I have a 59PV with 6volt system. My starter regularly does not engage when I turn the key. The solenoid engages, but the starter doesn't have the kick to turn. I've been told that there is a 12volt battery available with a 6volt terminal also. With this I could give 12volts to the starter and 6volts to the rest of the electrics. Has anyone used one of these batteries, does it work, and if so where could I order one? Thanks.

Thanks for all the information and advice. I'll plan to check out my starter, and possibly buy a new 6volt battery with more cranking amps.

NP;

Good advice from all...it does sound like you have a solenoid or starter problem which you need to square away FIRST...in its day, 6V did work adequitely, so your not going to fix this by applying 12V to a stater with problems!

...about the only thing I'll add to the other advice is that, yes you COULD get a tapped battery made (I checked into it at a local oldtime batteryhouse), but then you would have to, as mentioned have a 12V charging system to charge the "upper half"...them you might as well go with a total 12V upgrade...I very carefully considered this "dual voltage/tapped battery" solution, when I worked closely with Bill Matuscak, on his 444 conversion *, but dropped it due to:

1. A non-standard battery would be costly...and not easy to replace, but maybe most importantly...
2. The battery currents for the lower (6V) half would NOT be equal to the upper (12V) half, which would be pretty bad for battery life.

...in the end, Bill went with a full upgrade (and is happy he did)...but that is your (first) decision...the fuel gauge and starter turned out not to present a big problem...12V on a 6V starter is nothing new (ask those vintage tractor "rigger" types)...the bullet proof Bosch starter (when OK) is overbuilt enough to put up with that just fine for a long time. The fuel gauge, and heater and wiper motors can be operated off 12V just fine with dropping resistors...all doable.

* Info which should be of interest to you at: http://www.intelab.com/swem/Vintage_Volvo_6V_to12V_conversion.htm

Cheers

Hmm...a 12v battery with a 6 volt tap... that is indeed an interesting idea, but I don't think it is the cure to your troubles. Any 12 volt car battery is basically just a series of 2 volt cells, and theoretically you could tap into 2v, 4v, 6v, etc... but of course you still need to charge at the cumulative 12v (or 14ish), so you would need a 12 volt charging system. And if you are changing the charging system to 12v, you might as well just change the whole electrical system.

Also,you can dump 12v into into your 6 volt starter, but it ain't good for it and it will fail prematurely... so I would avoid doing that except in emergencies.

One question.... does the 6 volt B16 starter have an electric solenoid that kicks the gear in? Or is the solenoid (relay) in a remote place and the gear is kicked in by a centrifugal mechanism engaged by the starter itself spinning? As I recall, it is the latter of the two, and the whole problem might just be a bad solenoid/relay (bad contacts, but perhaps cleanable as George said)... probably on the firewall somewhere.

Them relays are probably easy to find for 6v applications... that is how most British cars are set up, and 6 volt British car parts a easy to find.

IF it does come down to a starter rebuild, you will be somewhat hard pressed to find one. But, assuming you are in Nebraska... talk to your local agriculture coop and find out who folks go to for antique farm eqpt and tractor electrical service... Them are the folks who are real fixers...not just parts replacers, and they would be able to rebuild that thing for a fraction of the cost of most import car type places... They may well stock your bad solenoid/relay as well.

Good luck with it!
-Matt

In my experience (mostly with US equipment) 6v starters work GREAT on
12 volts because they have heavier windings and the difference is that
they run much faster and thus start the engine a lot quicker. What
suffers is the battery (putting out maybe 2x the current normal for
6v or 4x the normal current for 12v) and, if the engine doesn't start
pretty quick, the starter does get pretty hot. The thing that saves
you is that the higher speed increases the inductive impedance and
limits the current somewhat. Usually if the engine starts reasonably
easily (when cranked fast enough) there is little or no problem.

I believe the 6v Bosch starter is a lot like the one on the earliest
B18s, the ones with the angled solenoid terminals. I don't remember
any of mine (in the late 60s) having a starter relay/solenoid mounted
elsewhere. Mine were 58, 59 and 60 models, owned in reverse order.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

I tend to agree with previous posting that, assuming everything is in good working condition, a 6V system will be sufficient in most cases. However, in the early eighties when a -59 544 used to be my daily driver, I once had to find a special solution one morning when it was freezing -32 C outside (January in the Norwegian mountains). The fix was to get the battery out, and leave it for a while in the heated sauna. And Voilà - the car started easily as any other normal cold day!

Look over your system components, change worn parts and you should not have any problems just keeping the 6V system.

I just replaced a four year old 6 volt battery with a Case tractor 6 volt, and it works fine. I considered getting an 8 volt battery which is supposed to work without converting bulbs etc., but the one they had at the tractor place was too big to fit the indentation on the firewall. Question: Can you adjust the voltage regulator output to get better headlights?
HJ

You'd have to be careful with raising the running voltage but continuing to use a 6 volt battery. If the voltage is too high the battery will overcharge and fry itself in short order. If you want to run higher voltages you'll have to get an 8 volt battery to go with it.

I put one in my '63 VW Beetle many years ago and FINALLY got the starter to work on more than a 50/50 success rate. And the original 6 volt bulbs all worked nice and brightly, didn't seem to shorten their life at all.

I think the wiring problems and the additional cost of the battery
would make this less than 100% desirable. How are you going to charge
the section between 6 and 12 volts?

Some things that might cause the problem you cite include the following:

Cable or ground connections not clean enough or tight enough
Arced solenoid contacts (you can take it apart and file them smooth)
Starter brushes or commutator dirty, worn or rough
Internal connections in the starter (or between the starter and solenoid)
dirty or loose

These engines are easy to crank and the starter, if in good repair, should
be more than adequate. I would recommend the biggest 6-volt battery that
will fit in the battery box, but this is more for long life than because
you need that many amps to crank the engine.

If you live in a place that is extremely cold (-20°F or colder on a regular
basis) you might consider an 8-volt battery. Most voltage regulators
can be adjusted to charge an 8-volt battery OK. They are used in tractors.

A better choice (assuming that, no matter what, you can't get the starter
to crank the engine reliably, which I think is probably not likely) would
be to convert the whole system to 12 volts. You'd have to change the generator
or get an alternator, and some of your instruments (especially the gas gauge),
not to mention ALL your light bulbs.

Remember that your 6 volt system was adequate in Sweden, where the car
was made. It gets MIGHTY cold there!
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma