Re: TrevorK's 1955 Packard Patrician

Posted by HH56 On 2017/9/10 8:45:24

Make sure the Packard light green wire at that 3 wire connector has power full time (except when brakes are applied) from the conversion. Check that a wire didn't get pulled out of the TL on/off switch under the dash and that it is on. If those are OK then the control switch should have power to operate.

If it does have power but no action, it is possible that as the car reached near max height the motor was pulling a lot of current and the 20 amp inline fuse feeding the solenoids and motor was blown. That fuse is located in a red wire and should be within a few inches distance from where it connects to the battery post at the starter solenoid.

If stock the fuse holder should be sized for an SFE20 fuse which is 1/4" in diameter x 1 1/4" long On that particular fuse a modern AGC fuse will also fit the holder but that is not the case with all the other fuses in the car. Packard used a lot of SFE type fuses which vary in dimensions according to the amperage. Some holders are specific to the amp rating of the fuse and will only accept a specific size. Napa and maybe others carry the SFE fuses.

If that fuse is blown also verify that as it reached upper limit the limit switch was activated in time and is what stopped the motion. If the bracket holding the solenoids and limit switch happened to have been bent at some point it is possible for the transverse bar to miss the switch actuator completely. If that happens the motor keeps going and will try to run the bar past the center of the compensator before the fuse blows.