Re: Intermittent starter engagement '53 327

Posted by BH On 2011/4/23 16:07:34

I'm not very familiar with this cranking system, but if it it's not covered in the 51-54 shop manual, you can take a trip back in time with with the Service Letter/Counselor newsletters - where I first learned about this carburetor starter switch system.

Seems that this system was first implemented with the '41 Clipper. Like any new technology, there would be both a learning curve for mechanics and teething problems for the engineers.

One of the first problems was no cranking - addressed in an article on the "Car Starter Switch", in SL Vol. 15, No. 9 (May 1, 1941). The problem was an open circuit - due to a loose switch assemby clamp screw.

A few more articles would follow as things evolved, but they must have finally ironed things out, in 1943, with the 20th Series, as I've not seen any other articles on the subject in the years since. Seems like this system went basically unchanged (save for later, additional types of safety switches) through 1953.

Perhaps, then, a review of another, later, article titled, "Car Starter Switch", in SL Vol. 17, No. 1 (January 1, 1943) will be of help. This article provides an overview of the system's operation, along with a perspective on troubleshooting.

Although these articles were written with (then) new vehicles in mind, I'm confident that the diagnostic steps will help turn up other things - such as what Clipper47 found with his car, decades later.