Re: 12 volt AC in a 6 volt car

Posted by HH56 On 2011/1/2 15:07:37

The inside unit has a 12v blower motor. It also has the thermostat which actually turns the clutch on and off. Most units I'm aware of have a single switch to turn the entire unit on and adjust fan speed and then another knob or lever for the thermostat. That on/off switch is where the voltage actually goes first. Normally this would go to a 12v terminal controlled by ign switch--some directly, others thru a relay for the needed power so the unit would turn off when key is out. I don't think there is a 6v blower motor you could retrofit satisfactorily. There are heater blower motors but those are rather small both physically and output wise compared to the AC blowers. They can't easily handle the load of larger cfm blower wheels for the airflow and also you would have to fabricate a mount.

The clutch would pull some current but not as much as the blower usually. The bigger issue is if the voltage is not enough to have the clutch pull in and stay in hard enough. If not, there would be some slip and friction could easily overheat and damage the friction surfaces--or not turn compressor well enough to cool properly. There is a fair amount of load when the compressor is in operation..