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Good evening was out for a ride in my 53 clipper and noticed my Overdrive isn't working. .. now when I restored the car I put all new switches on transmission except the governor switch I've already verified that the solenoid Is working everything is hooked up right. When I engage the Overdrive I guess with the knob under the dash I can feel the engine brake effect that I should when I drive it. .... I'm trying to figure out of there is a way to by pass the governor beings it closes the circuit for the lockout switch. ..any help would greatly be appreciated

You could run a temporary wire inside the car and hook one end up to ground thru a switch. I would start by connecting the other end to the relay on firewall. Make sure the knob is pushed in and when car is at speed flip the switch to directly bring in the relay. That will bypass the governor, lockout sw and kickdown sw and should bring in OD when you let off the gas for an instant. Alternately, if you suspect only the governor you could hook it up at the lockout switch end first although getting on one of those terminals might be a bit harder because I believe they are bullet connectors rather than screw terminals.

In the first scenario, if the car goes into OD then move the wire to the governor side terminal of kickdown sw and do it again. If the car does not go in you know the KD sw has an issue. If it does, move to the lockout sw and do it again. That is one way you can eliminate switches and wiring -- or at least narrow the problem to a specific area.

Just remember when bypassing the KD switch with the direct connection to relay you will not be able to drop out of OD without flipping the temporary switch if the need should arise.

One question is are you shifting the knob only when you want to go into OD or leaving the OD knob in most all the time? If it is already in, when starting out it will be in conventional and should be ready to go into OD at approx 20 mph. By letting off the gas for an instant it should make the transition.

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Yes it's locked in most of the time I don't really take it out or disengage for another term but when I let off the gas it doesn't do anything but engine brake effect wanting to slow the car down. .... now if I disengage it then while driving and let off the gas it just goes into what I call free floating it will just go back to idle until you accelerate and catch the engine back up with tranny speed

When you check the governor make sure the ground connections are good. No paint on the threads and the small metal connection between a rivet on the bottom and one of the three mounting screws is clean and screws are tight.

When you are down there also use an ohmmeter to check continuity on the lockout switch. Make sure the internal mechanism is closing it when the knob is in.

You can do an easy test in the comfort of your own garage. Press the overdrive knob IN all the way to the usual overdrive-is-available position. Turn your ignition on, but do not start the car. Take a little jumper wire and ground the terminal that Howard indicated. You should hear the solenoid pull in. If not, check the fuse and wiring.

If yes, then repeat the test at the governor. Unplug the governor and ground the wire that came to it. You should hear the solenoid again. If not, it is either the lockout switch or the kickdown switch, both of which are easily tested.

Ok thanks for the help guys I will try and check it out tomorrow will re post my findings

Ross is 100% correct and I should have suggested the easy car sitting tests first. I think my motto must be why do it easy when hard is so much more fun . Hopefully it does turn out to be electrical and you can determine a reason the solenoid is not coming in via the normal route.

Unfortunately on that point sometimes you can't really tell from sound alone. If it does make a sound to indicate the solenoid is electrically moving the question becomes is it a complete stroke and going in mechanically far enough to engage the pawl in the sun gear. That is where the driving part with the direct relay connection might help.

The lockout lever or cable could have loosened or be misadjusted so even with the knob in the normal blocking mechanism is preventing the solenoid from fully engaging. Another question would be if the solenoid was removed for the test to ensure it worked was it reinstalled so the ball is properly engaged in the pawl slot and able to move fully in and out. Worst case is things are moving but something has happened internally preventing OD.

Ok just started messing with it I ran temp wire from ground to the terminal marked on the relay when you turn key on now the relay clicks as it has not done this before running temp wire but still nothing from solenoid below

If you have 6v at the fuse and fuse is good then when relay clicks you should have 6v at the relay output which would be the terminal closest to front of car on the end of relay having the two terminals. If the wire is good that voltage would appear on terminal 4 of the solenoid. If no voltage out then the relay contacts could need some attention.

If voltage reaches the solenoid and the pull in coil contacts inside the solenoid are good then there should be at least a faint click from the solenoid. Depending on how far the plunger can move it may not have the large clunk they typically make when plunger moves full travel. If it is not going full travel then it may need the driving test as parts have be moving to line up internally before the plunger can move full travel to engage the pawl.

Here is a 22-23 series schematic showing internal connections or contacts of the relay and solenoid. Note this is an earlier schematic. The relay, solenoid and kickdown/cutout portions are the same as yours but the lockout switch on 53s is in the governor and ground side of relay coil not the power side as this schematic shows.

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Ok guys I cleaned the contacts on relay and where the fuse goes it wasn't making good contact. Took out for a drive and as soon as you let off gas pedal in second gear it goes right into over drive and then when you gas it again and let off it goes back to conventional gear then the same with third goes right back into Overdrive...so I think that part is ok and the governor is ok also now here is my next question as im new to a packard etc etc while messing with relay originally I got it to click and engage the solenoid but after the solenoid would engage the relay would click again like it was turning off? But the solenoid stayed engaged until I would disconnect the jumper wire. Now when the relay kicks in it engages the solenoid but does not click again. Could the relay be bad or should it not click off after the solenoid stays engaged? ?? Cause I've also noticed that when your in second or third and punch the gas pedal it does not kick down into lower gear but does kick back out when car slows down to around 20. Could the relay not clicking off cause that too ? I didn't have time to check the rest of the switches but sounds like everything is working except the kickdown and possibly relay may be bad? Sorry post is so long and I apologize if I'm confusing any one