8 Volt Battery

[Deleted User]

I was in upstate ny visiting and working on my 54 hh, and had a chance to see ray stevens a good old hudson guy lots of people know, a friend of mine took the pictures that were on the forum a few weeks ago, sad thing is thier all gone, ray has alot of great ideas he's not a computer guy though. one thing he told me to do is put in a 8 volt battery i found one at tractor supply an tryed it . it works great , the lights are brighter, starts faster, the only thing is the amp light comes on, but in the service manual it says you can adjust it, someone must have tryed the 8 volt batt. if so any feed back, i think it's a great alternative to 12 volt converstion and alot easier and cheaper.

Geoff

The reason for the amp light coming on will be that the generator will only be charging 7.2 to 7.5 volts, and this will give a potential difference between the battery and the generator. In the standard system, the light is connect to ground through the generator armature when you turn the ignition on. As the generator starts charging the generator and battery come up to the same voltage, hence no potential difference between the two. If you run an 8 volt battery with only 7.2 volts, this is the voltage that the battery will eventually stabilise at, so you will need to boost the generator output to around 9 volts. This is done by connecting a voltmeter between the "A" terminal of the regulator and ground, turn the headlamps on, and hold the engine at around equivalent 30 m.p.h. r.p.m., and adjust the spring anchor of the voltage coil by bending downwards to increase the tension. You must check it at normal operating temperature, with the cover on the regulator.

Geoff.

[Deleted User]

geoff, thanks for the info, i think the 8 volt battery is a great ideai what do you think. jeff

Jon B

If you're happy with the 8 volt battery, fine. But frankly I have been using six volt batteries for the last 35 years in my Hudson, with great success. You simply have to get a good one with sufficient cold cranking amps (mine sells for $70-80, has 780 CCA), PLUS you must make sure that all the connections are "bright and tight" and that the battery cable is the correct size for six volt. I never have a problem starting mine.



But, hey! If the eight volt works okay for you, then go with it!

Hudson Grandpa

Geoff is spot on.



I have a 54 cpe and my mechanic told me to get an 8 volt battery. All well and good. But if Geoff will correct me, your voltage regulator has to put out 9 to 9 1/2 volts, to keep that battery recharged. Nobody around here knows much about a voltage reg. Or how to fiddle with one. The Alternator people do, but at this point I am only putting out 7 1/2 volts. So that means I have to every now and then top it off with a charger to get some good cranking.

I think I should have stayed with a good 6 volt. I like the Optima. Expensive yes but average it out over the years. My amp light has burned out. Some people say it's because too much voltage going to the light. I don't know. But if I had my druthers again I would stay with 6 volts. Thats what they put in at the factory, and they worked well for years. Next battery will be a 6 volt. Sorry don't mean to be negative,

but if you know more about ignition electronics than I do, then you will be fine with an 8 volt. Oh yes as Jon B says, make sure you have the proper cables that Hudson recommends, and that they are new, Hooked up correctly, and tight, tight, tight. I'll tell you owning Hudson after all these years, and maintaining it is one helluva learning curve. Especially if you don't know to much about mechanical problems. I have found out I'm a fair body man, but thats it...

[Deleted User]

I use an Interstate 6v with 780cca and have had no problem in 3 years. Like Jon said, keep all connections tight and bright. I did make one concession, I put 2 headlight relays on the lights because I am thinking of changing to 6v halogen headlights and I want to take some of the load off of a 54 year old switch. I hid them behind the battery and you can't tell they are there unless you look closely.
Bob

wano1949

I agree completely that the secret to good starting is the cables, connections, etc. The six volt system was standard for a good many years in America automobiles, not just Hudsons; and gave good service.

Over the years, 50 at least in the case of my 49, the connections get corroded or rusty, the cables are often replaced with a thin 12 volt cable, charging connections detoriate. and any old 6v battery is switched in.

Add any of these up and you have a problem.

I lived in Michigan and drove a couple of Hudsons back in the early 70's. You would keep a good heavy battery and clean the connections a couple of times a year and especially in the fall. Unless it was so cold the oil thickened they would fire up and take you anywhere.

All vehicles of this era required regular and timely maintainence (including servicing the generator and regulator) to be dependable. This is often forgot by todays drivers, I got back into Hudsons a couple of years ago and am still learning new things and relearning what I once knew.

The 8 volt battery was a popular switch back in the day and easily cured some hard to start problems ( just get an old Motors manual to see how to set up the regulator for a higher charge The trade out was higher wear and shorter life on bulbs, generator and regulator.

Also make sure the ground from battery and engine to the body structure is clean and tight, this will cure a lot of come and go electrical problems in guages and such.

Finally, if you are going to start it, drive it enough to put the charge in the battery.

Unknown

I'm afraid I subscribe to the overload on components theory. 8 volts on a 6 volt system causes more problems than it fixes. Maintain your 6v system and it'll get the job done provided you maintain all other systems also. Been there done that in the early days in northern Minn. Gets pretty dang cold up on the iron range and never had a minutes trouble starting my Hudson that sat outside 24/7

Geoff

Once upon a time one could obtain bulbs which were rated 6 - 8 volts, but these days I can only find them marked 6 volts. I don't know if the specs have changed, but headlamp and tail-lamp bulbs would suffer from 9-1/2 volts input, which is what you would get if you are to keep the battery fully charged. The warning lamps will last longer, as they are only on until the engine fires up. I go along with the others, keep it as it was built, and get the system working as it should.

Geoff.