WOW Thank You ,Lots of good feedback ,Im Taking the car to a diagnostic guy who only does old cars in the am ;the charging system is the last thing before becomming my commuter car .Ill need to tell him to make sure the wire from the ignition switch to the battery light isnt shorted

\ ,One thing I learned in everybodys comments ;I didnt know one had to polarize the generator!! ... the voltage regulator comes with intructions in the box that says to polarize it with a little u shaped piece between 2 of the terminals but

I didnt know about the generator ,andd yes each time I get one id bolted it in adjusted the belt and fired up the car ,maby Ive been running off the battery the whole time and never had a charging system working !charge it up run a couple of hundred miles and then it goes dead ,not too much actual driving miles during the restoration How do I polarise a generator ??\
My cables are from the Max Merrit guys and are the correct gage ,The battery is a interstate and not too old but the car has sat from time to time and maby its sulfurated or theres an internal shortor resistance in one of the cells so itll hold a charge but act funny ,so Im suspicious of a battery problem that isnt obvious are the available voltage regulators set up for positive ground and 6 v ?
Im not smart enough to do all of the adjustments of a voltage regulator so if its not right as it comes out of the box im out of luck

is there a fluid puddle under where the car was parked?
a pint of transmission fluid covers 7 square feet ,the fluid is red dyed .The ultramatic can have a slow leak from the pan gasket, and from the bushing where the shift selector rod goes in to the case where theres a bushing that can wear out .low fluid levels can cause a chirpy noise .
to check the fluid level ,,the easiest way is up on a lift... if you dont have a lift you can do it from the iside of the car; driver side pull back the back edge of the carpet or mat theres two holes ;the one on the top of the hump in the midline is the filler hole ,and the one on the driver side of the hump is over the dipstick .its a bit hard to reach

I have a 52 200 ,resto is almost done, and I can use her for a commuter BUT
I seem to go through a lot of generators! ,recantly have been plagued with a persistant battery light being on ,sometimes after the car is shut off .
I posted this one and got the advice to check the ignition switch .I replaced it, charged up the year old 6 v battery while I was working on it .Seemed to work for a bit .Not so long ago I had replaced the voltage regulator and while trying to figure out the battery light mystery I took off the regulator cover and checked its points, which looked ok no burning or sticking noted ,I polarised it as I had had the battery unhooked.
I had replaced the coil condencer and ignition points ,plug wires ,even the harness as part of the resto .

recantly the battery light came while driving on the highway at speed but not at street speed (,about a 120 mi trip over two days @60 mph including about 1/2 of the time with the lights on) , now the battery is dead .I guess the car was probably running off the battery not the generator and now ,run down,she wont start .Seems like the generator isnt charging at the higher rpm .this is my third generator .I'm guessing this one doesnt work when at higher rpm's ?Seems like a generator issue perhaps the rotor.
,Ive gotten rebuilt generators from both max merrit and kantor.perhaps they rebuild the brushes and paint them but dont check the rotors to check for shorts which might show up at elevated rpm 's .
In plumbing this mystery on the packardinfo site I saw an interesting post about high internal resistance from a weak battery causing charging problems ,I'M concidering a shotgun approach and switching the generator again as well as the voltage regulator but am worried about negative effect on my marriage .
I saw on the sites parts cross reference that the voltage regulator for a 53 was available through napa ,how about a 52?
the belt is a modern one and not the big old size,too tight destroying the generator?
CLUELESS!

I have a really steep hill to go up and down ,Its called Moser ,I call it car death hill .Low range engine brakes beautifully down the hill.I use low range going up and I hear this metallic "chink" "chink" sound on the steepest part .its more than a 20% grade .I have good torque going up I dont feel the car hesitate or slip ,I thought the fluid might be low in the transmission such that theyres not enough pressure being generated and something is slipping .I looked at the manual .
Which side is the transmision cover window ?it doesnt say if its the driver or passenger side,I have the original rubber mats I bet theyre too brittle to survive a peel up so I want to start on the right side .It seems like a low fluid level could cause something to slip ,The transmission also doesnt kick down too well when the throttle is applied

Im sure the torque converter and the tranny could use fresh fluid ,The transmission will fill the torque converter as its filled at 800 rpm? Lining up the holes in the flywheel that looks like a job for a mechanic with a lift ,but no one locally will touch it.I live in the San Francisco bay area now . I HAD lived in Richmond a few miles from Mr Ultamatic Dynamic Co;s Mr Fitch the ultramatic specialist ,but didnt know about him at the time

I have a 50 desoto and the torque converter and transmission both can be checked and filled from the top window which is on passenger side of the hump ,the clunkomatic tip toe transmission

Hello ,I'm not sure how to start a new topic ,Im want to change the fluid in the ultramatic of the 52 packard 200 I have ,I think I have to change the fluid in the torque converter too ,I have some slipping of the transmission particularly when going up a hill . can someone tell me the trick on how to do this ,I have a manual ,Any special fluid to use ? the proceedure to line up the flywheel and the converter holes looks trickey!!

Interesting
I have the thunderbolt 8 in my 52 200 that likes to not start when hot mabey its a hot fuel system !

I didn't know what the bolt insulators were for when I installed the rebuilt mechanical fuel pump ,but now I do .
There was a booster electric pump installed back at the tank but I took it out because it was wired incorectly .(I saved it in the trunk sounds like if its a free flowing one I could re install it by the tank on an ignition powered switch under the dash to use in vapor lock emergencies
I dont recall exactly if there was an gasket between the fuel pump and the block,but I think it was just a gasket and not anything that seemed like an insulator gasket ,is this something you made upspecial ? seems like a good idea .
I have the heat shield installed between the pump and the intake and exhaust manifold .
Is the heat shield between the carb and the manifold you mentioned a stock item or something you made up?Shall I get out the coffee can?
The carb insulator phenolic block ,was this a stock thing I could order somewhere ,are the studs long enough to allow for it on the stock intake I wonder ?
5% deisel sounds like a harmless fix ,would be easy to keep a gallon of deisel at home to add , but how much gas is a full tank?Im bad at math so have to figure out how much to squirt in there

Hi I have a hot start problem too I have a 52 200 ,I didnt know tha carb had an antipercolation valve ,is it something that can be checked externally or is it a take down?The phenolic board sounds smart anyone know where to get one thats made already? I noted some insulation around the fuel line on one of the shots on the thread ,that seems like a great idea ,its original looking .my heat shield is in place but I was thinking of epoxying some reflective material unobtrusivly under it .What is the jury on the gallon of diesel in the tank to make up for the alcohol ?

thank you very Much for the ignition switch trick . I NEVER would have figured out that one and would have bunged it up big time trying !!,
I dont undersand the mysteries of a voltage regulator so well but was wondering if the battery was low for sitting ,and then too many cranks,if that would allow the voltage regulator contact to stay contacted when it shouldnt such that it stays in contact after the cars turned off even though the ignition was off ,this might explain the intermittant nature of the problem that didnt reoccur after a nice 6 v charge for several hours ,MYSTERIOUS!

I charged up the battery reconnected the ground to it and the battery light isnt on anymore ! intermittant problem .perhaps the switch .I looked under the dash ,no frayed wires or loose nuts .

Changing the switch will be a fun project .BUT how does it come out ?
theres a chrome eschutchen on the dash on the outside ,and 4 tabs on the front of the switch that faces the inside of the dash.
It looks like one loosens the switch then drops it down to be able to get at all of the conections . do you pry off the escutchen? twist the switch inside ?

when hot it turns over at what I guess is an ok rpm , that 6v rr rrr rrr rrrr having a good charge on the battery definatly helps everything
,I was wondering if the high alcohol fuel evaporates in the bowl sitting on the warm intake manifold and Its just not turning fast enough at starter rpm to get gas pumped up into the carb
If she is really stubborn Ill pull the aircleaner and spray start spray into the carb and it starts up and fills the glass filter bowl I installed before the carb.
The heat shield is installed between the pump and the intake ,
Do folks wrap the fuel ine to insulate it?
I have the proper gage battery wires , and have a rebuilt gennerator ,have gone through about 5 starter motors the windings come apart or theu jam up

heya thank you ,Im going to have to copy that answer down and go snoopin under the dash ,thanks for the helpfull pic too! Im going to order a starter switch ,charge up the battery and grab a flashlight for some squeeze my fat frame under the dash gymnastics ! by the way hey, do all of the big straight 8's have a problem with hot starts ?after the engines warmed yp and stopped she doesnt like to go again ,maybe the batterys old and not giving me good hot spark ,I hear those 6 volt batteries just dont have the same life and durability as the 12's