This old Federal Laboratories siren must need some amps before starting

[cromwell]

Hello!


I have this old Federal Laboratories siren in my collection and it seems to need a lot of amps before it starts...


With my regular car battery the siren turns about one inch and then it stops, I guess I need more amps or what?


When it turns a little bit then the siren must be ok, right?


By the way this siren is also very heavy...but I have heard that Q-sirens are also heavy and need many amps to start..

 

[CrownVic97]

If you have a car battery charger with a 100-200 amp start function, then it'll take off. But, I'm guessing the mechanical siren gurus on here will have a better idea .

 

[Skip Goulet]

Hello!

I have this old Federal Laboratories siren in my collection and it seems to need a lot of amps before it starts...


With my regular car battery the siren turns about one inch and then it stops, I guess I need more amps or what?


When it turns a little bit then the siren must be ok, right?


By the way this siren is also very heavy...but I have heard that Q-sirens are also heavy and need many amps to start..

What you have is a 66L. Same motor as a Q, so same amp draw. If it's turning that slow off your battery, either you have a bad connection or there's a motor problem with the siren...brushes, probably.

 

[Henry455]

One other suggestion, remove the front light housing and try to turn the rotor by hand, it should turn with very little effort.

 

[cromwell]

Could the problem also be when this siren is 6 volts and I am connecting it to a 12 volts battery and using a homemade resistor?


I have a friend who has made the resistor that converts 12 volts to 6 volts.

 

[Torpedo]

Could the problem also be when this siren is 6 volts and I am connecting it to a 12 volts battery and using a homemade resistor?
I have a friend who has made the resistor that converts 12 volts to 6 volts.

Yes. Try without resistor briefly and she'll likely run. For best results use a battery.

 

[MtnMan]

Could the problem also be when this siren is 6 volts and I am connecting it to a 12 volts battery and using a homemade resistor?
I have a friend who has made the resistor that converts 12 volts to 6 volts.

Now you tell us!


That's the problem, without a question. Use a 6 V battery.

 

[cromwell]

Now you tell us!

That's the problem, without a question. Use a 6 V battery.

I don´t have a 6V battery at the moment, but when I have tested this metod with my other two 6V sirens it worked just fine. But those are again not as heavy as this 66L model.


One of the other two sirens is a model like this one. But it could very well be like you said that I need a 6V battery or that the sirens motor needs some work.


By the way, what is this model called?

 

[Skip Goulet]

I don´t have a 6V battery at the moment, but when I have tested this metod with my other two 6V sirens it worked just fine. But those are again not as heavy as this 66L model.
One of the other two sirens is a model like this one. But it could very well be like you said that I need a 6V battery or that the sirens motor needs some work.


By the way, what is this model called?

It's hard to tell by the close-up picture, but it appears to be an older 66L, or possibly a very old WL siren. The Federal Labs siren you show initially was their version of the 66L. Federal Labs was a division of Federal Sign and Signal Corp., and the sirens were all Federal-built. The ones marketed by Federal Labs showed their own model numbers.

 

[cromwell]

Yes. Try without resistor briefly and she'll likely run. For best results use a battery.

Can I try this without damage to the siren? Connecting a 6V siren to a 12V battery?

 

[Skip Goulet]

Can I try this without damage to the siren? Connecting a 6V siren to a 12V battery?

A brief touch to a 12-volt battery won't harm the siren. Those sirens have heavy duty motors. You would really have to "stand down" on the siren for it to cause fatal harm. Just enough juice to roll it over to make sure it works o.k. won't hurt anything. Just don't overdo it. Where I worked years ago we had a 6-volt Model 28 siren (the underhood version of what you have here) roof mounted. We ran that old siren on a '58 Chevy wagon ambulance and it never hurt the old siren.

 

[cromwell]

A brief touch to a 12-volt battery won't harm the siren. Those sirens have heavy duty motors. You would really have to "stand down" on the siren for it to cause fatal harm. Just enough juice to roll it over to make sure it works o.k. won't hurt anything. Just don't overdo it. Where I worked years ago we had a 6-volt Model 28 siren (the underhood version of what you have here) roof mounted. We ran that old siren on a '58 Chevy wagon ambulance and it never hurt the old siren.

I have tried this now, some brief touches to a 12-volt battery, but I had to try three times before the siren started to roll, because there was this little "bang" noise & sparks flying from the cables when I did this (and maybe a little burnt smell). When I get hold of 6-volt battery I will give it a new try. But i guess the siren works ok since it started to roll a little.

 

[Skip Goulet]

I have tried this now, some brief touches to a 12-volt battery, but I had to try three times before the siren started to roll, because there was this little "bang" noise & sparks flying from the cables when I did this (and maybe a little burnt smell). When I get hold of 6-volt battery I will give it a new try. But i guess the siren works ok since it started to roll a little.

I should've warned you about that! Because you're putting 12-volts into a 6-volt motor, it causes a very slight, momentary overload, which results in the sparking and hot smell you experienced. No harm done.

 

[cromwell]

I should've warned you about that! Because you're putting 12-volts into a 6-volt motor, it causes a very slight, momentary overload, which results in the sparking and hot smell you experienced. No harm done.

OK, thanks for the info!