What is the difference between 6v and 12v traficators?
It is my uderstanding that they work by soleniods coil...the resistance of the coil is constant so regardless of the voltage the wattage draw would be the same??
ie figures therical....
@ 6 v draws 1 amp =6w
@12v will draw 0.5 amp =6w
The light bulb would have to be changed thu.
I found an old wrecking yard a few yrs back...old morris, rovers etc etc..and it grabbed everying traficator I could find, going or not...
The internals where all identical as where most of the mountings...the outter covers differed as to make of vechilce.
I did not know if they where 6v or 12v
none had working light bulbs
most of them worked on 12v...
the ones that didnt work where obviously damaged by water .weather and abuse.
6v Traficators for sale.
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Keith Andrews
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Keith Andrews
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ian Howell
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From 1967 to '87 Black de Luxe Javelin MKC 1 (later 6469TU). (Sold as non-runner with tons of spares, 1987)
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6volt trafficators
What we need here are Ampere turns.
The strength of the magnetic field - and therefore the 'pull' of the coil - is created by the electrical current (measured in amperes - Amps) passing through the coil, which has a number of turns of wire. On 6 volt coils the wire would be thicker to give a greater current (see below). This may not be apparent, as the different thickness of the wire on the coil might be difficult to spot,
So far - so good.
Now the CURRENT passing through the coil will depend on our old friend Ohm's Law.
In summary it says: - 'for a circuit of a given resistance, the current flowing will be in proportion to the applied voltage'. i.e. if you apply 12 volts to a 6 volt coil, TWICE the current will flow.
Now applying twice the voltage will give twice the current and so twice the pull. This will make the 6 volt trafficators work a bit more 'smartly' on a 12 volt supply, but you run the risk of burning out the coil if they are left on too long (and that may not be very long!). This is because you now have TWICE the voltage AND TWICE the current = 4 x the POWER!
Conversely, applying 6 volts to a 12 volt coil would only give half the 'pull', so things might be a bit sluggish. In my experience, even on 12 volts they weren't very lively!
The difference in the two coils should be apparent if you have two KNOWN DIFFERENT coils. The 12 volt version would have thinner wire. This would give a higher resistance for a given (physical) size of coil (same size coil x thinner wire = longer wire, so more resistance. More resistance gives smaller current BUT with more turns the pull would be about the same.
So, as with so many things, size does matter, but it may not be very obvious
Running a 6 volt coil on 12 volts with a ballast resistor might work as long as the voltage across the coil WHEN ENERGISED is about 6 volts.
And of course - use the right voltage bulbs.
The strength of the magnetic field - and therefore the 'pull' of the coil - is created by the electrical current (measured in amperes - Amps) passing through the coil, which has a number of turns of wire. On 6 volt coils the wire would be thicker to give a greater current (see below). This may not be apparent, as the different thickness of the wire on the coil might be difficult to spot,
So far - so good.
Now the CURRENT passing through the coil will depend on our old friend Ohm's Law.
In summary it says: - 'for a circuit of a given resistance, the current flowing will be in proportion to the applied voltage'. i.e. if you apply 12 volts to a 6 volt coil, TWICE the current will flow.
Now applying twice the voltage will give twice the current and so twice the pull. This will make the 6 volt trafficators work a bit more 'smartly' on a 12 volt supply, but you run the risk of burning out the coil if they are left on too long (and that may not be very long!). This is because you now have TWICE the voltage AND TWICE the current = 4 x the POWER!
Conversely, applying 6 volts to a 12 volt coil would only give half the 'pull', so things might be a bit sluggish. In my experience, even on 12 volts they weren't very lively!
The difference in the two coils should be apparent if you have two KNOWN DIFFERENT coils. The 12 volt version would have thinner wire. This would give a higher resistance for a given (physical) size of coil (same size coil x thinner wire = longer wire, so more resistance. More resistance gives smaller current BUT with more turns the pull would be about the same.
So, as with so many things, size does matter, but it may not be very obvious
Running a 6 volt coil on 12 volts with a ballast resistor might work as long as the voltage across the coil WHEN ENERGISED is about 6 volts.
And of course - use the right voltage bulbs.