1961 Opel Rekord PII convert 6 volts to 12 volts

[david the opel king]

I am think of changeing my PII from 6 volts to 12 volts any help

[wklopf]

A short while after I bought my '61 Rekord in '61, I was sometimes having trouble starting it in the winters in the mountains of central PA. What I did was to add a second six-volt battery and had the two connected together through a heavy duty knife switch. The switch let me switch from parallel to series and back. If it didn't want to start on a cold morning, I'd put them in series, giving me 12 volts which really made the starter come to attention. Since it started essentially instantly there was very little danger of damage to the starter. Lights, however burned out instantly if they were on during the 12 volt period. Otherwise, the batteries were in parallel (6 Volts) so that the generator could keep them both charged. Then I moved to a place where the winters were not so cold and long. Bill

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by david the opel king I am think of changeing my p11 from 6 volts to 12 volts any help

The simple fix for slow cranking 6 volt system is to install an 8 volt battery. They are used in farm equipment and about any battery supply warehouse should have them or be able to get them. With the 8 Volt battery it will boost your cranking power while allowing you to retain all your 6 volt lights and other things run by 6 volts on your car. Just a suggestion but it has worked very well for me in the past.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by david the opel king I am think of changing my p11 from 6 volts to 12 volts any help

All the bulbs would need to be changed to 12 volt. The wiring will be okay.

The starter and generator/alternator and voltage regulator will need to be upgraded to 12 volts. (or use later model 12v units)

You can use resistors to drop the voltage for the wipers, heater motor and horn. (just make sure the resistor's wattage is high enough for the load and there is sufficient cooling space around them as the will get hot)

[opelspyder]

I have lots of experience with 6-12V conversions. I would not recommend using the 8v tractor battery for various other reasons. I will mention this. If everything is right, a 6v system will work flawllessly. Usually the problem is dirty connections and undersized battery cables. But if you want to swap over to 12v, yes all the bulbs need to be relaced, and runtz voltage drop devises need to be wired into the gauges such as gas and temp. You will need to run an alternator, or at least a 12v generator,, and voltage regulator. If running an alternator, be careful of the voltage running into the ammeter. With aone wire alternator, you can wire up the voltage regulator to look like it is still hooked up, we just gut them out. Horn relay if applicable needs to be 12V, and radio needs to be changed over-a runtz voltage drop does not work well with these. There are other things with horns and such that may need to be isolated, or changed over. Heater motors as well. There is a small booklet out onthe conversion, probably find it Ebay for reasonable.
Keith

[hrcollinsjr]

Originally Posted by opelspyder If everything is right, a 6v system will work flawllessly. Usually the problem is dirty connections and undersized battery cables. Keith

As Opelspyder mentioned, if everything is 'right' on a 6V system it works fine. I observed an old farm mechanic work on a tractor that I was having troubles with. I think we tried to start it once and then he methodically started cleaning all electrical connections both negative and positive. When finished it started and ran!

Harold