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My friend is getting a 54 Packard delivered Tuesday and it's going to be about 15 degrees, the shipper already said the car won't start as the battery is weak. I guess either put a new one in or try and jump start as he has to drive it i mile to his house. How do you jump start these 6 volt cars without another one?

OK, its not the best of ideas, but I sure have done it enough times in the last 40 years.

Make sure everything is turned off. Have your buddy sit in the car all ready to start it. Hook up the (stout) jumper cables and crank at once. Disconnect as soon as it starts. If it doesn't want to go pretty darn quick then give it up and call AAA, or take the battery home and charge it.

There is a safer way to jump a 6V system with a 12V batt. Turn the ignition key on, connect the jumper cable to the starter side of the solenoid or the starter itself then ground the other jumper(you are acting as the solenoid). That way you will only have 12V going to the starter and not the rest of the electrical system. Just don't hit the starter button.

Like Ross, I've done it MANY times. The starter and the jumper cables, especially if they are common 12-volt gauge cables, will overheat rapidly and get HOT so follow Ross's advice and keep the contact time as short as possible, certainly no more than 5 seconds. If it doesn't start quickly, disconnect and allow time to cool down for reconnecting again. And of course, double check that you connect (+) to (+), (-) to (-).

If no traffic around a little push might work with a weak fully charged battery.
Wes

It's a 54 automatic

Due to the fact that they have a rear pump you can jump-start an Ulramatic, not sure what road speed is required, maybe about 15 or 20 mph?

I prefer connecting jumper cables to the battery making sure polarity is correct. The reason being the 6v battery is dead and will act as a resistor lowering the voltage the starter is seeing. But as was said do not leave it connected long and make sure all lights are off. A shot of starter fluid might be in order also.

Good luck

And keep your foot off of the brake pedal. Better to connect the booster ground to some place away from the battery too.

(o{}o)