Hi all,

I did a search on positive ground and nothing came up.

My question is this: were any Caddies of the '60s equipped with 12V POSITIVE ground electrical systems?

Reason I ask is that I have a friend with a '61 Sedan de Ville who said he has a negative-ground electrical system, and another friend with a '66 Calais who said he has a POSITIVE ground electrical system.

Thoughts??

"Positive" and "ground" are contradictory terms. I seriously doubt that any fairly recent production line automotive DC system uses the entire vehicle as the + or "hot" side of the circuit.

Not that it could not be done with some major electrical reverse wiring - but to what advantage, and your friend's '66 notwithstanding, the sheer number of diodes and isolated modules in today's vehicles makes electrical circuit current reversal practically impossible.

"Positive" and "ground" are contradictory terms.
I do not want to wander down the path of electrical theory.

I just would like to know whether Cadillacs of the '60s ever came from the factory with their positive battery cables connected to the block/frame, and if so, what years did they do that?

Thanks in advance!
~Matt

No they did not!! Positive ground systems were used in English cars early is the 20th century up till about the 1960's

I can't speak about before 1957 (my first car was a Coupe deVille I bought from my dad when I was 16 and the car was 13). The '57 was 12V negative ground, as was all others I've owned...'62, '64, '77, '81, etc. The only cars I know of that were ever positive ground were as Carnut said--British. I had a '59 Hillman Minx convertible that I converted to negative ground.

Think your buddy with the Calais is either dyslexic, or smokin' the wacky weed!

Domestic cars switched to a 12 volt system around 1955 thru 1957. I know Ford was 6 volts in 54, Chevrolet was 12 volts in 1955. Chry had the first alternator in 61, or 62. GM in 1963. I know for sure Cadillac was positive ground and 6 volts in the early 1940's.

Could his car have been a export and used the system that was standard to where it was sent, if it was sent to England and used there standard system and bought buy someone in the service that returned the car here. I do not know if GM did these in exports but would not be surprised if they did