Would 12v bulbs kill a 6v battery?

In at attempt to figure out why my battery died, my buddy and I came up with the thought that maybe my buggy has 12 volt bulbs in all of the lights, and maybe that is putting to much strain on the 6 volt charging system. Does anyone know what would happen if you put 12 volt bulbs on a 6 volt system like the older VWs? Would the bulbs light up? Would they draw an excessive amount of current? How do you test to see if you have 12 volt bulbs? I don't remember seeing anything on the bulbs themselves. Thanks.

-- Steve G

Reply to
Steve Gift
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That is a MUCH bettter answer than all the electrical mumbo jumbo you wrote before!

But you forgot: and they will not light up nearly enough!

Those are laymen's terms. I'm a EE, so I know all the rest too! But UGH! ;-)

Reply to
John Kuthe

Nope, they will be real dim and draw *half* as much current (roughly, not exactly) as a "normal" bulb. your problem is somewhere else.

nate

Reply to
Nathan Nagel

Sorry for including my way of thinking there. Was just trying to explain how I got to the fact that 12V bulbs take only 25% of the current and power from the 6V battery compared to 6V ones.

Surprises me you being an EE though, if you call that mumbo jumbo.

But after all, I'm glad if I could help you out in any way with your electrical problem.

Reply to
Olli Lammi

No worries! Better to have and not need than to need and not have, I suppose!

I was thinking from the non-EE's perspective. Many people when asking about an electrical problem or situation do not come equipped with enough understanding of electricity to suss much more than a extreme layperson's answer. Not to disparage anyone, but this is just a fact.

Also, I always appreciate an answer to the actual questions I asked, rather than a lot of surrounding theoretical explanations. If I want those, I will ask, but if I just want a simple pragmatic answer, lots of theory will only confuse me and possibly not answer my question at all. Yano? :-)

Peace,

Reply to
John Kuthe

Bob, I have a voltmeter that I assume does ohms too. I will try that tonight. The rear brake and turn signals light up great, and are very bright. The headlights are still very dim. I need to get to the contacts and see if I can get a reading. What should the ohm reading be for a 6 and

12 volt bulb? Thanks.
Reply to
Steve Gift

Sometimes I think it is nicer to get some explanations also. If I ask something I don't know about, I usually would like to learn also next time to troubleshoot it myself. Also if I get just a yes or no answer, I always have to evaluate whether to trust the source of the comment. Most answers here are ofcourse good, true and usable, but you never know. Speedy Jim is ofcourse always reliable, but I'm neither Jim nor speedy, so I like to include some explanations of my thoughts.

Yep. Live long and prosper.

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Steve --

I get 1.1 ohm for 6v and 2.2 ohm for 12v bulbs. I put 6v across the 12v bulb and got about what you would expect, half the light needed for a decent headlight.

Good luck with your project, give us a shout when you find out something.

Bobber

Steve Gift wrote:

Reply to
Bob Johnson

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