Using 8V battery for starting purposes in 6V system

1947 CC Rocket with a Chrysler ACE 6 cylinder with 6V electrical system. I use an 8V battery for better starting. Last season generator stopped working. Any chance this is due to the battery choice?

Hi! Yes, an eight volt battery can cause higher than usual currents in your generator and regulator. The field points in your regulator were set up for 6 V so it could properly limit the current an 8 V battery can confuse that and you will lose regulation. Some people get lucky and it works but typically you do get excessive currents. We convert many 6 V Chrysler generators to 12 V and use the proper low current regulator. This generators do not put out a lot of current because they are fully sealed in other words, they do not pass air through them to cool them . So the generators are derated Because they cannot get rid of the heat. I believe there are two solutions. One is two get your 6 V system tuned up so it works perfectly or convert to 12 V. Converting to 12 V gives you a lot of options for other features in your boat…

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Thank you!

My MCL is now 12 volt but I run a 6 volt starter. The engine turns over twice as fast making cold starts much easier.

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