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Hi everyone. My boss just bought an F600 to use here on the farm where I work. We’re a large landscape company as well. We’d like to convert the truck to power steering and 12V. Any advice is greatly appreciated. PS, I’m relatively mechanical so I’m hoping this is something we can do in house. Thanks in advance.
WOW! That is a beautiful truck!
On my home pc I have some links to converting to 12V. I'm sure our experts here have that as well.
Welcome to FTE! Don't hesitate to ask lots of questions. But you have to post more pictures.
Hey Swampy, welcome to FTE the best Ford truck forum on the World wide Web!
That's a great looking truck. I think I've seen it on eBay. And I love that color blue.
Save yourself the trouble of converting to 12 volt. A good 6 volt system works fine. Both my trucks are 6 volt and I have no issues. But you need new corrosion free thick cables. They should be at 1 gauge or better 00 gauge. You need clean connections at both ends of all your cables. And of course a good 6 volt battery is needed.
SHow us more pictures and where you located?
Nice looking truck! I've found no need for power steering or 12V in my big trucks. The original systems were engineered well and work well when maintained well. But if you insists....
12V conversion has the typical considerations:
Generator swapped to Alternator.
Choice of alternator determines need for external 12V Regulator. Many opt for 1 wire Alternators for their simplicity.
Wiper Motor
Heavy Duty Voltage Reducer OR 12V Motor Replacement
Heater Motor
Heavy Duty Voltage Reducer OR 12V Motor Replacement
Voltage Reducer for the instrument cluster
12V Lamps all the way around
12V Flasher Unit
No need to replace the existing starer motor. It will work fine on 12V and is not polarity dependent. I find 6V motors to be more robust anyways. Polarity does not matter.
12V Starter Solenoid. There are many types of solenoids and starter buttons out there so be sure you know what you have so that the proper solenoid is obtained. Generally all have a power in (from battery), power out (to the starter), and a trigger (run signal from the ignition switch). Where things differ is the run signaling. The earlier Ford stock setup is looking for a completed ground as the trigger signal. Later Fords are looking for a hot signal. But it gets even more complex than that. Some have two small terminals that can be used for the trigger circuit, requiring a ground and a hot respectively. Some also have two small terminals, but one is a trigger, the other goes to the coil to give resistance bypass for spark on startup. There can be variations from these as well, but this is a start.
Headlight Switches (Floor and Dash)
They will work just fine on 12V
Ignition Coil
Grab a 12V coil. Generally it should be behind a ballast resistor so that the coil is fed ~9V while the engine is running.
Battery
Replace the Group 1 (6V) with a group 25 or 35 (12V). The group 25 and 35 batteries are the same, but have their polarity swapped. Pick the one that the cables will best reach the proper terminals.
That should be a start.... please continue to ask questions or clarifications.
Oh, and lastly - get your self the Ford Shop Manual, Ford Truck Parts And Accessories Text Catalog , and Ford Truck Parts And Accessories Illustrations Catalog. Original and reproduction Hard copies can be had as well as digital copies can be had from various vendors and online.
Another thing to check out, are your wheels what we call Widow Makers? If so, they are dangerous. We have some resident experts here that can tell you by looking at the picture. I'm sure they will check in soon.
The rims in the picture do not readily appear to be the dreaded RH-5° widow makers. But yes, something to look out for, especially on a commercial truck.
Another thing to check out, are your wheels what we call Widow Makers? If so, they are dangerous. We have some resident experts here that can tell you by looking at the picture. I'm sure they will check in soon.
The front ones, at least, are split-ring "safety" wheels.
No need for power steering. The key to easy steering is properly inflated tires AND when greasing the king pins make sure the weight is off the tires so the grease will flow all the way around the king pin. If you don't Jack up the front end you'll never get grease all the way around the king pin and this will make for harder steering and premature king pin wear
grease is one of your best friends on the heavy duty trucks
Great advice guys, thank you. Looks like a lot to switch to 12V. I will go with the larger cables. We’re in south Jersey and the truck will be used for light duty work but also possibly an advertisement and for people to take photos with. We do weddings here.
Last edited by Swampy16; Apr 5, 2023 at 06:08 AM.
Reason: Add pics
