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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 12v or 6v?

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 12v or 6v?     Rickauf 11-13-2015 @ 5:20 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 16 Joined: Nov 2015 Hi all. I inherited my fathers 1940 mercury. It has been sitting for some time and I have decided to "recommission" it. My father was a stickler for originality. But I know he purchased a 'Gel Battery' which is encased in an era correct black box made to look like a battery. I need to charge it.... And at some point in the future would like to add some fog lamps. I recall my father always saying a 12v battery was superior... But if he ran was "as is" it would fry the gauges, etc. I also know he spoke of a 'converter box???) that you could run a 12 volt battery but it would reduce the voltage to 6v for the gauges, radio, etc, I think (?) he wanted to run a 12 volt for better headlights. He is running a concourse correct generator..... So I guess my question is how can I figure if the battery is a 12V or 6V? (So I can set my battery charger correctly). Also where might the ' converter box be... And more importantly how do I know which devices are running off 6Volt and which ( if any ) are 12 volts? If it is all 6 volt... Should I just leave it that way? Car is cherry was1000 point Dearborn... I'm not putti in any hi power radios, etc But as stated I would like to place fog lamps . There is a nice set of unity re-pops for mercs.. For further information ... What size fog lamps for 40'5 are correct? What size sealed beams fit into the 40 housings .... Assuming they are 6 inch. 5. 3/4? I know I am rambling on.... But the car is quite important to the family, and I don't want to mess anything up Thanks much for any input. My father dialoged just about everything wiith the restoration... I've been pouring thru the logs\ receipts .... And have found nothing about the 12v/ 6V situation. Thanks again.... cliftford 11-13-2015 @ 6:22 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 If this is an optima gel battery, it will have 3 round cells if it is 6v and 6 cells if it is a 12V. if it is 6v, probably all the electric divices are also 6v. If it is 12, probably all the lights have been changed to 12v. This is admitedly guesswork on my part. but this will get you started, As stated determine which battery you have first. TomO 11-14-2015 @ 6:52 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 When the car was at the Grand National at Dearborn, it had a 6 volt battery. You say that it has a correct generator, so your battery is probably still 6 volts. Why don't you post photos of the battery, generator and voltage regulator? That will give us a better idea of what you have. The correct fog lights for a 40 Mercury, would be 6 volts with replaceable bulbs, not sealed beams. Here is a link to a topic that has photos of the correct fog lamps. https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=14&Topic=7334&keywords=fog%20lights Tom Model B 11-15-2015 @ 6:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 90 Joined: Oct 2009 Rick, Knowing your dad (Bob), It has the very much correct battery (6V) in it. I wouldn't change it to a 12 volt system. If the battery is dead and won't recharge, I would replace it with the Ford script battery that has the optima enclosed. Then enjoy it! These batteries are available in Cincinnati. Good luck with the Merc! Pat Drbrown 11-15-2015 @ 8:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 570 Joined: Nov 2013 Rickauf: Aside from the issue of using 6v or 12v, your initial post said the existing battery is a "Gel" battery, and that you wanted to know whether to set your battery charger at 6v or 12v. My concern is that I understand that one can not use a standard charger on a Gel battery. I recommend you verify if you have a Gel battery and consult others as to whether or not you can use your charger on that battery. MG 11-15-2015 @ 10:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1254 Joined: Nov 2009 Drbrown said "I understand that one can not use a standard charger on a Gel battery.".... I have never heard of this before. I have been using "standard" chargers on my Optima batteries for years. Can you point me to some documentation on this? len47merc 11-16-2015 @ 7:35 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Optima batteries are AGMs (Absorbant Glass Mat), not Gel Cells. To my knowledge, all manufacturers of vintage, period correct auto batteries in 'era correct black boxes' have used and continue to use Optima batteries inside the cases. Were I in your position Rickauf I would assume an Optima (AGM) battery is inside your case. Most battery chargers made for the last decade or so have setting selections for 'STANDARD', 'AGM' and 'GEL CELL'. Chargers with AGM settings will adjust amperage and voltage to obtain the best charging performance for your Optima. 6V standard and/or automatic chargers will work on an AGM/Optima battery as well though they may not fully charge the battery to its absolute full potential (though likely adequate to start the car). Note that if the battery appears not to 'take a charge' - Most chargers have sensors that, should the charger not sense adequate 'potential' or 'voltage' in a battery, will not charge the battery for safety reasons (hence the commonly heard '...it will not take a chage...' comments). This can be resolved, if it is a problem for you, by placing an adequately charged battery in parallel to your battery using a set of jumper cables. After an hour or so of charging you should be able to disconnect the jumpers and continue charging as you normally would. Low and slow is the best advice for a significantly discharged battery. Charge it fully before starting the car - definitely recommend not using your generator to 'top it off'. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 11-16-15 @ 8:18 AM Drbrown 11-16-2015 @ 6:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 570 Joined: Nov 2013 MG: I said "I understand" because I based my comment on my personal experience: to wit .... I have a 25 year old standard charger. Two years ago I was shopping for a battery for our family VW wagon at Sear Roebuck. The battery tech told me that if I bought one of their "Gel" batteries that I could not use my standard charger on it. I reasonably assumed he knew what he was talking about and in buying a standard battery I paid a lower price. P.S. I did not buy a Gel battery because of the tech's statement. Sears just recently told me they are no longer selling Gel batteries. TomO 11-17-2015 @ 7:29 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 Rick, if you do not want to post photos of the battery, you can measure the voltage in the battery. If it reads 5 volts, it is a 6 volt dead battery, if it reads 10 volts, it is a 12 volt dead battery. If it reads below or between the above voltages, the battery is no good and should be replaced. Tom

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