That thought had crossed my mind...

Oh, well...so much for thinking out of the box on the EC wire...I kinda figured I wouldn't be that lucky!

Although I haven't grounded the circuit from this connection point near the governor, I have grounded it from the kickdown switch...and the solenoid snaps to attention. And since I have continuity from there to the connection that is giving me fits, I would conclude that my problem rests with the governor. If this is the case, I think I'll need to surrender and give thought to wiring a driver-operated toggle switch arrangement in order to ground the OD circuit when I want to. Unless I shrink myself to 1/43 scale, there is no way I'll be able to remove that governor.

The continuing saga. Just as HH56 remarked earlier, I did discover a hard rubber connector in the wiring between the governor and the main harness. I was hoping this was the cuprit. I managed to disconnect the connector. Then, I checked for continuity between that point and the kickdown switch...it was good. Thus, my problem is either with the connector itself...or somewhere downstream (which equates to the 6 inches of wiring to the governor. Although I will try a replacement connector, I did check for continuity in the existing connector and it seems to check out fine...so I'm baffled. I have a hard time believing that my problem is with the governor or that last 6 inches of wiring...but it certainly could be so.

Now here's my big question. What would happen if I try connecting instead to that unused stretch of wiring that is already there for the non-existent EC?? I'm wondering if that wiring would perform the same function (providing a path to ground) as the other wiring. Thinking out of the box here.

I guess I'm just a bit hesitant to yank on it to the point of it pulling out...for fear of not being able to manipulate the wire back in when I'm done. I may just go ahead and cut the wire a little upstream of the governor where I have a good visual and can get my fingers better positioned instead... and ground it from there.

Ross: Do you mean to say that the connection at the governor is in the form of a plug? Not being able to see the top of the governor, I was forced to assume that it was a screwed connection...so this would be a key piece of information. I didn't want to just yank on the thing. I guess my other alternative is to just cut into the wire and test for continuity.

Since I am getting voltage at the upstream side of the relay coil, I know I have continuity from the battery through the ignition switch.

OK, this would set me up tool-wise. But of course these pictures make it look easy since the tranmission is sitting on a bench with everything perfectly accessible. Has anyone actually had experience removing the governor with the transmission INSTALLED?

So here's the next hurdle. I can't see any recourse at this point except to remove the governor to permit me to examine what's going on there. Is there a way of removing it without having to drop the transmission? I'm not underneath the car right now, but I don't even recall seeing any bolts to loosen. I've chased down every thread here having to do with "overdrive" and haven't found a thing that would help.

HH56: While I can't possibly get an overhead view of the governor because of where it is situated, I felt around and couldn't detect any similarity at all with images that you included above. Can't see any means to put a probe on the appropriate connector because of where they are and the presence of those boots that are covering them (at least that what I call them). And I can pretty much rule out being able to disconnect anything. I will try to look at the wiring between the governor and the kickdown switch to see if I can find any faulty connector. I wouldn't suspect the kickdown switch itself since I did have a sat continuity check between the bottom two connection points which tells me that it must be in its normal position, providing a circuit path between the relay and the governor.

Folks: I have a very frustrating problem. My R-11 overdrive has suddenly stopped working (it won't engage...the relay is not closing) on my 23rd series after having been functioning PERFECTLY for as long as I've had the car (3 years). I thought for sure it must be the overdrive relay or fuse, but I removed the relay and bench tested it...it's just fine (closes right at 6 v). I placed it back into the system and with the ignition switch closed, I have voltage on both sides of the relay coil. I have continuity from the relay to the solenoid (and the solenoid does energize when I manually close the relay). I have continuity across the kickdown switch and from the kickdown switch to the relay. I suspect that the governor is not properly grounding out the signal when the speed setpoint it reached. Tonight, I went underneath to inspect the governor, and I was surprised to note that mine had two wires coming out from the top of it (from two separate booted connections)...one of course goes to the kickdown switch. But the other wire (about 6 inches long) is simply dangling there, dead ending in something of a stump. Is this second wire supposed to be connected to ground??? I thought the grounding function happened internal to the housing, so I'm not understanding what this second wire does and how or if it has anything to do with my problem. I can't see where this wire could have been connected to anything in the immediate vicinity...there simply isn't any visible evidence. I would be happy to check continuity from the governor to the kickdown switch, but I can't see how I can do that given the presence of those little boots on top of the governor that cover the connection points (I can barely touch them with my fingertips). I'm stunned to read threads of those of you who have actually removed the governor. I can't see how this is humanly possible, given the geometry of the device and where it is wedged...how the heck did you guys ever get it out???? But I am still left to conclude that my problem is an electrical one and has to do with the governor's grounding function.

So, any comments or thoughts from the wizards out there?

I bask in the sunshine of the compliments! But that incorrect air filter decal is really beginning to eat at me.

Gee, can you tell I'm a purist?

Regarding that tube...I believe that was only designed for use on the 356 engine, was it not? It amazes me that it could have had that tangible of an effect (and that it wouldn't be equally usefull on the smaller engines).