Re: Adventures with a 1955 Clipper
Posted by JWL On 2011/6/26 14:36:11
Hello All,
This garage session account was written after a week hiatus due to Salado, income taxes, and other matters that required attention and took away from the time usually spent in the garage.
The last session before going to Salado was somewhat of a setback. Regardless of what the shop sign says, mistakes will happen. The mistake was caused by using too long of a sheet metal screw to fasten the ground wire to the voltage regulator body. There was smoke and an electrical shorting sound when I connected the battery prior to polarizing the generator. The voltage regulator was quickly turned into junk in just a couple of seconds. Then it was off to NAPA to order a replacement.
Installing the new voltage regulator was the first task after getting back into the garage. This all went well. Also found a new home for a mysterious green wire. The wire mysteriously appeared after getting everything back together in the engine compartment. The two wires for the backup lights were obvious, but where in the heck does this wire go? It had a push-on terminal on its end. My guess was it had been attached to the neutral safety - backup light switch along with the backup light wires when that was used with the Twin Ultramatic transmission. But what was its function?
Another puzzle was there was no power to the ignition switch. Hmmm, maybe there is a connection (or should be a connection) between these two. I followed the green wire under the dash and it was attached to the accessory terminal on the ignition switch. I wondered what would happen if I connected the green wire to power? I got a long test lead and attached one end to the battery terminal of the new VR206 voltage regulator. When there was no fire and smoke I went into the passenger compartment and turned on the ignition switch and the car came to life, electrically! I don't know where Ross had attached the wire when he changed out the transmission, perhaps I should have called or e-mailed him, but didn't want to bother him with this. I decided to connect it to the positive terminal of the battery. I found a 30 amp in-line fuse for protection, connected one end to the green wire and made up a terminal on the other end to fasten on the battery terminal bolt. Then, I wrapped the green wire into a branch of the wiring loom for neatness and safety. A better way would have been to connect it to the battery terminal on the starter solenoid switch. I will make this improvement later.
Between the last session and this one I began asking around about changing the battery ground polarity from positive to negative. I wanted to change to negative ground to conform to the modern convention of 12-volts and negative ground. With this change I could plug-in a cell phone and/or a navigation device and other accessories that would not function with a positive grounded system. Plus, if I ever needed a battery boost there would be no fooling around with cable connection protocols. I figured it would be a simple thing to do since this car has no solid-state electronic components. All I would need to do would be to turn the battery around, switch the ignition coil leads, and re-polarize the generator. I asked around and had my procedure confirmed. The Clipper is now a negative grounded car. Simple.
Well, things were going well yesterday so I decided to try and get it running. I filled the cooling system with about a one-third mixture of antifreeze and water. No need to go to the common 50-50 mixture which brings the freezing point down to -34F as the weather here does not get that cold and there is more cooling efficiency with a lighter antifreeze and water mixture. I used the old green type, not the new extended life type that is now occupying store shelves. Some people have commented that the new extended life antifreeze is not compatible with older vehicles like our Packards. I filled the system and no leaks appeared. Okay, let's get this thing going. I turned on the battery cut-off switch, got in the car, turned on the ignition switch, and turned the key to the start position. It cranked, but only for a couple of tries. After that, nada from the starter. I thought maybe it was a weak battery as it had been sitting for a couple of months. Put the battery charger on and let it charge over night. Tried again this morning and more of the same, nothing.
Solving this problem will be the job for the next garage session. Will it be the wire connection, the ignition switch, the starter relay, or the starter? Please stay tuned.
Take care.
(o{I}o)
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This garage session account was written after a week hiatus due to Salado, income taxes, and other matters that required attention and took away from the time usually spent in the garage.
The last session before going to Salado was somewhat of a setback. Regardless of what the shop sign says, mistakes will happen. The mistake was caused by using too long of a sheet metal screw to fasten the ground wire to the voltage regulator body. There was smoke and an electrical shorting sound when I connected the battery prior to polarizing the generator. The voltage regulator was quickly turned into junk in just a couple of seconds. Then it was off to NAPA to order a replacement.
Installing the new voltage regulator was the first task after getting back into the garage. This all went well. Also found a new home for a mysterious green wire. The wire mysteriously appeared after getting everything back together in the engine compartment. The two wires for the backup lights were obvious, but where in the heck does this wire go? It had a push-on terminal on its end. My guess was it had been attached to the neutral safety - backup light switch along with the backup light wires when that was used with the Twin Ultramatic transmission. But what was its function?
Another puzzle was there was no power to the ignition switch. Hmmm, maybe there is a connection (or should be a connection) between these two. I followed the green wire under the dash and it was attached to the accessory terminal on the ignition switch. I wondered what would happen if I connected the green wire to power? I got a long test lead and attached one end to the battery terminal of the new VR206 voltage regulator. When there was no fire and smoke I went into the passenger compartment and turned on the ignition switch and the car came to life, electrically! I don't know where Ross had attached the wire when he changed out the transmission, perhaps I should have called or e-mailed him, but didn't want to bother him with this. I decided to connect it to the positive terminal of the battery. I found a 30 amp in-line fuse for protection, connected one end to the green wire and made up a terminal on the other end to fasten on the battery terminal bolt. Then, I wrapped the green wire into a branch of the wiring loom for neatness and safety. A better way would have been to connect it to the battery terminal on the starter solenoid switch. I will make this improvement later.
Between the last session and this one I began asking around about changing the battery ground polarity from positive to negative. I wanted to change to negative ground to conform to the modern convention of 12-volts and negative ground. With this change I could plug-in a cell phone and/or a navigation device and other accessories that would not function with a positive grounded system. Plus, if I ever needed a battery boost there would be no fooling around with cable connection protocols. I figured it would be a simple thing to do since this car has no solid-state electronic components. All I would need to do would be to turn the battery around, switch the ignition coil leads, and re-polarize the generator. I asked around and had my procedure confirmed. The Clipper is now a negative grounded car. Simple.
Well, things were going well yesterday so I decided to try and get it running. I filled the cooling system with about a one-third mixture of antifreeze and water. No need to go to the common 50-50 mixture which brings the freezing point down to -34F as the weather here does not get that cold and there is more cooling efficiency with a lighter antifreeze and water mixture. I used the old green type, not the new extended life type that is now occupying store shelves. Some people have commented that the new extended life antifreeze is not compatible with older vehicles like our Packards. I filled the system and no leaks appeared. Okay, let's get this thing going. I turned on the battery cut-off switch, got in the car, turned on the ignition switch, and turned the key to the start position. It cranked, but only for a couple of tries. After that, nada from the starter. I thought maybe it was a weak battery as it had been sitting for a couple of months. Put the battery charger on and let it charge over night. Tried again this morning and more of the same, nothing.
Solving this problem will be the job for the next garage session. Will it be the wire connection, the ignition switch, the starter relay, or the starter? Please stay tuned.
Take care.
(o{I}o)
Attach file:
(27.62 KB)
(43.13 KB)
(28.63 KB)
(36.76 KB) (35.25 KB)
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