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6 volt or 12 volt?
#1
Wink 
I am looking at a Austin Seven that has been converted to 12 volt. My question is, is this a good or bad thing ?.
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#2
Depends on your plans and how well it has been done I think Martin.

Most people rarely take their cars out at night so uprated lights are scarcely necessary. If you intend a lot of night driving then there may be advantages - but now that LED bulbs are widely available I'm less convinced.

The downside is having to figure out a non-standard system, might prove awkward if problems arise.

Personally I am happy on 6V but I don't do a great deal of driving in the dark.

Either way I wouldn't let it put me off an otherwise nice car.
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#3
What he said..
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#4
Its not quite the same, but I converted a Citroen 2CV from 6v to 12v and have to say that the headlights are brighter, the charge from an alternator brilliant.
Questions are:- Is it a dynamo or dynamo converted to alternator ?
What is the battery installation like ?
What does the wiring look like ?
Would it limit the resale value as purists would want 6volt ?
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#5
I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor.If the car is otherwise good go for it.Not that difficult to go back to 6volt if you decide you don't like it.
The condition of the electrics generally is more important than what voltage it is.
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#6
as a stand alone I would agree with the others.

However I've 4 Sevens. 3 on the road. All 6v. A 12v car would actually put me off as the common spares I hold woukd not fit!
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#7
Backing up what is said above: it is fine unless you have problems which cannot easily be fixed.  

The car on its way to Tokyo is using an electronic module which is at least 25 years old, for which there are no spares available.
(One was found at this year's Beaulieu, new old stock but probably also 25 years old.)

Added to which it appears to have the only system in the country which requires the dynamo to be wired the way it is, so no system more in current use will work without mods to the dynamo.

Having said that, even with total failure of the control system, fall back is - don't use the dynamo, just charge the battery at regular intervals.   Which probably with careful use - hand starting, and LED bulbs and not too many miles a day - could be once a week with a 12 volt system.
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#8
I run the Nippy on 6 volts and often drive it at night too. As I only run the dynamo at about 5 amps charge there is obviously a discharge when running on the headlights at night / in bad weather etc.
I managed to buy a 170 amp hour battery which fits well in the battery box under the bonnet so that, assuming the battery is well charged before needing the lights, I have got about 10 hours continuous running before everything stops dead. I run 36 /36 headlights plus 5 watt side and tail lamps.
So far, this has worked quite well and I've not had to resort to the "find some street lights and run on the side lights for a bit" approach which is how I was introduced to Sevens 50 or so years ago.
Best wishes,
Nick
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#9
Thanks for the comments and advice. The wiring under the bonnet is a mess of brightly coloured wires all jumbled and badly routed. This is what made me ask the question about what's happened, the owner proudly told me it has been converted to 12 volt.
I think this is going to put me off from buying it.
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#10
Mainly as KC says.

The first car I built. I fitted a 12 volt system.

As far as lights, do remember a standard seven does NOT have pre focus headlamps. So 12 volts don't really make  you see further. They just make the 12 feet in front of you brighter.

In the past the 12 volt system was popular for better starting. Winter start was always very hard on 56 amp batteries. But today we have 85 amp exide batteries. Wich spin the starter better for longer. 

So the 12 volt system is not really needed.

Most fit it today because they think they are making improvements, but don't need it.

All my cars are now 6 volt.

If I bought a car on 12 volt, I'd leave it until it fails. Then put it back to 6 volt.

It gives you time in between to RESTORE good original 6 volt parts to go back on.

Tony.

Ps, do remember original parts are 80 to 95 years old, restored properly. They will do another 90.
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