Thread: here's a tough one... 6v car

if i recal correctly delco alternators often have the regulator built in , they were popular for conversions
but you could stuff one in with a small battery and have a complete 12v system as well as the orig

a boost from a 12v car started my volks really fast.....

I seem to remember a long time ago seeing on a television car show about a battery that provided both 6v and 12v stock, so that you could use existing accessories but also add 12v ones as needed (brighter headlights, etc) without causing too many problems like a completely 6v -> 12v conversion.

I've been googling for an hour trying to find the thing, but I can't. I'll keep looking, but I know this product exists (or was planned at least).

If you really have your heart set leaving your car 6v...

You can get an aftermarket 12v alternator, and wire it up to a 12v battery...only hook your stereo equipment up to that....(leave your 6v system intact)...so you are running two alternators.

Assuming you have a neg ground system, there should be no problem using the common ground...the circuit would be complete between your 12v battery and alternator.

If it is a Positive ground system...then I would think it would work but really wouldn't want to find out...-6v to +12v = 18v differential...

If you could electrically isolate all the components, stereo, alternator, battery etc, then that would work also.

Take that jeep build up on the "show your stuff" section, it has a fiberglass body, so ALL the electrical components (off the engine) are isolated, and ground wires (battery negative)

I used to have a 6v VW, I looked at inverters etc, but found out I could simply drop a later 12v generator in, and change the bulbs...everything else would work fine...even the starter would work...only faster...I never did the conversion but that was due to lazyness...(I ran a stereo in the back seat off batteries )

You could also add a second 6V battery, wired series/parallel. This would allow you to keep the car system 6V, and wire the second battery to provide the 12V needed for your laptop.

Originally posted by AVGeek
You could also add a second 6V battery, wired series/parallel. This would allow you to keep the car system 6V, and wire the second battery to provide the 12V needed for your laptop.

While this sounds feasible at first glance, it is not. You would have to wire them first in parallel for charging. Then to extract the needed 12 volts you would need to wire them in series, which creates an instant short from positive to ground.

short = bad

Also remember that those combination 6/12 batteries generally get their 6V by tapping half the battery. This causes the battery to become internally unbalanced, thus meaning VERY SHORT life. The better ones use internal regulator circuits.

[i]I used to have a 6v VW, I looked at inverters etc, but found out I could simply drop a later 12v generator in, and change the bulbs...everything else would work fine...even the starter would work...only faster...I never did the conversion but that was due to lazyness...(I ran a stereo in the back seat off batteries ) [/B]

A friend of mine uses a 6v windshield viper on his 12v beach buggy, extremely fast
Isnt there any regulating circuit that takes 5-8volts?

You mean, regulate the 12v back down to 6v...I am sure there are such things...

no 6 to 12, since there is laptop chargers 12 to 19