Dumb Question About Starting Six Volt

[1955 plymouth]

I know this is a Dumb question, yet I will ask anyways. Please excuse my ignorance. I have a 6volt positive ground system on my '55 Belvedere, I was wondering what if any harm would be done by hooking up jumper cables to a 12volt battery and trying to start the car? I have done this in attempt to start in the past and I get a loud humming noise from what I would guess is the fan motor? I begin to crank the engine, cranks fine yet when I stop the humming noise is right back. This is a loud humming noise, not just a mild tone hum. any insight would be helpful, Thanks and sorry for the Dumb post.

[Don Coatney]

Fan motor? Heater fan? Turn it off. No problem jumping with 12 volts as long as you maintain polarity (+ to + and - to-) and turn off all accessories such as the radio and heater etc.

[BobT-47P15]

Fan motor??? Does a 55 Plymouth have an electric radiator fan?

Or is it the fan on the heater/defroster?

The heater fan shouldn't do anything if it's not turned on already

when you do the jump.

You can jump 6 volts from a 12, but disconnect as quickly as possible

after it starts. I blew the top off my 6V battery a couple months ago

when jumping with 12, but that's the first time that's ever happened

to me. I had been cranking it for a while due to the temp being 14

degrees.

Often times a noise in a heater fan is the bearing.

[greg g]

You can also jump the starter bypassing the battery. Just assure you are using positive for ground, and to be safe you might want to disconect the jumper battery from its negative cable or use a jumper pack. To by pass connect the positive cable to the engine block, turn on the ignition swutch.

connect the negative cable to the starter cable on the starter side of the solenoid (starter relay) this will begin to spin the starter so be ready.

Hooking it up this way uses the solenoid to break isolate the two batteries.

[Norm's Coupe]

Do like they said, or don't jump the car. Just get it rolling a little, put it in second gear and pop the clutch. Car should start right up.

[1955 plymouth]

Thanks for the input concerning the jump. The car I am messing with has been sitting for about 13 years, last night it did not have spark at the plug.

Tires are cracked and such, just trying to see if the engine will fire without too much troubles, took the distributor off, dissasembled, cleaned all contacts and adjusted points, lubed the weights and tested the capacitor, all is well now in the ignition side, I swapped the coil out with a known good one Dad had taken off of an old Ferguson Tractor. The fuel pump is doing its job, fuel smells hot so I hope it will fire.

The noise is possibly the Heater fan or motor? It is real loud? Possibly speaker? Still unsure about that one.

Will test again when I get home tonight.

[BobT-47P15]

I suppose a noise might be made by the speaker, if the radio works and is

turned on. Try turning off both radio and heater fan.

[Norm's Coupe]

Actually, when jumping any car you should have all accessories and lights turned off on both cars.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I usually back up about 50 feet and then I usually drag my foot on the rain gutter...trust me the Dukes of Hazzard slide is easier...

[Don Coatney]

What does hot fuel smell like? Does it taste like chicken?

[dezeldoc]

Chicken, someone say chicken!!

[Niel Hoback]

Tastes like chicken.

[1955 plymouth]

The old blue is running. I got home tonight, re-installed the distributor, sanded the contacts in the cap, pulled the plugs, blasted them and re-gapped them, hooked the 12 volt straigt up to avoid the hot jumper cables and she fired right up, engine sounds good, did not smoke too much as I had expected it would from sitting for 13 years, only ran for about 2 minutes and shut it down to allow things to get to know each other again without fighting too much. The trans shifts into Reverse and Drive with great ease.

The noise was coming from the radio area, there is a round item sitting right above the radio chassis that was humming horribly, I looked under the dash, found a blue wire going to this item, clipped the wire and the noise is gone, I can repair the wire later on once I get a little closer to driving this old ride down the road.

Oh, by the way, the fuel is "hot" not flat or varnished, speaking of chicken, the wife fixed up some chicken breast on the George Foreman grill while the car was breathing for the first time in a long time, must have smelled the chicken.

[Don Coatney]

[Norm's Coupe]

The old blue is running. I got home tonight, re-installed the distributor, sanded the contacts in the cap, pulled the plugs, blasted them and re-gapped them, hooked the 12 volt straigt up to avoid the hot jumper cables and she fired right up, engine sounds good, did not smoke too much as I had expected it would from sitting for 13 years, only ran for about 2 minutes and shut it down to allow things to get to know each other again without fighting too much. The trans shifts into Reverse and Drive with great ease.

The noise was coming from the radio area, there is a round item sitting right above the radio chassis that was humming horribly, I looked under the dash, found a blue wire going to this item, clipped the wire and the noise is gone, I can repair the wire later on once I get a little closer to driving this old ride down the road.

Oh, by the way, the fuel is "hot" not flat or varnished, speaking of chicken, the wife fixed up some chicken breast on the George Foreman grill while the car was breathing for the first time in a long time, must have smelled the chicken.

Now that it's running you should take it for a short mile or two spin, if the brakes work. Will really lift your spirits. My coupe only ran on 3 1/2 cylinders when I bought it, and smoked worse than a coal fired blast furnace. But..........I drove it that way for about 3 years before I rebuilt the engine. Missed a little (OK a lot), but it was fun driving it. Never took it more than a few miles at a time though before the rebuild.

[TodFitch]

Now that it's running you should take it for a short mile or two spin' date=' if the brakes work. Will really lift your spirits. My coupe only ran on 3 1/2 cylinders when I bought it, and smoked worse than a coal fired blast furnace. But..........I drove it that way for about 3 years before I rebuilt the engine. Missed a little (OK a lot), but it was fun driving it. Never took it more than a few miles at a time though before the rebuild.[/quote']

Wimp.

My car had a bad miss at idle and little power when I bought it. But I was in school with no time or money. Drove it around Rochester during senior year then down to Baltimore for my first job where it served as my daily commute vehicle. If I recall correctly it is something like 300 miles between Rochester and Baltimore. So just for that one move I got in a lot more than "a few miles at a time".

It wasn't until a year after I got to Baltimore that I had time and money to do a "shade tree" overhaul (fix it up the best you can without pulling the motor). Turns out I had zero compression on three cylinders and the other three were around 40 to 50. Hard to start, rough idle and low power. But they will run with an amazing long time with an amazingly large number of things in wrong.

[Norm's Coupe]

Wimp.

My car had a bad miss at idle and little power when I bought it. But I was in school with no time or money. Drove it around Rochester during senior year then down to Baltimore for my first job where it served as my daily commute vehicle. If I recall correctly it is something like 300 miles between Rochester and Baltimore. So just for that one move I got in a lot more than "a few miles at a time".

It wasn't until a year after I got to Baltimore that I had time and money to do a "shade tree" overhaul (fix it up the best you can without pulling the motor). Turns out I had zero compression on three cylinders and the other three were around 40 to 50. Hard to start, rough idle and low power. But they will run with an amazing long time with an amazingly large number of things in wrong.

Tod,

I was just talking about my coupe when I bought it. Going back to 1965 I also had a car that only ran on about 5 cylinders, bad tires, etc. I bought it because my 64 Chevelle was totaled after being hit in the rear by pickup doing around 55 MPH and then being pushed into the rear of a 60 Buick. The Buick and I were stopped in traffic at the time of the hit. The insurance company keep giving me a hard time about totaling out the Chevelle because the estimated repair bill was about $100 short of the cost of replacement. So.......while I was fighting them, I bought a 58 Chevy, 6 cylinder clunker to tide me over during the dispute for about $50 or $100. It only ran on about 5 cylinders. Use to pull into a gas station and tell the attendant to fill up the oil and check the gas because it burned so much oil. Tires were almost bald bias tires with tubes. I drove that car for 4 months, driving it 60 miles round trip 6 days a week from Louisville, Ky to Ft. Knox, Ky to work. I also drove it on 4 round trips from Louisville, KY to Chicago, IL during those months. Finally had my attorney for the suit against the pickup driver call the insurance company tell them I would accept a repair only if the car was like I bought it off the showroom floor. They called me that same night and gave me a total loss on the car. Then I bought a new 65 Dodge with that check. Of course I had to wait a day or so for them to prep the car. The day I was to pick up the car I had to work. When I left the office to go back home to Louisville and pick up the Dodge, I had a flat on the rear tire when I came out of the office. Put the spare on. As I was tightening one of the lug nuts, the lug bolt broke off. Simply put the hubcap back on after tightening the rest and drove it 30 miles back to Louisville and the dealer to trade it in on the Dodge.

Now, I would not call this being wimpy.

[Don Coatney]

Now' date=' I would not call this being wimpy.[/quote']

I would:D

[Captain Neon]

Now that it's running you should take it for a short mile or two spin' date=' if the brakes work. Will really lift your spirits. My coupe only ran on 3 1/2 cylinders when I bought it, and smoked worse than a coal fired blast furnace. But..........I drove it that way for about 3 years before I rebuilt the engine. Missed a little (OK a lot), but it was fun driving it. Never took it more than a few miles at a time though before the rebuild.[/quote']

Sounds like you drove it more when it only ran on three cylinders than you do now w/ 6 good cylinder. Sorry. I just couldn't resist!

[Norm's Coupe]

Sounds like you drove it more when it only ran on three cylinders than you do now w/ 6 good cylinder. Sorry. I just couldn't resist!

Maybe you couldn't resist that. But..........you are probably close to right. Just didn't take it as far from home then, plus the wife didn't like going in it because she was afraid it would break down then. Now she likes to ride in it. She also said she would not ride in it without seat belts, so I bought a pair for the front. However, never put them in..........but she still rides in it now.

That's going to change this year though. I've been itching to drive it many days this past month. Can't though until my shoulder gets a little better.

[Rodney Bullock]

Norm's coupe get well soon, you need that shoulder to steer that thing. In the early days my wife would close her eyes when I would start our old car, then she would look for smoke:) Things have come along way. The ladies really show how they are dedicated to their guy's when they hop in an old car. I have been a bad boy since the early days I have learned to make the car cut off at the right time and place:cool: Then after all the horse play like magic the car would start right up. I'm a little ashamed:rolleyes: Hey, I married her.

The Plymouth looks great, It is amazing that a 1955 Plymouth with a V8 still had 6volts, I guess this was the last year of it right?

I never drove a car that was missing, I am so twisted that it would worry me to no end. Now smoking that's a different story:D

[Captain Neon]

She also said she would not ride in it without seat belts' date=' so I bought a pair for the front. However, never put them in..........but she still rides in it now.

[/quote']

I always chuckle when my wife reaches for the non-existent shoulder harness in my P15. I'm not a fan of seatbelts either, and usu. wait for the stewardess to remind me to buckle-up when flying. If she doesn't remind me, I don't do it.

I've got a full set of lap belts for the P15. They'll go in when the new upholstery goes in. My sisters-in-law have forbidden their children to ride in my P15 until it has seatbelts. Fortunately, the car and the kids have never been in the same state together.

[radioguy7]

I always chuckle when my wife reaches for the non-existent shoulder harness in my P15. I'm not a fan of seatbelts either, and usu. wait for the stewardess to remind me to buckle-up when flying. If she doesn't remind me, I don't do it.

I've got a full set of lap belts for the P15. They'll go in when the new upholstery goes in. My sisters-in-law have forbidden their children to ride in my P15 until it has seatbelts. Fortunately, the car and the kids have never been in the same state together.

Withouth a shoulder harness lap belts are pretty much useless. I always think of that leever action where front seat passengers heads will fall forward and smack that nice metal dash board or windsheild.