Having 6 volt problems with the jeep. Need your help

Hello wise forum


I am having one of those jeep problems that have me stumped.

Let me tell you what I did different to my 56 Cj5 with a 6 volt system that may have caused the problem.

It was starting real slow. And if it did not start on the first couple of times, the battery would run down.

A friend suggested putting an 8 volt tractor battery on it. I did and it ran great for about a week.

Now it just runs about a minute and shuts down like someone turned the key off. I am suspecting the coil. However the starter won’t turn it over the motor after it stops. If I let sit a few minutes, it will eventually start again and run for about a minute. Kind of like something has to cool off.

At first I though the coil may be going south. But why would the battery not turn over the motor. Do you think the voltage regulator could be causing a short somewhere.

Tonight, I started the jeep and it ran it at fairly fast idle ( guessing 1,500 rpms) And it did the same thing. She shuts down after about a minute or running. I let it sit a few minutes and hooked up my voltage meter on the battery. I restarted the motor. It was first reading about 9 volts. Then it jumped to about 10.5 volts and then motor shut down again. I also noticed when I drove it with the headlights on, they would get real bright, just before the motor would die.

Any thoughts?

I am thinking of changing it over to 12 volts using a delco one wire alternator. However I really would prefer to keep it the stock 6 volt system.
Thanks for our help.

Cliff

 

I am by no means an electrical wizard but if the lights get real bright just before she takes her nap, I would say something is up with that regulator. Go back to a 6V battery. Like Granville said, always ask yerself, Who worked on this thing last and what did they do? I have found this to be valuable advice. And I'm usually the culprit.

 

A) starting real slow/would not start/battery runs down
this would indicate a charging system problem:
1) bad/weak battery; bad/dirty cables; bad ground
2) bad voltage regulator; regulator not grounded; wiring/polarity issue
3) bad generator; wiring issues

B) runs about 1 minute/then shuts down
1) even if the coil were the culprit, the starter should still turn over
2)why won't the starter turn over; bad/dirty connection/ground.
does the cable to the starter get hot?
this is very interesting!

C) voltage regulator shorting
1) well maybe; not the wiring, but the contacts can stick, causing
overcharging (bright lights); by the same token, stuck contacts
could cause the battery to draw down.

I wonder if you are having a coil/points/condenser issue?
only other thing I can think of is bad voltage regulator, which may have been bad to begin with.

 

6 volt systems are notoriously poor preformers. Move up to a 12 volt AC delco system. If you don't want to change everything out, you can keep most of the 6V system intact using a step down resistor. These can be had cheaply at any VW shop or farm tractor parts house(yea, these people learned about this problem a while ago). Retain your 6v starter, but step up to the 12v coil(don't forget a ballast resistor). You will see a huge difference, and if you use the step down resistor, you can easly convert back to 6v if you want.

 

Just want to say thanks to all of you for your wisdom. Looks like it might be time to do the 12 volt conversion.

I sincerely appreciate the time each of you took to respond. All of you had some really good thoughts worth reading. Very helpful!

Thanks
Cliff