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6 volt starter - 12 volt battery.

rustred

rustred

Well-known Member
here is the outcome.
cvphoto54229.jpg

changed out the starter on my brothers super w6 ta today. some one really did some modifications to that tractor. not bad job really. put on p.s. with and orbit motor. removed original steering box. shortened the clutch and brake pedals, shortened the gas tank, installed ford p. s. pump. and cyl on front. and of course has an alternator. i said why they pick a TA model to spoil. plus it has a loader on it. she is for sale now.
 
All my tractors are 12 volts and I have yet to have any starter problem like that and most have been working on 12 volts since before I got them and most I have had 10-35 years
 
Tens of thousands of these have run for decades.

I do not dispute it adds the the wear, but it is minimal, and the new starter drive prevents this.
 
Yes, operating a 6V starter with a 12V battery is hard on starter drives and ring gears but such is not the only potential outcome.

Close friend of mine overhauled starters, generators, etc., for over 60 years before passing. Over the years he showed me many starters with broken nose cones. All were 6V starters and had been operated with 12 V batteries.

Dean
 
And if you want it to spin a bit slower just reduce the size of the cable hooked to the starter. I changed the cable on our H to maybe a 4 or 6 size and it turns just fine and is easier on the drive. That is one of the places George TH was right about.
 
My DC has been running on 12v since the 80s. Had to change the starter this summer, but that was because the battery went bad and burned it.
 
I guess you pick your poison, starting on 6 volts with a modified engine really overloads the starter winding. Starting our "Power Blocked" A on 6 volts used to cause smoke to roll out of the starter and the battery needed to be in top shape or no start. Same stater on 12 volts no smoke. Low voltage will damage a starter almost every time.
 
(quoted from post at 06:57:06 08/26/20) I'm not a big fan of 6 to 12 after all the world ran fine on 6 volt for years
Click to expand...

Not really. There would not have been incentive for improvement if the world was fine on 6.

If you had time to fiddle with keeping your engine in tip top shape you were good, but most working folks just wanted to start the engine and get thier work done. Hobbyists and collectors don't mind fooling with the engine all the time but it is a chore to workng farmers.
 
When I was a used tractor dealer I saw (plus used myself) a ton of 6 volt starters with 12 volt batteries that never had a problem HOWEVER THATS NOT TO SAY IT CANT BE TOUGH ON THEM ESPECIALLY STARTER DRIVES AND GEARS while it may take a long time to suffer damage. When I made such a conversion I used a relative light duty 12 volt battery and/or smaller then normal battery cables to soften the blow and potential damage.

John T
 
The automotive changeover from 6V to 12V was an engineering decision implemented to save copper costs and to allow easier application of semiconductor accessories rather than any inherent deficiencies of the
long standard 6V system. Industrial applications followed suit.

Dean
 
Most of the six volt starters I've seen using twelve volts to start work fine and never give a problem. I have one on the Cockshutt 50 that has always been a "grinder" when I hit the starter button. Seems to me it has always been that way. Had a new starter drive in it but that did not help for long. We also had the ring gear off the flywheel, reversed it and that helped for a while but eventually its back to grinding the gears every start.
On the other hand, my International trucks, former six volt system, now running on twelve, will work perfect every start.
The biggest advantage I see to switching to 12 volts is the convenience of being able to borrow a battery from any other 12 volt vehicle. If the old six volt battery suddenly fails and its the only one on the farm, I'm stuck waiting for a new six volt battery.
 
Over the years I have seen and or replaced quite a few starter drives on vehicles that came with factory 12 volt starting systems.

Be it a 6 volt, 12 volt, 24 volt or a 6 to 12 volt conversion the fact of the matter is tooth damage on a drive gear can and is caused by;

-seized up drive clutch
-worn nose cone bushing
-improperly installed or shimmed starter
-trying to engage starter when engine is already running
-worn or bent fork arm and or pivots
-broken loose or missing starter mounting bolts
-attempting to start engine with poor or low battery voltage to starter
-improper starting fluid usage and probably a dozen other reasons.

I have worked on a significant number of engines on equipment and vehicles that were converted from 6 volt to 12 volt and honestly I have seen way more starter problems on engines that came from the factory with 12 volt systems than ones that were converted over from 6 volt.

It's real easy to put the blame on the voltage but in reality the low number of failures on conversions simply do not support it.
 
Sorry, but the automotive changeover from 6V to 12V was indeed made to reduce the need for expensive copper and to facilitate introduction of accessories using semiconductors.

Decades ago, while a young design engineer at GM, I sat on a committee concerned with automotive communication and wireing. Some of the senior members of the committee had been involved with the changover
decades before.

You may believe what you choose to believe.

Dean
 
Broken nose cones can be caused by muiltiple issues including operation of a 6V starter from a 12V source.

Dean
 
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