question about installing a 12v item in a 6v car

[kidosteele]

ok i have a stereo that i want to put in my beetle and i don't really wanna convert to 12v, i have ran all the wires and have put a 12v gel cell battery in the back with the 6v battery... the only problem i'm seeing is charging the 12v batt. i dont want to have an extension cord to my car every night....


now the question.... has anyone every used a bike light generator as a charging system, off the motor or off the wheels on the car already? if so how should i go about doing that

or should i not waste my time and just convert to 12v??

thanks any help will be good help

[DrDarby]

Unless you have some huge amp etc you wont need to charge the battery every night. If you wire the radio so you can shut it completely off ( loose your presets) once a week of so is all you'll need. Radio shack and other places used to sell a 6/ / 12v power inverter that worked OK.
I don't know if they still do but I see them pop up all the time on E/B & our classified on the Samba.

(edit) Like this one
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=422194

Better buy it quick.

In the long run I think 12v is less headaches for a semi daily driver. I've converted all my old cars even the split window.
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Midwest Autosavers, Inc. Woodstock, IL

[bugntjw]

I would convert to 12v. Worried about the look, get a Porsche gernerator. I would put an Alt. in it, though.
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[kidosteele]

[glutamodo]

Here's a more modern (and expensive) inverter that puts out more juice. 10 amps continuous with 15 amp peaks. I think it would work OK if you used this in tandem with your gel battery. It's either this or convert to 12V.

http://www.powerstream.com/dc6-12.htm