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Discussion Topic:
51 Ford overdrive problem
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planojc |
10-27-2011 @ 11:01 AM
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Member
Posts: 42
Joined: May 2010
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Overdrive solenoid in a 51 ford will not kick in. The solenoid will kick in if a hot wire is connected direct from the battery to the #4 terminal, but will not kick in using the relay. The relay does kick in when the governor terminal is grounded, but the relay output voltage going to the solenoid drops to around 4 volts. When I disconnect the solenoid the voltage goes back to 6.3 volts. I have tried another relay and solenoid with the same results and testing each on the bench, using a new hot battery and good wire connections. The wiring harness on the overdrive is new. It appears that the relay can’t deliver the current to energize the solenoid, but why. I did clean the point contacts. Any suggestions? Thanks
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TomO |
10-27-2011 @ 5:09 PM
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Senior
Posts: 7256
Joined: Oct 2009
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It sounds like the solenoid does not have a good ground. The governor provides the ground through the rail switch and the kick down switch. Try grounding the terminal on the governor. If the solenoid picks, clean the contacts inside the governor. If the solenoid does not pick, move your grounding jumper to the rail switch if present and then the 2 upper terminals of the kick down switch (one at a time). If one of them causes the solenoid to pick, and not the other, the kick down switch is defective.
Tom
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40cpe |
10-27-2011 @ 5:27 PM
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Member
Posts: 477
Joined: Jan 2010
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The governor grounds the relay which provides the circuit to the solenoid. Your #4 terminal feeds a wire directly to the solenoid. According to the schematic, the # 4 wire and the feed from the starter relay terminal should be # 12 wire. The relay is the only switch between the batt feed and the solenoid. If your wire is large enough and the connections are good, I would suspect the relay. A modern heavy duty relay is inexpensive for a test. Are you trying to close the solenoid on the car with it sitting still? The transmission has to turn for the solenoid pawl to find a slot in the ring unless it happens to stop in the right spot. The OD circuits can be a bother, but they are worth getting right. Stay at it.
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