Re: Electromatic clutch operation

Posted by Jim Kavanagh On 2009/8/7 12:20:08

This weekend I am going to pull both the Governor and the solenoid to check them out.
When I bought the car, the OD did not work because the solenoid was bad. It had been in a private museum for a while and got very little use, so I had the cooling system, the brakes and the suspension sorted out so I could drive it regularly. While doing that, we replaced the old solenoid, (which was toasted) with another one which was not rebuilt, more like a spare. The OD worked well for a few months and then began to develope the "machine gun" effect. Recently the fuse blew. I had assumed that the noise noted was due either to something in the solenoid or to something in the balk ring area (it was hard to tell if it was electric or mechanical).
Now with the OD not attempting to engage when it should (the fuse is still intact) I am pretty sure it is electrical. I am good mechanically, but not with the electric system. You guys are a great help and have given me a couple places to start looking.
For me, working on the car is one of the pleasures of owning it, provided I can fix it (if not it is just a frustration).
There is a great thread on the post-war forum on systematically working through the electrical system on an OD unit. I tried using this to work through mine, but it seemed there were some differences that made it difficult. Probably due to my lack of familiarity.
I do appreciate the input from everyone and really look forward to getting this operating correctly.