Inliners International Forums General Discussion Electrical 37 Chevy

I have a '37 Chevy Coupe, bone stock with 216 and 6 volt system. Runs good & starts good when cold. Starts hard after engine is hot. I installed an 8 volt battery. Starts good cold & starts good hot. Everything seemed fine. I ran it after dark to check the lights. I burnt out the low beams after about 10 minutes. I hit the brights and about 10 minutes later I burnt those too. A couple minutes later I slowed down for a turn and the engine cut out several times when I started to accelerate. Another mile down the road I slowed for another turn and she died. Turns over very well but will not start. I suspect the coil is bad.
Are the head lights and the ignition problem both related the the 8 volt battery? Is the head light problem ralated to the 8 volt battery and the bad coil just a coincidence? Do I need to make any other changes to use the 8 volt battery?

Thanks,
Roger

I'd say, lose the 8 volt battery and replace the coil. Odds are, your coil was on its last legs and wasn't able to provide enough voltage on a hot start. The 8 volt battery just did to the coil what it did to the lights. I don't know if your car has a voltage regulator or a cut-out but that might need looking into.
8 volt batteries, IMHO, are just a band-aid for an ailing 6 volt system. They make everything seem better, for a LITTLE while.
6 volt systems, like 12 volt systems, work fine when everything is hunkydory. Mine was still working great when I switched to 12 volt. I just wanted decent FM and to be able to get all my lamps at Wal-Mart

Mike

The 8v Batt. is fine I would be checking the regulatorand the Gen. The coil could have been just on it's last legs. Head lights?? 7.-7.5 is basic GM is up to 8 volts and 25-40 amps. and that depended on options. Hope this helps. }[oooooo]



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NovaMan/Twisted6/Larry

I don't know how important having Chevy parts on your car is to you, but VW Bug 6 and 12 volt coils have internal resistors and so you can get rid of one more part that could leave you somewhere away from home some night.
For what it is worth to you...

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'98 Jeep Cherokee, 4.0
'56 Willys P/U, 226L