| cliftford | -- 04-22-2014 @ 8:51 AM |
|
Why was the ford 6 volt system positive ground, just the opposite of nearly all other cars of the era? I know this question has been asked many times, but I have never heard a satisfactory answer. Was there some rationale or benefit to this, or was this one of Henry's strange quirks?
|
|
| TomO | -- 04-23-2014 @ 7:21 AM |
|
Ford, Chrysler, Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Nash, Hudson, Frazer, and Studebaker were all positive ground at some time in the 30s. Cadillac changed to NEG ground in 1946, but the Ford, Chrysler, Nash, Studebaker and Packard all stayed with the POS ground system. Nearly all of the cars in the late 20's and 30's were POS ground, so Ford was not in the minority. Most 6 volt cars were POS ground until they changed over to 12 volts. Packard stayed at POS ground even after the change. I have heard that it had to do with how current flowed in the system. Some engineers believed that because current flowed from POS to NEG, that POS ground was more effective. Others thought because electron flow is from NEG to POS, that NEG ground was more effective. In practice, it makes little difference which side id grounded. Tom This message was edited by TomO on 4-23-14 @ 7:24 AM
|
|
| supereal | -- 04-23-2014 @ 2:51 PM |
|
Old ideas die hard. Logic tells you that current flows from positive to negative, which is incorrect. The main place the proper connection is important is the ignition coil. Efficiency will be compromised if it is fed backwards. If you convert from positive to negative ground, the wire thru the ammeter must be reversed, and the generator must be properly polorized.
|
|
| Chascwell2 | -- 05-08-2014 @ 11:18 AM |
|
Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were great friends. Henry thought Thomas was the smartest person who ever lived. Thomas was a believer of direct current, except Westinghouse beat him out for electrical distribution in the cities, with alternating current. Mr Edison thought electrons moved from negative to positive and because of the theory felt here would be less metal transfer in ignition points and other contacts in automobiles with a negative ground system. These two genius people had a shop above the power house at Henry's Fairlane estate where they played with all kinds of experiments. chascwell
|
|
| ford38v8 | -- 05-08-2014 @ 4:12 PM |
|
The genius of both Ford and Edison was in enabling others to make them rich. Edison held more than 1000 patents, but the great majority of them were invented by his employees. Similarly, Ford recognized the advantage of providing research fascilities to his employees. I suspect that seeing this ability in each other contributed greatly to their friendship. Alan
|
|
| TomO | -- 05-09-2014 @ 3:56 AM |
|
Electrons do move from NEG to POS, as they have a NEG charge in their normal state. Tom
|
|
| MGG | -- 04-07-2015 @ 8:45 AM |
|
Should both cables to and from the battery be the same size given the lengths are approximately both the same?
|
|
| TomO | -- 04-07-2015 @ 10:05 AM |
|
Both cables carry the same amount of current, but the grounding cable is usually braided and shorter, What year car are you talking about? Tom
|
|
| MGG | -- 04-07-2015 @ 11:17 AM |
|
I have a 34 Ford Model BB Truck. The battery has been moved to the passenger side firewall for convenience so the negative cable to the starter switch is longer than the positive cable which I have grounded to the closest intake manifold bolt. The negative cable is about 40 inches long and is 2/0 size. The positive cable is about 18 inches long and is 1/0 size. I have separate grounding straps from firewall to engine (braided) and firewall to frame (4 size).
|
|
| TomO | -- 04-08-2015 @ 7:49 AM |
|
The way to tell whether your NEG cable is heavy enough to do the job is to perform a voltage drop test. This will tell you how much voltage is being used by the cable and connections to the starter. For instructions on how to perform this test, see my post in the General Ford Discussion under "Hot Engine Starting Problem" If you have any questions about the procedure, be sure to ask them here or in the hot engine topic. Tom
|
|
| MGG | -- 04-08-2015 @ 9:30 AM |
|
OK - Thanks TomO
|
|
| EFV-8 Club Forum : | https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum |
| Topic: | https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=16&Topic=7252 |