24 volts on 12 volt starter? add a sol.in series?

I currently have a blown 540 chevy, 12v onboard and connect 16 v battery externally to start and it is getting old. Want to run 24 v onboard, can I just add another solenoid in series to take some load off the starter solenoid? or how long would it last at 24? I DO NOT WANT THE SOLENOID TO STICK! I have been a 3 time world champion in hydraulic car dancing. I have ran 10 group 31 12 v batteries in series at 120 v w1100 cca each with as little as 3 solenoids in series and lasted for a while, but would eventually fail! these systems work on the same principal as starters, a 12v motor spinning a gear pump instead of a bbc. any input would help , i have seen lots of people using it but it looks like they are using a bigger 24 volt solenoid ? if that is the case the only difference is that, that solenoid has a bigger contact patch to deliver more voltage with less chance 4 arcing together. thanx 4 listening i would really like some helpful answers thanx discodean

 

Dean,
Go to www.snydermotorsports.com, they have a 24 volt lightweight setup.

Brandon

 

24 volts will not hurt your starter as long as your solenoid only gets 12 volts.

 

12 V To Activate Solenoid And 24 To Start? Is That Ok?

 

I don't see why not.

EDB

 

dean...call me if you need help
darren 937-771-3228

 

i ran a 12 and 6 volt batterys together to get 18 volts . This works great. Did't hurt any thing. I ran 6-shooter and retard box , nitrous solenoids and fuel pump this way for 6 years -no problems

 

24v onboard

Hey, disco hows it going? I have done this without a problem and posted how I did it on here before but will do it again for you. Hopefully I can describe it and not be to confusing.

I use two snyder batteries; the positive side of the first battery powers everything in the car 12 v and also from the positive side of the first battery ,a lead from the positive of the first battery goes into one side of a ford truck style 12v solenoid then on the outgoing side of that solenoid a lead goes into the negative side of the second battery then a lead goes from the positive side of the second battery to the starter making 24v. Your starter button is wired 12v and is wired to both the the ford style solenoid and your starter solenoid. When you push the starter button is the only time you will have 24v to the starter and the power at the starter is dead when you aren't pushing the button.
I have not had a problem with this set up and I hope it works for you.

 

This is exactley what we have done as well and if you mount the Ford type solenoid really close to the batteries you will never have to worry about the starter cable having any fire in it or arcing on something.

 

thanx 4 all your help guys I'm going to get wireing this week!! disco biscuit

 

24v onboard

blown375
Using a 24V system like yours, but when I first installed it, it would not work. After a lot of calls a suggestion was made to ground the starter solenoid to the frame. I did and have been using this for the last two years. I know the solenoid is supposed to have its own ground, but this worked. I don’t know which pole to ground on the solenoid, I tried one, it didn’t work, tried the other and it did. Also I think you need to mention to remove the starter motor wire from the solenoid and then connect the 24Vs to that wire. I also use the smaller 12V batteries and have had no problems with starting. I charge everything up before the race, run qualifying, charge batteries, and then run eliminations. I think I could do it all on just one charge. Have read the best way to charge this 24V set up is one battery at a time (12Vs). If you charge 24V the charger will only charge the better battery of the two. So you would leave one battery not fully charged.

 

24 Volt System (Beware)

The 24 volt deal works great. Larry's battery's have worked well for us and we are wired just like every else that has posted with (2) 12 volt battery's and 12 volt solenoid.

Just becareful not to put 24 volts to your entire car like I did. Only a split second but I had to change all the light bulbs in tach, shift light, oil lights etc.

We can go 3-4 rounds and not even touch a charger.

Larry does have a nice CSI unit that Brandon may have mentioned. Don't have that piece but it looks really nice.

I have the $15 Auto-Electric version. Works great

Brad

 

I realize this is an old thread but I'd appreciate a wiring diagram if anyone has one.

 

I have found that the gauge of the wire is the most important element. We start with 24 v direct to the solenoid of the hi-torque starters (externally) and use a small Li-ion battery for the minimal 12 v needs. Tried one year to use smaller gauge because it was handier and looked neater and burned up starter after about three or four starts and did this 3 or 4 times. Went to heavy weld cable and haven't had a starter issue is 2 years. 540 twin turbo alky BBC, 10.25 compression. Just our experience. JW

 

24v to armature and 12v to the solenoid has always worked for me.
I did some heat tests. The 24v is actually cooler. Likely since it spins up so fast that less time is spent holding the button down.

I did try 24v to the solenoid.... once. It worked BUT as noted earlier it will take out that little neutral safety switch in a heart beat and anything else in that circuit. Then you spend 15 minutes going WTH when it doesn't work a second time.

 

Appreciate the replies, it's a top sportsman deal so self starting is a must. Have two batteries on board now in parallel just trying to get my head around the wiring needed to give the starter 24 volts and everything else 12.

 

Would a series parallel switch like one used on a big truck allow us to start on 24 and power the electronics with 12? I sure don't want to let the factory smoke out of something.

 

what gauge wire and length of cable?

anyone have idea how many amps it takes to kick the solenoid? going to do external starter battery setup with onboard 12v to run logger and trans brake solenoid. just wondering how big of a 12v battery to run in my FED.

I would be interested in wire diag. too

ty
dean