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Might be a silly question. Trying to get my 51 Patty woken up after languishing for 20+ years. Pulled plugs and dumped Marvel down the cylinders before even trying to move the crank. Waited a few weeks. VIOLA! it does turn over by hand. My wiring is in less than usable condition. I hooked up the starter direct - the starter turns over - but doesn't engage. There are two (2) small studs on the back (firewall) side of the solenoid. One (closest to fenderwell) was obviously connected to the carb starter switch. Nothing was hooked to the other (closest to engine block). I ran a jumper from battery to the terminal hooked to the carb switch. Still no movement from solenoid. Should the other (empty) terminal be hooked to the Battery (armature) post on the voltage regulator as the 1952 wiring diagram shows? The 1951 diagram does not show the additional terminal, the 52 diagram does. I have a delco system. I'd sure like to save the trouble of pulling the starter if it's just a missing wire. Any help would be most welcome.

I bought my 51 almost 2 years ago. It had sat since 1993 in White City, Oregon. It sat at a friend's house after I bought it. I finally got it moved to a real driveway a month or so ago and have finally started to see what I bought. Needs everything, but so far have found only minor rust in the left rear fender dogleg and a poorly repaired right quarter panel and rear right door. Solid trunk, a few pinholes in the driver's floor. The car complete minus hubcaps, keys and hood ornament (of course). I have since bought the standard cars (cloisienne someday?) and some trinkets. Jim L. in Portland, OR helped with hood ornament.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Mark

If it is the squarish 6V solenoid then yes if the generator and wiring is intact. Otherwise, you can just ground the other terminal. Both Autolite and Delco had similar designs although the connections were in different locations. The ones toward the firewall sound like Delco. Will throw in an Autolite diagram just in case.


That ground connection to the regulator was a safety feature which allowed the solenoid to get ground thru the generator windings when engine was not running. Once the engine was running and generator was putting out voltage, then both terminals were at the same potential so starter could not accidentally engage if the carb switch was out of adjustment or acted up.

Was somewhat problematic at times so Packard issued bulletins removing the ground from regulator/generator and going direct if the owner had reported problems. Finally dropped the feature completely.

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This gives me something to try. Thanks so much Howard!!!

Howard is officially a genius! Got to play "Packard" today. Hooked up the wiring as Howard suggested and, put 12 volts to it, and VIOLA! (Yes, I know it's a 6 volt, but for testing purposes, I used 12.) Starter kicked in as it should and the big old 8 turned over. Now, compression, on the other hand, - didn't sound like what I am used to, so we'll go back next time with some oil and a compression gauge. My thoughts are probably stuck valves.
Thanks again, Howard!

Wouldn't say genius is the right word -- more like been there, done that. Anyway, glad it works although I wouldn't use the 12v on the solenoid. There is a small relay inside which brings in the large coil and plunger. Doubt that can take much overvoltage without letting you know with smoke or stink.

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the mention and glad to see you're getting your Packard up and running again.

Good Luck -