This particular switch must have been an aftermarket accessory in the mid-fifties. The wire used on it was PVC insulated with a brown cloth braid over it. It also has the nice feature of having a wheel on it that would self-cancel the switch. The front of the switch says “Auto Lamp, Chicago”.
Interestingly enough once opened the switch mechanism was a typical ford switch. I have provided a wiring diagram below for anyone who has this particular switch.

The rubber wheel on the switch was in bad shape. I sprayed the rubber heavily with silicon spray. After letting the silicon sit for a few hours the rubber was a lot softer. After that I applied some brushable electrical tape over the wheel to seal it and provide an extra layer of contact material.

I charged the customer $60 to rewire this. I ran all new wire right to the switch, rebraided it and even put a connector on the other end so it matched perfectly to the harness we made him. So after a little work the customer has a nice rewired vintage piece on his steering column instead of the clunky aftermarket pieces available now.

The new younger hobbiests don’t go to the swap meets as earnestly as
those who came before them, but they shine in the using computer search
engines and a web site “will help me find that part” department.

These hidden restorers are the future of the antique,classic car and
truck restoration hobby. You don’t see them, but my telephone is
showing me they are appearing in greater numbers every day.

Positive ground systems have a lot more problems with corrosion at the grounding points than negative ground systems. The reason for this is because electrons actually move from negative to positive. In a positive ground system this means that the electricity is flowing from the softer metal (copper) to a harder metal (steel). This causes quite a bit of electrolysis and quickly degrades the connection.

The solution to this is a simple can of battery no-corrode spray available through YnZ’s or at your local parts store usually for around $10. If you are installing a new wire harness simply spray a little on any place the wire connects to ground. If you are trying to work with old wiring make sure to clean any ground connections thoroughly first. It may also be useful to clean and spray any points where ground is critical like bolts that connect light housings to the body or where the instrument cluster connects to the dash.

The last positive ground vehicle that I restored was my 1954 Bentley. I used this method religiously and while I do not currently own the vehicle I did not have a single electrical problem in 20 years. Apparently this chemical wards off the prince of darkness as well as corrosion.

So I couldn’t talk you into keeping you original electrical system 6 volts(see 6 to 12 Volt Conversion Part I). The following are points you will have to address in completing your conversion to 12 volts:

How am I going to create 12 volts of potential?

1.     Send your original generator out and have it re-wound for 12 Volts

2.     Buy a NOS  or used 12 volt generator

3.     Switch to an alternator

a.   One wire alternator (The engine has to reach 900-1400 RPM before many one wire alternators will begin charging. Most do not charge at idle!)

b.   Two or three wire alternator that uses an ignition excite circuit (has much better charge at idle speeds)

c.   You could consider our new PowerGEN alternators they look like the original generator and produce ~30 Amps at idle.

Do I need to change light bulbs?

All bulbs in the car need to be changed from 6 volt to 12 volt.

Here are some common 6 Volt bulbs and their 12 volt alternate parts:

When changing a bulb you need to consider the candlepower(brightness), Globe size and base. Some bases have pins that are on the same level (equal J-slot) and some are staggered (unequal J-slot).

What other electrical components do I need to change from 6 to 12 volts?

1.     All circuit breakers - sometimes attached to a switch or standing alone.

2.     Horn relays - it is possible to use a voltage reducer on the switch terminal of the relay. The points should be able to take the voltage.

3.     Overdrive Relay - same workaround as the horn relay

4.     Voltage Regulator - if using a generator

5.     Heater/defroster motors - you can use a voltage reducer here as well

6.     Electrical gauges i.e. Engine temperature, gas gauge, oil pressure.  - these gauges can be rebuilt to work with 12 Volts at a reputable gauge shop or you can use a voltage reducer on the power side of the gauge.

7.     Change all fuses in the car - replace all the fuses with ones with a lower amperage rating. When you double the voltage you cut the current (the amount of electricity actually flowing through the circuit) in half. You can apply this to which fuses you select.

8.     Most classic cars have a thermostatic relay built into the light switch. The old 6 volt light switch should work but it may not provide adequate protection. Consider replacing the circuit breaker on the switch, replacing the switch, or adding some extra protection.

9.     Replace the starter.  - the 6 volt starter will work with 12 volts for a while (30-40 thousand starts) but it will eventually burn itself up.

My car was positive ground what problem does this pose?

1.     You must switch to negative ground if you use 12 volt equipment originally made for American cars

2.     12 volt positive ground regulators and relays can be found at many british parts suppliers. (Some British cars were positive ground all the way up to the mid 60’s)

3.     On most gauges you can simply reverse the wires to keep them from reading backwards. Some gas gauges however, will burn up if hooked up backwards and will require being rebuilt or replaced.

4.     The ammeter may read backwards. This can be corrected by running the wire through the opposite direction on loop type ammeters or switching wire locations on the back of a full flow ammeter.

What about the wiring?

A 6 volt system actually draws more current than a 12 volt system. Therefore, the original wire is now thicker than it needs to be. You can always go bigger with wire but not smaller. You may need to modify an original harness to work with an alternator.  However, if you buy the wire harness from YnZ’s we can custom build it to fit your application.

There are a few other tricks that people have used to convert to a 12 Volt system. We do not recommend these methods.

Use two six volt batteries in series with a battery isolator.

Use a 6/12 battery - it has 3 posts: negative, +6Volts and +12Volts

Add a SECOND alternator for charging a second 12 Volt battery.

I hope this has been useful. We take a lot of calls at YnZ’s from people who tried to convert their car to 12 volts and forgot something. We help a lot of people out with burned out gas gauges! Just make sure if you are converting the car to 12 volts that you weigh all the options and make sure you didn’t leave anything out.

Powermaster has created a new line of alternators called PowerGENs. These alternators look almost exactly like an old generator but house a powerful 75 Amp alternator. We took a look at one of the first ones to come through our door and run it through its rounds.

Look and Feel
The PowerGEN alternator certainly looked exactly like the original generator it is designed to replace. It even had the manufacturers tag in the original location. Except in this instance is says “PowerGEN” instead of “Delco”. All in all it looks like a high quality piece of machinery.

Performance
At 75Amps this alternator provides ample power to run a standard car, even with an upgraded radio. The alternator comes with a “proof of performance tag” showing you exactly what kind of performance the alternator put out when tested. One of the problems when converting to an alternator is the idle RPM. Most one-wire alternators do not even start charging until the alternator reaches around 3000 RPM (alternator RPM is usually 3X engine RPM). The PowerGEN produces between 32-50 amps at idle speeds.

Installation
When compared with the original generator we were thoroughly impressed with how close the alternator matched. A few points were noted in the instructions that came with the alternator
1.    A good ground is necessary on all PowerGENs especially the black powder coated units. When we installed the alternator we just used the original ground wire that went from the generator to one of the voltage regulator mounting bolts.
2.    This alternator ends up being more of a pull on the engine than the original Generator so you can’t have as much slop in the belt. A ½” deflection in the belt is the maximum recommended.
There are 10 different types of PowerGEN alternators available making it almost a guarantee that one will fit your application.

Price
At $395-$420 the PowerGEN doesn’t seem like the cheapest charging solution but let’s consider some of the other options:
1.    6 Volt Alternator ~ $300 You can buy 6 Volt alternators for around $200 but then you have to buy a mounting bracket. The PowerGEN puts out more amperage than any other 6 Volt alternators and has the added bonus of looking original and bolting into the original position.
2.    12 Volt Alternator – you can get these for cheaper than the 6 Volt alternators but then you have to worry about mounting again.
3.    Generator conversion service ~$400-$700 – There are a few companies out there that will take your original generator and convert it to a 12 or 6 Volt alternator. These services are expensive and require your original generator.
So if you are on a budget and your car is 12 Volts then it might make sense to use a standard GM alternator instead of the PowerGEN. If a mechanic is installing the alternator you could actually save some money in labor using the PowerGEN since it is a direct bolt in replacement. For 6 Volt applications and areas where a vintage look is desired the PowerGEN is an excellent choice.

Caveats
One of the things that keep this alternator from being a true bolt in replacement is the lack of an indicator lamp circuit. Some cars used the armature wire on the generator to light an indicator light or in the case of Buick and Packard it was used to trigger the starting relay. The indicator lamp circuit in the newer alternators can be used to replace this functionality. We are currently talking with Powermaster representatives and we hope that this will be an option available in future revisions of the product.

Conclusion

Powermaster has definitely produced a winner with the PowerGEN line of alternators. It’s rare that you get a product that appeals to both the restoration and hot rod markets. The performance speaks for itself as well: 75 amps in place of a generator that maybe put out 30 amps at peak.

• OEM replacement alternators
• Racing Alternators
• PowerGEN – a NEW bolt in replacement for your 6 or 12 Volt generator

At YnZ’s people are always asking us what type of alternator they should use on their vehicle. Now rather than shopping around you can buy the alternator with your wiring. If you buy the alternator from us we also give you credit toward custom modifying your wire harness to work with your specific alternator.

I want starting power!

Use an Optima 1000 cold cranking amp battery. They are available in 6 volts and provide plenty of starting power

What if I need a jump start?

Are you out with other 6 volt cars? Carry jumper cables. If not carry a second 6V battery in the trunk and you can jump yourself!

I want a GPS or a CD player and my IPOD doesn’t run on 6 Volts.

Go buy a 6 to 12 volt solid state DC to DC converter there are even inverter/converters if your car is positive ground. Then run your specific application on that.

Well my lights are not bright enough how am I going to get my lights brighter with 6 volts?

If new copper wire doesn’t give you more amperage to your headlights then try the following:

1. use 6 volt halogen lights
2. use 6 volt headlight relays
3. use a modern reflective surface on your old silvered reflectors
4. use 6 volt LED lights

What if I want to add safety features like turn signals?

6 Volt lights are easy enough to come by. You can even go to http://www.ynzyesterdaysparts.comand have a wire harness custom built with turn signal wiring. They can even make your park lights and brake lights blink so you do not have to add any extra lights or change the car in any way. They can provide a switch that mounts on the steering column or one that can be hidden so no one knows that you have added turn signals.

If the resale value of your car is important or if you want to show your car in concours then it is best to leave it original. If this doesn’t matter to you then you still have to weigh the cost/benefit of staying 6 Volts and using the workarounds mentioned above or doing the tedious task of converting the car to 12 volts.

Next time… Ok I think I still want to convert to 12 volts what do I need to do?