Posted by Matt Wilson on Sunday, September 01, 2002 at 11:53PM :
In Reply to: 6 volt vs 12 volt posted by Junkyard dog on Sunday, September 01, 2002 at 7:54PM :
It's not all that difficult. As Dave said, you just need to:
1) Replace your bulbs with 12-volt units, including the dash lights. There are 12-volt equivalents to all the 6-volt bulbs in your truck.
2) If you want the original generator appearance, you can have your 6-volt generator converted to produce 12-volts by a starter/generator shop. This is what I did, and it works great, but it looks original.
3) You need to get a 12-volt regulator to go along with your 12-volt system.
4) You need a ballast resistor to go in the primary wire (feed line) going to the 12-volt coil. The part number was Standard brand RU-10 (or RU-100?).
5) You need a resistor or reducer to put in one of the fuel gage wires (I don't remember which one at the moment). Part number is Standard RU-100 or RU-10 (don't remember, but it's just the opposite number to the one you use on the coil).
6) The 6-volt horn and starter will work fine on 12 volts. The horn will just be louder and the starter will just turn faster, but you have to make sure not to lay on the horn for too long, or step on the starter for too long, or else you will burn them up.
7) The stock wiring will work fine on 12 volts, as long as the wiring is in good shape. The reason it will work fine is because the 6-volt wiring is much heavier duty (thicker) than 12-volt wiring. I ordered a complete wiring harness from Vintage Wiring of Maine. It wasn't a perfect fit, but nearly so, and that way, the insulation and wiring is all in good shape.
8) You need to reverse the wires going to the ammeter, or else it will read backwards. But be very careful when you are removing these wires, as the nuts are sometimes stuck firm to the terminals, and you can easily ruin an ammeter by twisting off the terminals inside the ammeter. If you feel much resistance, then just leave them as they are and get used to reading the ammeter backwards.
9) You have to hook up all the electrical components, including the generator and regulator, then you have to polarize the charging system by running a wire from the "BAT" terminal on the regulator to the "ARM" terminal on the regulator for a maximum of 2 seconds. The instruction sheet that came with my regulator calls for an 8" long wire of 1/16" diameter to be used for the polarizing. You may see a spark, but this is ok.
Good luck,
Matt
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