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I've only been playing around with Packards and their 6 volt systems for a few years so please indulge me on my quest for education. I experienced my first stranding due to a dead battery (forgot to turn off the auxiliary cooling fan - duh!) which prompted a bunch of questions about how to jump start these cars.

The road service guy showed up with only a 12 volt booster device and absolutely no knowledge about 6 volt systems (let alone positive ground systems) when I asked him about a bunch of concerns I had before attaching anything to my car.

My questions:

1) Is it safe to use a 12 volt portable jump booster to start a 6 volt system?

2) If you can use a 12 volt system to jump a dead 6 volt system is it safe to jump a positive ground Packard from a negative ground modern car?

3) Does anyone make a portable 6 volt jump starter device that can be carried in the trunk and used when stranded on the road?

4) Worst case, I suppose you could carry an extra 6 volt battery as protection against stupid mistakes.

Any insights and comments are appreciated.

You can probably do it but it's not really advised and especially don't do it with the door open and any lights on. Keep in mind that it's positive ground and be prepared with the key already on, then to jumper the solenoid for it to crank without opening the door. Be quick and disconnect immediately once running. Personally I do not advise it, though, so best to put in an automatic switch on your fan or just remove it entirely. I've never needed one in nearly 60 years on driving Packards.

Heed Don. A few seconds of Googling would've provided you with:

restore-an-old-car.com/positive-ground-cars.html

And from the knowledgeable "Rusty O'Toole" on an AACA forum: "There are 2 ways to do this. One is to disconnect the ground cable then connect the 12V battery, positive to positive and negative to negative. If the car is positive ground, you will connect the ground cable (+) to the engine or to the ground cable and the (-) to the battery -. This cuts the 6v battery out of the system as one side is disconnected. Be sure all lights radio etc are turned off. Start engine then quickly disconnect the booster ground and stick the battery ground back on. You have to be quick so the car does not stall.

The other way takes 2 people. One to start the car, the other to man the jumper cables. The cable guy connects the power cable, waits for the starter guy to turn the key, and sticks the ground cable on, ready to take it off as soon as the car starts.

I have done both methods. #1 is preferred, #2 is quicker and easier. The thing to keep in mind is not to have the 12v connected to the 6v battery any longer than you have to."

Re: your aftermarket electric cooling fan. These are unnecessary even in Cords and Jaguars (fan shrouds aid both). Clean your cooling system, and the above right Search bar will reveal several approaches, inc. mine to drive the car 18-20 miles with a pound of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda) and a pint or two of kerosene. Remove rear block plug and radiator cap, let drain. After engine cools, run a garden hose into your radiator while poking a straightened clothes hangar or welding rod into that opening far as you can, fish around, until water comes out clean. Now open the radiator petcock and after that drains, run hose until that water comes out clear. Replace block plug (some of us install a standoff since it's near the oil dipstick) with a dab of grease on the threads.

Close petcock. Fill your cooling system only with reverse osmosis water which you can get from Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc. Bring your own jugs. Unless your car exposed to two consecutive nights of a hard freeze--below 30-- avoid antifreeze like the plague, which, like the outmoded soluble oil, leaves heat transfer inhibiting film on your cooling system passages. Use either No-Rosion, and see their tech tab below for everything you need to know about cooling system preservation, or Redline Water Wetter. I am not connected with either company, but if you order No-Rosion, tell Jay Ross that Mike, '47 Super Clipper, Walnut Creek, CA referred you.

norosion.com/tech_coolant.htm

I just removed the Scotts matte black electric auxiliary cooling fan from my '47 Super Clipper installed 23 years ago. I never needed it, and if caught in horrendous traffic in 100-degree heat, ask yourself if such trip necessary, pull off the road, open hood, relax. When our cars were new, population a third today's 350 million, people traveled two-lane "highways" with posted speeds usually 35-45, never above 50-60, stopped now and then at a roadside stand, etc. Aftermarket fans block some of the incoming air your radiator depends on.

Neither do you need to lug around a second battery. Weight is the enemy in any road car as it is in any grand touring (GT), sport, or racing car. Use a trickle charger to keep your battery fully charged. This can triple, even quadruple battery life. You should already have double aught (00) solid copper battery cables ends both crimped and soldered. When time for a new battery, get a six-volt Optima Red Top, 800 cold cranking amps, more than your car's original type off-gassing wet battery, and only 18 lbs. Further, consider a positive-ground, 6V, 55-amp alternator from Jim's Battery Manufacturing, Youngstown, OH (800) 426-7580. Bolt in, no butchering whatsoever. Far less weight. Tell Jim and Dolores i referred you. Faster battery recovery, brighter head and tail lights at stop signs and low town speed.

Today's rush by those not taking the time to learn about their cars and basic maintenance leads to reinventing the wheel, including torturing these finely wrought old engines with various cowboy add ons. A late friend ran a shop for Packards, his motto "factory standard."

My second real outing with my '54 Panama (6 volt positive ground) ended with me running out of gas (bad sender) and draining the battery trying to restart it. I ended up getting a jump from a guy straight from his truck. Positive-positive, negative-negative. It spun the starter really fast and car started right up. We kept it quick. It did the trick and got me home. We basically used the #2 method that Mike listed above....the whole process was literally seconds.

So yes, it can be done but probably not wise to leave a 12V system connected for any longer than is necessary.

I don't know of anyone who makes a 6V jump pack. I'm sure a 12V pack would work with an understanding of potential risks. I'm sure there is a risk of damage to some things like bulbs and/or voltage regulator.

-Kevin

Actually I have a 6v/12v jump pack so they are available but I've never used it. It sat so long unused the battery in it went bad! My battery charger also has a Start mode in both 6v and 12v.

You can do it but don't do it longer than necessary. To avoid the 6V battery pulling a lot of current, disconnect it before jump-starting. The charging system should keep the engine running if you are at high idle.

Ground does not matter. Just connect positive and negative correctly.