Is it possible to jump a 6 volt battery with a......

[mr matt]

Maybe its early........I don't understand that

Matt

[Riff Raff]

[swanlakers]

switching pos to neg is BAD advice. You should be ok with connecting 12 to 6 if the 12v car is off. The battery will see only 12v or a little less -due to cable resistance. If the 12v car is running then the 6v battery sees about 14+ volts and at full amps, greatly increasing the danger. Also connect the 6v first and make the 12v ground (neg) connection last. That way you or your buddy are not near the 6v battery, which is the one thats going to burst. If you connect the 12v neg to the frame, not the terminal the 6v will see even less current - thus safer. A better solution is to buy a new 6v battery and make sure all the charging system is up to spec

[Levonbenelli]

I have a new 6v battery but it died and my charger died, so I hooked up an old tired 12v (reading about 11.9V) battery to it to try and charge the 6v by attaching with cheap cables...the batteries started to balance eachother out and they both ended at about 6.9 so...I don't think any damage occurred, and when I pulled the 12v battery off of the 6v, the 12v voltage went back up in voltage and my bus started up... I DEFINITELY would NOT switch polarities between batteries...that is about the worst advice I've ever heard...you and your "friend" should get back to the drawing board.
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[53 0val]

[Major Woody]

[Lance Gregory]

I bought a charger from the local parts store that switches to 6 volt to avoid this issue. It is the only sure way to go. All other methods are dangerous.

[mr matt]

Lance, be aware of that 6v switch, my charger has the same option ( 12V and 6V) the charger would for some reason get very hot while charging the 6v. It charged it, but it was alittle scary. Just a suggestion to monitor the charging for the first try

[Lance Gregory]

I have another one that we use on motorcycles and other stuff like that and it did get warm so I bought a better on made by Schumaker and it has a selection for 6 Volt 2 amp trickle charge. It worked awesome when I charged a brand new battery from Wolfsburg West that I ahd to add acid to. Had no charge at all when I got it and I let it charge for 6 hours , no heat issues.

[rarefinds]

[ericzziah]

Help! I have 6v car. It died in garage and i had a spare 12v battery in garage. Hooked up to the car and i went to crank over and something popped and now it wont turn over. Lights work, dash lights work. But nothing no click to turnover. What did i blow? I got a new charged 6v battery but i cant find what whent wronge. Debating on going 12v but want to find out to keep 6v .
Help is appreciated thanks.

[scottyrocks]

I jump started my 6v Beetle once, jumped off a 12v battery (12v car was not running). It spun very fast and started right up with no damage to anything, but after reading all this I don't know that I'd want to do it again.
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[VW_Jimbo]

[esde]

Now you did it, you've certainly fried the ECM and power lock module
The starter is fine running on 12v.
The key switch and light switches don't care
And the windshield wiper motor will tolerate it for a short while.. but nothing else will.
The charging system is tied to the generator warning light, but if you fried something there I think the starter would still work. Same with the ignition coil..
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[Bub]

You had a dead 6V because of a bad ground or connection- and that results in SUPER high resistance and the poor charging and electrical. It tried to cram twice the voltage through that bad connection.
One thing you can do is jack up the car and crawl under and physically 'jump' the starter (in neutral of course) and make sure the starter spins.
You jumped it with 12V and finally broke that bad connection- I'd start by checking grounds at each point between battery and starter. Probably physically disconnect and look at the physical condition of the cables and the ends.
Then check the connections at the back of the ignition switch- there are no diodes or capacitors or fancy electronic components that are SUPER sensitive to voltage, so there's very little damage you can do.

I've run complete 6V systems off 12V for short periods, but long enough to drive around a while- and other than a light bulb going out no problems occur.
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[KTPhil]

I used to occasionally jump my 6V Bug with a 12V battery or charger/starter. I was very quick on the draw to disconnect as soon as the engine caught. It didn't even blow out bulbs; I figure the dead 6V battery and cranking draw lowered the voltage down from 12V considerably. But I'm sure if I left it on for long (like a couple of seconds), I would have fried something (regulator, generator, electric choke, idle solenoid).

[qwerty]

Just read the old part of the thread and have some advice.

I wouldn't connect the 12V and 6V batteries for very long... just 15-30 seconds - just long enough to get the 6V car going...

When jumping from a 12V to a dead 6V battery, the 6V is likely to charge rapidly and it can out gas hydrogen, which can be ignited by a spark at the battery terminals/jumper cable clamp.

For this reason, it is better to connect the jumper cables at the 6V battery, then get someone to help you connect to the 12V source and disconnect quickly at the 12V end after car starts. This will eliminate the potential spark close to the 6V battery as you reach back to disconnect the cable.

Ask me how I know? When I was working at a gas station at age 16, I went out on a service call to a customer and promptly blew off the top off of their 6V battery....

[heimlich]

I've put a 12V charger on a 6V battery. You just don't want to overcharge it. The 12V charger won't stop.
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[rdwood]

Help! I have 6v car. It died in garage and i had a spare 12v battery in garage. Hooked up to the car and i went to crank over and something popped and now it wont turn over. Lights work, dash lights work. But nothing no click to turnover. What did i blow? I got a new charged 6v battery but i cant find what whent wronge. Debating on going 12v but want to find out to keep 6v .
Help is appreciated thanks

I wonder if you had a corroded ground strap (high resistance) from the transaxle to the chassis and the extra current from the 12V battery burned the strap open so now the negative side of the battery is not "connected" to the starter housing.

Let us know what you find out.
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