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I’ve heard that someone sells an alternator replacement for later model Pierce Arrow generators. Is this fact or fantasy? This would be great news to me if true as my driving varies between city and open road.
Alternator Replacement (in subject line)
I can’t remember the last time I saw an alternator on a Pierce…..maybe twenty years ago. The Delco and Owens Generator’s work fine, day or night, and are trouble free. Think about it, thr Pierce cars have traveled literally millions of miles with generators……….they look out of place, require too many modifications, and they don’t offer any advantage over stock equipment. If you having charging issues, people here will be happy to help you get moving in thr right direction. Ed
This comes up in the old car world frequently — people wanting to convert to a 12 volt system, install an 8 volt battery, put on an alternator, electronic ignition, remove the vacuum tank, install electric fuel pumps. . .all manner of improvements.
Other than upgrades for safety sake like turn signals and better lighting, I agree with Edgar to just put the bit of effort to make the original equipment work. It has worked for a very long time and will continue to give good reliable service, provided everything is functioning as it should. I think it’s better to find and solve a problem than abandon original equipment.
With the exception of bright headlights, I agree with you, Scott.
Still trying to find time to play with LED 6 volt bulbs and/or a 6 to 12 volt dc converter and a 12 volt bulb. I have the converter in house, but haven’t tested it yet. Use of an LED set of headlights will fix the brightness issue and the loss of charge at night.
Bob,
6-V LED bulbs are not brighter than their equivalent wattage incandescent counterparts.
I bought a pair of 21-W LED bulbs, installed them and was underwhelmed at their relative brightness.
They produced the same light output as the incandescent 21-W bulbs.
Their supposed main advantage is that they draw less current, but that is not an issue if the electrical system on you Pierce-Arrow works correctly.
I installed a 6V to 12V converter to a female cigarette lighter connector back in the days of needing a GPS for touring (before iPhones / Google MAPS / WAZE).
You may be able to connect it to your 12V headlight electrical wire run into the fusebox and out to the headlights.
I am not sophisticated in 6V to 12V conversion, so I could be incorrect about the fusebox concept.
Maybe you need to have in-line fuses connected after the fusebox, but I DK.
Also, as I recall, the 6V to 12V converter has TWO leads, while my Series 80 has but ONE lead to each electrical connection because it is a Positive Ground / Earth automobile.
I believe that Positive Ground electrics are true for ALL Pierce-Arrow motorcars.
Have fun and I look forward to your report on the matter.
Peter
Which is the LED?
Okay Peter, I’ll bite. Left (passenger side).
I agree, not an impressive difference.
Robert
The ‘Trick’ for brighter headlights would be to get a 40W or 50W equivalent bulb.
In my S80’s, i use a 31w incandescent headlight bulb, I also use this bulb for the reverse light and brake light.
If you can find or make a 40w or 50w equivalent headlight bulb that only consumes say? 10w? then you would have the best of all worlds.
Keeping the reflectors polished is also a huge part of having bright headlights. Reflectors are SILVER plated. Silver is something like 95% reflective, Chrome, which is often used instead of Silver is about 60% reflective. So you loose a lot of light from the wrong plating or tarnished silver.
The best is silver plate that has been given the ‘Uvira’ treatment which is a clear glass or ceramic coating over the silver, sealing it so it won’t tarnish.
Greg Long
I like the idea of LED headlights if they 1) are at least as bright as the originals and 2) draw significantly less current.
I’ve no experience with LED headlights. Peter’s photo suggests the brightness is not an issue. Does anyone know for sure if they draw less current? I’ve heard that they do not necessarily draw less. An LED works on a voltage drop and requires an internal resistor to provide that. (I’m sure Greg can fill in the details. . .)
If your changing system works properly there is indeed no need for a different generator/alternator. But you need to have your generator output high enough to cover the current draw for longer than short drives. But without a voltage regulator, you don’t want your generator output high as it will overcharge the battery on long daylight drives. (Lots of experience there). And changing the generator output is not a trivial adjustment. Be nice if it could be a dashboard control.
Can anyone post a summary or comprehensive review of what lighting is available to us today? Incandescent/tungsten, halogen, LED, etc. . . the characteristics as well as the advantages and drawbacks of each?
To Jim Palmer and the original question:
A 6v generator system works fine. It can be adjusted so it’s output voltage is around 7.5v-7.9v.
The voltage from an alternator will be the same.
I have never had an issue with under charging, or over charging, But I do pay attention to how long
the starter cranks to start the engine, and how long the battery might need full charging current to be
fully charged. When out on a tour, I turn on my parking lights or headlights to absorb the excess charging
current during the day, It works well.
I know there are 6v alternators made for Model A’s and T’s, but those cars NEED a good charging system, the original is not very good or reliable. Our Pierce charging systems are very good and reliable.
Greg Long
Peter,
I am with Dr. Brown that the LED is on the right (passenger) side. Nice car. The color is whiter as described below.
Scott,
LED’s draw in the vicinity of 10-20 percent of the current draw of the traditional incandescent bulbs, and generally run cooler. That is not the case for the CFL’s, I have been an expert witness on cases where CFL’s caused fires because folks don’t realize they heat at the base, not the glass. If you have CFL’s in a ceiling fan, please change them out with LED’s made for fans ASAP! As a caveat, some newer fans like Hunter and Casablanca have strict bulb requirements, as they have solid state circuitry to prevent overcurrent draw. Follow directions, but please don’t use the CFL’s, especially larger than the wattage equivalent specified by the fan manufacturer.
Getting back to the cars, the other advantage of LED’s is you can buy bulbs with a better color temperature, or the color of the light, than the original bulbs. The higher the temperature (measured in Degrees Kelvin), the closer it is to daylight. 2700K for instance, is a distinct yellow color. Anything over 4000K is much brighter and a bit bluer. Peter’s car shows the difference, assuming Robert and I are right. I use 5000K for outside floods on houses if they are available.
If someone is going to Scottsdale, the SEMA folks should be there. If you can get a name and contact info for an LED bulb manufacturer, I would like to talk with them and see if we can get a sample made up. Are these bulbs fairly universal among the various car manufacturers?
Last summer, Bill Morris and I were looking into 6V LED headlights offered by a firm called Classic and Vintage Bulbs of Blackwood, South Australia. They claim to have a 6V LED headlight bulb with a Ba15d base. Bill determined that these would not fit our cars. Things might have changed since last summer, and if anyone would like to research further, the firm again is called Classic and Vintage Bulbs, Blackwood, S. Australia, and the contact email address is [email protected] I have to honestly admit that I don’t have the engineering background to figure this one out myself.
I put 55 W bulbs in my 1918 Model 48 and they work great. The charging system in that car is tremendous.
With the reflectors polished well, as Greg noted above, I’ve got plenty of light. I got the bulbs from Restoration Supply in Escondido, CA : http://www.restorationstuff.com
Their catalogue is on line, and they can take an order over the phone and ship out the same day. Great place to do business.
Gents,
The Seller from whom I purchased the 21W LED bulbs, one of which was in the Driver’s side headlight in the photo, tells me that his group is currently testing a High Brightness BA15S LED (15mm bayonet mount) bulb.
He further stated that I should check with him in 6-weeks to determine if it is in production.
So Dr. David and Mr. Bob, you are incorrect about the placement of the LED bulb, but the passenger side headlight has a 32W / 35W (?) incandescent bulb, while the Driver side HAD the 21W LED.
They seemed equally bright, so a higher wattage LED might be wonderful.
I like Richard’s idea of 55W incandescent (?) bulbs, if they are reasonably priced.
Also, I rewired my Series 80, so I have no fear about melting the wire.
I have melted wire on one or two moderns and had to upgrade the headlight wiring when I installed 85W / 100W low / high beams and 100w high beams.
I can easily blind oncoming cars if they don’t shutdown their highs, and I can Definitely Illuminate country roads at night.
Peter
That is amazing. Usually the lumen output of the LED’s are better and more efficient. I would be concerned with the watt bulbs. With losses in the connections and wire, you are pushing 10 amps per bulb, which, along with everything else at night, is a lot for the generator to handle.
Ken,
I will touch base with the folks down under and see what they may have available. My expertise is in broadband and the national power grid, we’ll see if I can remember some Ohm’s law to make these cars a bit safer at night.
Stay tuned.