Since 1950 all car engines had 6 Volt ignition systems. The advantage of the 6-volt system is that it uses the three cell storage battery which is cheaper, lighter, and less bulky than a six-cell battery of the same watt-hour capacity. As the compression ratio and engine speed increased, the voltage required to break down hence, the 12 Volt system came to be preferred. Now, let us check out the advantages of the 12 Volt battery ignition system over the 6 Volt battery ignition system.
The main advantages of 12 Volt ignition system are:
- The cables of a 6 Volt system to be twice the thickness of 12 Volt.
- Transmitting equal power without excessive voltage drop.
- During the starting surge, nearly twice the power is available for the ignition coil.
- Considerably higher voltage can be obtained.
- The number of accessories that can be connected to the battery is more since giving adequate voltage.
- Improve the starting of the engine because of twice power is available than 6 Volt.