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6 volt light using 12 volt battery

P

pinball

Well-known Member
If you have 6 volt head lights what will happen if you use a 12 volt battery to power them. norm
 
They will make a very bright light for 15 seconds or less. Hook them in series and all is well. Series is hard with the light housing grounded, the lamp needs to have independent terminals so the ground is on the last terminal only. In through one lamp, out to the next lamp through that one to ground. Jim
 
And both lights need to be the same if you run them in series. Otherwise one will get more than six volts, the other, less.
 
Simple they will get bright then blow out. Now if you run them in series they will last a lot longer but when one burns out both will go out
 
My 6volt lights have been running in series on my 12 volt 8N for about five years. The back work light is a 12 volt so only the front ones are in series.
 
If the "head lights" you are talking about are simple "bulbs" swapping in the 12-Volt equivalent will just cost a couple of bucks.

If "sealed beams" and you shop around a little, a couple of those won't "break the bank", either.
 
They will work for awhile and be VERY bright.

A friend of mine converted his 63, 2000 LCG Ford to 12V and did not change the lamps. He used them to mow after dark for several months before they burnt out.

He did not change the wiring so I expect there was noticeable voltage drop across the wiring.

Dean
 
12 volt bulbs are easier to find than 6 volt bulbs, and they make more light. Why not convert to 12 volt bulbs at the same time the battery and generator are changed over?
 
here's an image that may help.

Each light bulb uses up a little power. If you wire each bulb individually back to the battery (parallel) they each get full power. You can smash one and it has no effect on the other.

If you wire them in series - they're in a chain , each bulb using a little power from what's available in the chain (circuit), leaving less power available for any other bulbs in the circuit.

In this case, that's a desirable effect. Each of the 6v bulbs were designed to work with less power. With a 12v battery, you don't want full power flowing through them or they'll burn up. So having them in series, each one uses enough power to lower the overall power available to the other. They both live happily at reduced power.

But - if one burns out the circuit is broken, and the other stops working. That's the downside.

Hope that helps.
a210637.jpg
 
(quoted from post at 20:14:59 01/05/16) If you have 6 volt head lights what will happen if you use a 12 volt battery to power them. norm
Click to expand...

I just get a pair of 12v backup bulbs and swap out the 6v bulbs.
 
(quoted from post at 21:31:32 01/05/16) They will work for awhile and be VERY bright.

A friend of mine converted his 63, 2000 LCG Ford to 12V and did not change the lamps. He used them to mow after dark for several months before they burnt out.

He did not change the wiring so I expect there was noticeable voltage drop across the wiring.

Dean
Click to expand...
There should be less voltage drop on 6v wiring used on 12v. Typically 6v systems had larger wires to accommodate greater amperage to wind up with the same power (watts). 12 v lamps are probably higher wattage than old 6v lamps but 12v will still be less amperage.
 
Trying to run 6v bulbs on 12V will burn them out almost instantly. You can wire the bulbs in series and it will divide the 12v in half between the two. Only bad thing is if one burns out, the other one will go out too.
 
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