Ron Francis Wiring can help upgrade a 6 volt electrical system without the cost of switching to a 12 volt system.

One of the more common dilemmas in traditional hot rodding is keeping the stock 6 volt electrical system or switching over to a modern 12 volt system. Somewhere in the 1955 timeframe, auto manufacturers saw higher compression engines and more accessories like air conditioning being requested by consumers. Knowing that a higher capacity electrical system would be needed to run these accessories and start these higher horsepower engines, a switch to 12 volt electrical systems became standard.

If you are lucky enough to pick up a project car with a stock 6 volt system, your first thought will most likely be related to changing to a modern electrical system. Upgrading from 6 volt to 12 volt can be expensive and complicated. Components like wiring, generators, battery, coil, gauges, bulbs, wiper motors, starters and practically any other electrical component needs to be changed in order to do the upgrade correctly.

Do you really need to switch?

It depends. If your car only has headlights, tail lamps, a heater fan, and basic radio, you shouldn’t need a higher capacity system. The only concern in keeping the old 6 volt electrical system is founded in the Walters Forensic Engineering’s study on motor vehicle fires. According to their study, electrical fires are the second most common cause of automobile files.

Changing the old wiring harnesses out by using Ron Francis Wiring’s 6 volt Retro Series “Git It Runnin” harness may be the safest thing you can do for your project. The Ron Francis Wiring harness is a universal harness, so it can be used in practically any vehicle with a 6 volt system. Using top quality, fire resistant crosslink wire, each individual wire is marked so there is no confusion on where it should be connected.

The harness comes with turn signal wires if your vehicle is equipped with turn signals. Ron Francis Wiring also offers a nice clamp-on turn signal switch which has a 4-way flasher switch and indicators built in.

If you are one of those enthusiasts that like to keep it simple and clean, the Ron Francis Retro Series 6 volt harness might work for you. For more information about this or the other great Ron Francis Wiring products, please visit them online at www.ronfrancis.com.