six cylinder engines woud start right up after that. Also, the eight volt battery would really light up the six volt headlights on a dark night. The light bulbs didn't seem to mind the extra two volts and the starter really liked them.

JC