|
|
Posted by Sherman in Idaho [72.47.9.37] on Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 01:21:47 :
In Reply to: voltage reducer posted by Dave [75.81.249.81] on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 21:52:49 :
It all depends on what's inside it. If it's just a pair of resistors, usually sold as a block of ceramic about 2-3" square with screws sticking out of it, yeah maybe, though those things are pretty poor "regulators". There are many good 24 to 12 and 12 to 24 volt converters made these days. They are switching power supplies (black boxes with a lot of fancy electronics in them). They work well, but they take only the input voltage they're designed for and they only put out the voltage they're designed for. If you reduce the input voltage by half, they probably won't work (although they might, depending on how they're designed), but if they do work, they'll only put out the voltage they're designed to put out. Your dad is probably thinking of transformers, which work only on AC. They have a fixed ratio between the input and output voltage and within reason if you reduce the input by half, the output also drops by half. Not so with dc-to-dc converters, though.
Somebody could build a 12 to 6 volt switching converter just as easily as they build a 24 to 12 volt converter, but I've never seen one offered. The demand is probably pretty small. Look inside what you have and you'll see switching power converters are not garage shop projects.
Your best bet is a small linear 3-terminal regulator for gauges, a power resistor (of the right value) for blower motors, change the light bulbs for lights, and for anything else, change the motor to 12 volts.
It's frustrating, but there's no shortcut here. The only partial shortcut is that I've found an ignition ballast resistor is generally a pretty good value for making a 6 volt heater blower work on 12 volts, and it can handle the heat okay.
Follow Ups: