16V conversion

[LS6 Tommy]

I can't really see the advantage but...

-16V battery, don't ask me where to get one
-thicker wires, since you'd be running that much more amperage

Higher voltage = LOWER amperage.

Tommy

That's only if you plan on changing all the resistances in the circuit.

Voltage / Resistance = Amperage

12V / 4 ohm resistance as an example = 3 amps current draw

16V / 4 ohm resistance = 4 amp current draw

So you'd probably want to change that to a 5 ohm resistor. You can see how that might get time consuming lol

You're right! I'm a genius. #-o I was thinking of when you run a 208/230-480 motor on the 480 taps you halve the amperage of the 230 taps, but it's because you're using the higher impedance winding, not just because you increased the potential. Big Dummy...

Thanks for correcting me. I'm getting a fuzzy brain in my old age.

Tommy

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Our bus mechanic just asked me about what size wire he needed for lauxilliary lights & it made me realize that I missed one point- you use a different formula for Ohm's Law to figure amperage draw from wattage. It's Amperage = Wattage / Volts, so higher voltage on lights does give you lower amperage. I was right for lights, but not much else... :lol:

Tommy

 

[Doober]

What he was saying though is as you increase voltage, unless you run a higher resistance at the same point the current draw will be higher.
Take a 55w bulb at "12v" - aka 14.4v - its resistance will be about 3.75 ohms. To get the same light output from that circuit the resistance will have to go up - to about 4.6 ohms. If you run that same bulb at 16v you'll probably be running it at almost 70w... much brighter, but bulb life will be quite a bit shorter and it may stress the current wiring.

 

[grizwald]

well this confirmed one thing for sure...i know NOTHING about electricity!! :lol:

 

[10secBu]

I run 16V......In a race car Ill never run 12V again.....

Nothing needs to be done to make the change over as far as I know,I didn't change anything ...
Everything runs better though,IGN,PUMPS,NOIDS,STARTER ETC....

X10

I'm running the Powermaster D1000 battery and use their top model 12/16 volt charger. Awesome setup. No alternator.

You can get LED bulbs to replace the tail lights, etc if blowing is an issue which it hasn't been for me yet.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

What he was saying though is as you increase voltage, unless you run a higher resistance at the same point the current draw will be higher.
Take a 55w bulb at "12v" - aka 14.4v - its resistance will be about 3.75 ohms. To get the same light output from that circuit the resistance will have to go up - to about 4.6 ohms. If you run that same bulb at 16v you'll probably be running it at almost 70w... much brighter, but bulb life will be quite a bit shorter and it may stress the current wiring.

After I read your post it made me take a third look at things & what I found out was that the formula listed in our fleet mechanic's electrical troubleshooting book is WRONG!! [-X :lol: I apologize if I misled anyone. From now on I promise I will only trust my own reference materials!! :lol:

Increasing voltage does indeed increase current draw.

Tommy