Is there a way to tell a 6v starter from a 12v starter. I have two and there appears to be no markings on either. One came out of a 56 so should be a 12v. The other which is in better condition but its origin is uncertain.
Thanks

Mark

1956 Mercury M100
1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Delta, British Columbia

That is a good question and depending on year and vendor it could actuall be stamped in the casing. I used many 6 volt starters on my "Y,s" back in the '60's (The cars were '50's) to help them spin in the cold Wisconsin winters and always had them running right so they would fire right away so I never sat on the switch cranking them over and the 6 volt would last about as long as a 12 volt, so just put either in?????? Simple way to tell is that if they have the correct starter drive on each the 6 volt used a heavier duty drive.

312T85Bird

What?

I have worked on a few old Willys Jeeps that have been converted over to 12 volt but still keep the original 6 volt starter. I know that doesnt answer your question of how to tell which starter is which, just wanted to be another one to say a starter from a 6 volt system will work fine in a 12 volt system.

If you put the good one in and it spins real fast its probably the 6 volt. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

If you open the starter, 12 volt should have three field coils (two with heavy flat wire and one smaller coil) and 6 volt only two field coils.

Tero from Nurmijarvi, Finland

56 Country Sedan, 61 F-100, 61 F-600, 55 F-620, 52 Mercury

http://www.dlc.fi/~teros

http://www.y-block.info

http://www.hollowheads.net

http://www.fordnationals.net

Thanks, it is my plan to use the better (appearance) of the two starters as I too have read that the 6v starters can be used with 12v without issues for a long time. Actually where I grew up some farmers used 12 volts in the winter to start their 6v tractors, however growing up with a farmer (my Dad) they frequently do things that are necessary to get the job done and not necessarily good for the equipment. My first inclination is to do as Chuck suggests, and see if it runs fast.

Mark

1956 Mercury M100
1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Delta, British Columbia

I ran a 6/12V battery in a Cadillac that had a 6V system. The battery had two 6V sections with a solenoid that would switch the battery to 12V when starting but would switch back to 6V when running. The stock 6V generator would charge both halves of the battery at 6V. I never had a problem with the starter and it was still able to start on 6V when I eventually returned the starting system back to stock.

~DJ~ AKA "Bleach"
1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan 30K original miles