identifing 6v or 12 volt system ?

Husker44A

Well-known Member
Hey JohnT and others. I finally picked up my 51 Chevy. It doesnt have the stomp starter but a conventional Chevy starter with the solinoid on top. Ive been messing with it to get it ready to start. Been sitting in ghe weeds for ten yrs. Engine WAS STUCK. But the help from a Farmall 400 helped it break free. But tonight, i installed a 12 volt battery. Because,i noticed that theres a Ballast resister on the firewall and its wired to the POS to the coil. The NEG is going to the DISTRIBUTOR. So,is this 6 VOLT or 12 VOLT SYSTEM ? Maybe, the PO wired it 12 volts and didnt change the coil wires around ?? Thanks.
 
"So, is this 6 VOLT or 12 VOLT SYSTEM ?"

To see if it was converted from 6 to 12 volts take out one of the headlights and see if it's a 6 or 12 volt bulb.
 
Its hybrid nature is going to require a little more effort. If it was transplanted with only some parts changed and never put on the road, it could still have 6v lights. If alternator it is 90% chance an alternator at 12v negative ground. if generator, the part number will tell the tale. There may be writing on the coil. Jim
 
The easiest way is to look at the battery. If it has three caps on top it is a 6 volt. If it has 6 caps on top it is a 12 volt. The caps are individual fill points. You could also put a voltmeter on the posts and see.
 
"Because,i noticed that theres a Ballast resister on the firewall and its wired to the POS to the coil. The NEG is going to the DISTRIBUTOR. So,is this 6 VOLT or 12 VOLT SYSTEM" ?

Husker, Not being there and based on your post I can ONLY hazard a guess, but here goes:

1) If it was a 6 volt system originally it wouldn't have had an external ballast resistor so since it has one its my "guess" its been converted from 6 to 12 volts.

2) If you check the lights that may provide another clue and if you put 12 volts to 6 volt bulbs they will glow very bright very briefly lol then burn out.

3) That later model on board solenoid chevy starter instead of a stomp switch or saddle mounted push switch makes me think 12 volts, again a guess.

4) I assume its NOT an alternator conversion right?? (If so Id guess 12 Volts Neg Ground) If it has a Generator it may be labeled and some old Delco 6 volt were black tagged while 12 volt were red tagged.

5) If its a 6 volt coil with a ballast and obviously if it has 12 volt bulbs its 12 volts. If it has a 12 volt starter and you apply only 6 volts it will turn veryyyyyy slowwwwwwwwww.

John T
 
As been mentioned the 12 volt battery has 6 caps. Three caps on each cover. Hal
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John, it does have a Genny, will check the tag color and numbers. It did have a battery. Didnt bother to L@@K at it. Will check lights tonight. Thanks.
 
Is your '51 a car or a pickup/truck? If its a car, it had push button (solenoid) starter from new. If its a car and has been converted to 12V, the resistor probably runs most of the rest of the electrical system, except for the starter and coil. As a high school student, I drove a '51 Chevy (car) to school & a good friend had a '51 Chev pickup as his school "car". Its starting system was entirely different than the car's was, but the starter motors were the same. We converted the starter in my car to 12V using a resister to power everything except the coil and starter, thats how I know its possible to do this. You could use a solenoid type starter in a PU if you added a push button starter button. You might check the #'s on the tail light bulbs to see if the lights are 12V. That should give you a clue on the lighting part of system. If converted to 12V the radio and heater were probably left as 6V, hence the resister, as 12V would "fry" both, but all of the light bulbs could have been changed to 12V. Both of these vehicles originally came from the factory with 6V systems. (My $0.02 worth. jal-SD)
 
John T
Your item #3- Chev changed to push button/solenoid starter in 49 on cars. Don't remember on p-ups, but I have seen bigger trucks with floor starter as late as 57 models.
I had a 51 p-up with floor starter.
Willie
 

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