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Still curious why the turnsignal unless your car was changed to keep the starter from operating when key was off and that circuit had a convenient tie point.

Originally with the small jumper connecting that solenoid terminal to battery the prewar cars would crank but not start when key was off. Not a great idea and was changed for 42s when they went to the carb switch. Maybe someone retrofitted yours to work the same way.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Heavy-Duty-Turn-Signal-Switch,30566.html?sku=91062860&utm_medium=CSEGoogle&utm_source=CSE&utm_campaign=CSEGOOGLE

6volt turn signal

There's wiring information. The wire in question connects to the red wire that goes to the switch, not to the blinker relay.

My starter turns when the key is off and you press the starter button.

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Must confess that I am confused. The red wire that goes to the switch seems to be coming from the brake light switch and why the starter relay would be tied in to that is anyones guess. It would only have power if the brakes were applied.

If it were connected to red wire going to flasher then I could understand it because that wire could be providing battery power to the relay thru the fuse. Since you can crank without turning the key somehow the relay has to be getting power directly from the battery.

There was no small Packard provided jumper wire or metal strap connecting the battery post to that terminal as the schematic shows??

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Howard, It will have to remain a mystery. Why? Everything works now. Starter. Blinkers. Starter with key off or on, as before. The spare starter I had rebuilt is the original 1940. The starter in the car is most likely a '47, but I can't read the plate. So maybe that added to the confusion.

I did a practice removal on the spare starter before attempting the one on the Duchess.

To remove the relay cover takes 5 screws: 1 on the back of the cover, the 2 small terminals at the top in the front, and 2 small screws on the bottom front. The one closest to the engine was a bear. First you have to remove the copper plate/strap to the starter from the large main terminal closest to the engine. Then to get that screw I lifted off the distributor cap. That gave my screwdriver a straight shot at it.

After disconnecting the wires, the cover, which has big holes that slip over the top of the big terminals, came off.

This exposed the contacts. I cleaned them. With the cover off I reconnected the wires, connected the battery and Bingo, starter turned over.

I think my somewhat loose starter button burned the contacts somehow. But gee what a thrill. And I didn't have to remove the starter.

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I replaced the starter with my spare, which is the original 1940 starter. In the process we broke off the contact tips of the stoplight switch. I had an old one and installed it. It worked, but when I got to work the brake lights stayed on until I touched the brake pedal. No problem starting after work.

The car (I just call it the car when it's being bad) sat for two days. The brakes lights may have stayed on during that time. At least that's what I assumed when I went to start it to drive in this morning. COMPLETELY dead battery.

This is a two month old Optima battery. So I put it on 6V charger and when I got home from work it was not charged. It wouldn't stay on the 6V setting.

Of course, I'm always sure it's my fault, just from experience. But what do you think happened? Is the battery faulty? If an Optima sealed battery discharges all the way it can never be recharged?

This is the red 6V Optima brand battery. $100+

Any ideas, advice, or 'shouldas' appreciated.

Joe

Joe,

This link might help.

That was helpful. I have to buy another 6V battery, fully charge it, and MAYBE the Optima battery will recharge with their special charger. They don't even mention it works for 6Vs. I think I will just put the new battery in the car and forget it. Live and learn.

After some minor 3-way ping pong between Optima, Amazon and myself, they (O and A) provided me with a replacement (not new) battery gratis. Using that battery hooked up in parallel with the deeply discharged one I couldn't recharge on its own, I was, after 4 hours on the charger, able to get the it to 6v. I then installed both batteries and a new twist-type battery switch, plus my 12v/neg ground cigar lighter converter box into the battery box.

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The Duchess has been running like crap lately and I keep chasing issues, like changing the carburetor to the Carter. It is better, but still lots of coughing, wheezing and fluffing at rpms at mid gear or higher.

CONDENSER So at the Packards of Oregon meeting last night I asked the experts. Check the condenser. This morning I played hooky and learned how to finally use my multimeter and how to test condensers. I wasn't getting much of anything at first, shadowing readings. My meter needed a new 9V. Then the tests started to make sense. I took out the old condenser and put in a new one. Huge difference in performance, but still a tiny hesitation, barely noticeable at the top of 1st and 2nd. But at least I could wind it up past the middle, no problem.

COIL I added a temporary coil (need to locate one where the back opens up), wired it up and now...awesome...amazing...almost Too much power. I drop smoothly into overdrive at 45 and 50 without missing a beat.

ATF Also it was suggested pouring a 1/2 cup of automatic transmission fluid in the carburetor with the hand throttle keeping g the rpms up well above idle. Huge billows of smoke blew into the neighbor's yard. Next time I do this, I'll warn them. This counteracts the ethanol and limbers the valves. She runs very smooth now.

Changed my whole frame of mind.

Joe, always nice when things get fixed and work as they should, again. You might try a small amount of diesel fuel in your gas. 5% of diesel added to the gasoline helped fix the vapor locking problems I was having with the 47 Custom Clipper (356 engine similar to yours). A little smokey at start up, but other than that nothing obvious with smoke or odor. You might start with a smaller amount and see how it goes.

(o[]o)