Re: The Duchess Project: 1940 Super 8 Convertible Sedan

Posted by Joe Santana On 2020/10/19 8:41:28

TWO ISSUES, Overdrive cable creep and Constant charge on the ammeter

Since moving to the East Coast in July, the Duchess has performed beautifully after some advice from Ross on adjusting the free travel on the clutch pedal. I had 5.5" and it should be 1-1.5", which it is now and shifting is perfect.

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day, sunny and 70s, so I took my first extended trip, an hour's drive to Annapolis.

CHARGING
Checking my gauges after getting on the 495 Beltway around Washington, I noticed the ammeter was still charging fully, almost all the way to the right.

Maybe 2 years ago I installed a small trickle charger under the seat and wired it to the batteries (2 Optima 6V). I lift the back of the front seat, pull out the cord and plug it into an extension cord in the garage. I noticed Before I left Portland that the last few times I checked the charger, it hadn't turned Green to indicate Fully Charged. The batteries were purchased in April of 2016, so that's 54 months. The warranty is for 36 months.

I suspected the batteries might be bad, so I tried to find replacements in Annapolis, but no one I could get had them in stock on a Sunday, so I drove back. The ammeter charged all the way.

I'm going to test battery output this morning with a multimeter. I hope I didn't burn up my generator, so I'll check the brushes also. I located 2 Optima batteries close by at Advanced Auto which they can get tomorrow morning.

The voltage regulator is relatively new, installed last year, and it's a Brillman, not cheap.

ANY suggestions or cautions in dealing with this electrical issue. The car did smell a little different when I got home.

CABLE CREEP
The overdrive is working well, but when I'm out of overdrive, the push rod starts creeping inward toward the firewall. I first noticed it driving around the neighborhood and heard this scraping sound. As soon as I pulled the cable knob toward me and fully out of overdrive, it stopped. But I have to watch it on the road because it wants to inch forward. I've been driving a lot in OD so I don't have to keep watching it to prevent anything destructive from happening.

HEARD of this before?