Re: stick on labels

Posted by HH56 On 2022/5/25 19:04:47

Packard ignition switches of that era have 3 terminals labeled:

AM for ammeter which is the same as BAT on 54 and later more modern configuration switches.
GA for gauges which is the same as modern ACC or accessory
COIL which is the same as IGN for powering the ignition circuit.

Turning to the left, only GA is on; to the right GA and COIL are both on.

That separate coil terminal is intended only for the coil to ensure nothing else powered can feed any voltage back from another point to keep the coil energized when key is turned off. All accessories were supposed to connect only to the GA terminal or another more conveniently located terminal such as the gas gauge that is directly fed from GA. That did not always happen but the main reason you would want to use the left position if just using an accessory like the radio is if the key is to the right, the coil is powered and if the points are closed the constant current thru the the closed points over even a few minutes can overheat or burn them.