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jdemaris
03-10-2006 05:54:26
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You can have too much - it's rare though in reply to Tim B from MA, 03-09-2006 16:28:06
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Just about in all situations, bigger is better. You're not going to push more amps into a starter no matter what you do, but you WILL raise the voltage. There is a direct relationship between voltage and cranking-RPM. Most 12 volt systems use a starter-motor designed to operate at 9-10- volts, so what we call a 12 volt starter is designed to operate at 9-10. In just about all cases that I'm acquainted with, starters are overbuilt and work fine if overvolted. Especially 6 volt starters hooked to 12 volts. But . . . I have had a few occasisons where a 12 volt starter would self-destruct with too much battery. For example- I have a 1964 SS Chevelle with a high-compression 327 engine. Back in the late 70s, I found it almost impossible to get it started either when the engine was hot, or the weather was cold. I then found a place selling high-torque reworked Delco starters - so I bought one. It worked much better. Now, since I worked at a Deere dealership, we always had old-but-good batteries laying around that I got for nothing. One winter day, the temp. went down to -35 degrees F, and the car wouldn't start. So, I had the bright idea of putting in two huge tractor batteries in the trunk, hooked in parallel, along with 00 cables. Well, the starter spun amazingly fast. Also, it engaged very fast - almost to the point it sounded destructive. The next cold morning, I went out to start it - this time it was -20 F, and at first it spun pretty fast, then the starter-drive blew to pieces. This started a go-around with the company I got it from. Ends up, they told me to check cranking voltage. I did, it was 11 volts. They said it would not hold together at the higher voltage and warranty was voided. Afterwards, I tried several different types of heavy-duty starter drives, but they all failed - one way or the other. I finally gave up, and went back to one automotive-sized 700 CCA battery. I also stopped driving the car in the winter - which was a stupid thing to do anyway. I realize that today, there's much better stuff on the market. I can probably buy a Chinese or Japanese made high-torque, gear-reduction starter and use all the battery I want. My point here is not to start an argument - like I said, problems from oversized batteries are rare. But, it can happen, and with more battery you might lower the amperage, not increase it, but the voltage, engagement, and cranking speed will go up.
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