Re: Henry's 37 Limousine

Posted by Cli55er On 2016/9/1 7:59:29

some good news from last night, although with its own mistakes.

I decided to keep the 8 gauge wire that goes to the fans. the wires that come out of the fans are maybe 16 gauge and they double up to the 8 gauge and run to the switch (heavy duty switch, probably 50amp) I'll just run loom over the cable and be done with that. partly because I cannot get my adult sized arms and hands up behind the grille to attach any new wiring to the fans and out of all the wiring that was one that actually didn't look too bad. musta been a good day for that person.

I ran the wire for the fan from the fuse box to the other side of the switch and ran the fans for as long as I dared so as to not drain the battery....10 min maybe. the switch got a little warm, but I could keep my finger on the pole and it did not burn me. just warm. the fuse was warm when I pulled it as well.

I decided to test the amps going across the switch...don't think I did it right, but it was reading 8.5, but I don't think that was right because I put a 15 amp fuse in to just see if it would work....nope it blew it right when I hit the switch. 25amp fuse works fine though, just gets a little warm like the switch. I still think I'm going to mount a relay to take the load off that switch and the wiring, especially since I already have that 8 gauge wiring right there.

the fuel pump is working now as well. I put in a 3amp fuse just to see if it was even drawing that much. nope the fuse held fine. so that 16 amp switch will handle that thing all day long without a need for a relay and the wiring wont get hot either. bad news though....the electric pump was putting enough pressure on the mechanical that it was pumping gas out of the seams. considering the mechanical pump wont hold fuel pressure when the car sits....and now this....its time for a rebuild. the vacuum side doesn't really work either. I can't remember where I got the rebuild kit for my 55. i'll google soon, but any suggestions for a 37 pump rebuild kit?

so the fans worked and the fuel pump worked. so why not find out if the car will run reliably.

I hooked up the coil wire and the starter and figured out the starter solenoid has a push button on the front of it to run the starter. so that means I can leave the key switch wired the way it is so that the starter button does not engage the starter unless the key is turned. if I want to turn the car over without it starting...I just hit that button on the solenoid without the key on. instant cranking.

so I hooked up everything temporarily, not the alternator though, and sure enough the car ran smooth as butter, even just off the battery.

course I forgot the oil pressure line was not capped off under the dash and I was welcomed back into the cab with an oil spill....womp womp. cleaned that up though.

so long story short... I'm on the right track and at least the car ran.