6 Volt Battery 1955 | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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6 Volt Battery 1955

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeannie
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Jeannie

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Thunderbird Year
1955
Wondering if a Rural King 6 volt Super Duty is okay for my 1955 Bird....CT1 -3, 750 CA,, size 1, Group One ? Read also that 00 gauge super duty battery cables should be used. Trying to take care of my husbands car for him and right off the bat cannot get it started. Already charged and recharged the present battery, cleaned the connectors, checked for bad cells with another gadget. Start it in neutral, sometimes get nothing, sometimes a click, sometimes (when charger is attached) a series of clicks.

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Hello Jeannie. First of all, most of your questions require more information. I am not sure what CT 1-3 means, but I assume that 750 CA means 750 Cranking Amps. That is a high spec as 475 CCA battery is acceptable. that is 475 Cold Cranking Amps. The original size battery is a 2N which is the BCI group number. BCI stands for Battery Council International and is a trade group for battery manufactures. Group 1 is the size used my most 6 volt cars dating back to the 1920's Ford used a smaller battery case on cars in the 1950's and that is group size 2N. There is also a group 2 and a group 2E. The 2N battery is 10" L, 5 9/16" W and 8 15/16". this battery will fit the original tray and will also be the correct size so the original hold down will work. The size 1 battery is 9 1/8" L, 7 1/8" W and 9 3/8" T. This means that the battery is taller than the 2N and may cause the terminals to short out when the hood is closed. You may want to modify the battery tray to accommodate the wider, taller battery.

The clicking you get means one of two things. Either the battery is weak or you have a bad starter relay. It is unlikely that the starter relay is bad, but it is possible. The most likely cause is a battery that is bad or undercharged.

Battery cable size is important. That means ALL the cables, the one from the battery to ground, the cable to the starter relay and the battery cable to the starter must be larger than a corresponding 12 volt car. 12 volt cables are often in the 4 gauge range and will work under IDEAL conditions, but you should use O gauge at minimum for the cables. OO is even better. If you don't plan on showing the car, you can find the size 1 battery for less money than the 2N and it will also be easier to find when you need a replacement.

Remember that Ford 6 volt systems are Positive ground. Do not install a battery connecting the ground cable to the negative side. It will cause problems with your radio and dash gauges if you do so.
 
Please include the model year of your car in the title when you post. Thank you. I added it for you thanks.
 
cokefirst said:
Hello Jeannie. First of all, most of your questions require more information. I am not sure what CT 1-3 means, but I assume that 750 CA means 750 Cranking Amps. That is a high spec as 475 CCA battery is acceptable. that is 475 Cold Cranking Amps. The original size battery is a 2N which is the BCI group number. BCI stands for Battery Council International and is a trade group for battery manufactures. Group 1 is the size used my most 6 volt cars dating back to the 1920's Ford used a smaller battery case on cars in the 1950's and that is group size 2N. There is also a group 2 and a group 2E. The 2N battery is 10" L, 5 9/16" W and 8 15/16". this battery will fit the original tray and will also be the correct size so the original hold down will work. The size 1 battery is 9 1/8" L, 7 1/8" W and 9 3/8" T. This means that the battery is taller than the 2N and may cause the terminals to short out when the hood is closed. You may want to modify the battery tray to accommodate the wider, taller battery.

The clicking you get means one of two things. Either the battery is weak or you have a bad starter relay. It is unlikely that the starter relay is bad, but it is possible. The most likely cause is a battery that is bad or undercharged.

Battery cable size is important. That means ALL the cables, the one from the battery to ground, the cable to the starter relay and the battery cable to the starter must be larger than a corresponding 12 volt car. 12 volt cables are often in the 4 gauge range and will work under IDEAL conditions, but you should use O gauge at minimum for the cables. OO is even better. If you don't plan on showing the car, you can find the size 1 battery for less money than the 2N and it will also be easier to find when you need a replacement.

Remember that Ford 6 volt systems are Positive ground. Do not install a battery connecting the ground cable to the negative side. It will cause problems with your radio and dash gauges if you do so.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for extremely detailed response. Yes, the numbers after the battery was the cranking numbers I found on the battery to help define it. I'm copying all the other info on the original battery (very helpful) in case I need to replace the one I have now. A neighbor saw some frayed wires yesterday after I mentioned checking the coil. Two other wires looked worn from the distributor, and one at the cellinoid (spelling?), tightened the battery cables and voila we got a start. And yes, I was the one who told him about the positive ground, when he went to put his negative battery tester end on the positive side of the battery. So as of now I do not need a new battery, but did add distilled water to the three wells for I was told they were a little low. I will have a lot more to learn , but thank you so much for your details and will be working on the battery cables too.
 
Battery HELP,
I am currently restoring a 1955 Thunderbird, which is an original survivor.
I cannot find a 6 volt battery that fits the dimensions of the battery tray. The tray is a reproduction of the tray that bolts to firewall by two bolts.
The top bolt-down portion of the tray is 9 3/4 by 5 1/2.
Most of the 6 volt batteries I have looked at are too big for either the top or bottom tray.
Jim
 
That is a great idea BUT, that case is a BCI battery size 19L and not the 2N that would be correct in the Thunderbird. You will note that the terminals are staggered while the 2N is in line. It will probably work but it would be nice if there was a case that matches the 2N size.

It may be possible for someone to make the correct case and have this work. The Optima battery is 10 1/16 L, X 5 9/16" W X 8 1/8" H. The 2N is 10" L, X 5 9/16 W X 8 15/16 H. The only dimension that makes this difficult is the length, as the Optima is 1/16" longer than the 2N. If the case of the optima could be shaved 1/4" on each end without affecting the battery case integrity, it may be possible for a case with a very thin ends to be made to fit the Optima in and provide a real authentic battery size.
 
cokefirst said:
That is a great idea BUT, that case is a BCI battery size 19L and not the 2N that would be correct in the Thunderbird. You will note that the terminals are staggered while the 2N is in line. It will probably work but it would be nice if there was a case that matches the 2N size.
Click to expand...
Even though the terminals aren't in a straight line I think that it is a good alternative and looks period correct.

See attached

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue
IMG_3944.JPGIMG_3945.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you are happy with that battery, I won't argue. If you are not showing the car, it really doesn't make any difference. I was just pointing out the differences.
 
Jeannie said:
Wondering if a Rural King 6 volt Super Duty is okay for my 1955 Bird....CT1 -3, 750 CA,, size 1, Group One ? Read also that 00 gauge super duty battery cables should be used. Trying to take care of my husbands car for him and right off the bat cannot get it started. Already charged and recharged the present battery, cleaned the connectors, checked for bad cells with another gadget. Start it in neutral, sometimes get nothing, sometimes a click, sometimes (when charger is attached) a series of clicks.
Click to expand...
Clean all connections. You can diagnose the problem by jumping across the solenoid to see if it is the solenoid. Also, use an Optima, 6V red top and purchase a charger such as the Black and Decker AGM style battery charger. $30 on Amazon.
 
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