Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Hello! This is my first post here. I recently purchased a 1954 Packard patrician. Everything works except for some charging issues at the regulator or generator. My main issues lies in the fact the car likes to not turn back on after shutting off. I was poking around under the hood and found a red cable laying around unconnected right at the starter. Anyone have a clue as to where it goes and what it is? Attached is a picture

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Good Evening...That wire that you have circled is connected to your temperature gauge...the sending unit is screwed into the block just an inch or two away...Ernie in Arizona

G'day JuanS,
to PackardInfo.

I invite you to include your '54 Patrician in the Packard Vehicle Registry.

You appear to have some non stock wiring connecting to the solenoid or are those large black wires on the battery terminal some kind of loom or covers over stock wire, one of which is maybe also red? If that is an original red wire that is disconnected, the only stock red wire in that area would normally handle all the power for the rest of the car. It is 10 gauge and would be connected to the same terminal as the battery cable but that spade terminal on the wire in question looks too small for the 3/8 battery stud so maybe regulator. How long is it and is there a red wire on the BAT terminal of the regulator? If that regulator wire is missing or different it could go there. Do you still have the generator or was an alternator installed. Another question would be where do the two large black appearing wires connected to the solenoid now go or just wire covering? Is the car standard with OD or Ultramatic? Main power to the OD relay would be a Red/Black wire from the solenoid bat terminal. How about any high current accessories such as an AC or ?. Sometimes heavy draw accessories were connected to the solenoid battery terminal directly and controlled via relays. Those wires were usually free running and just taped or clamped to the outside of a loom. Is the one in question actually in a loom or free running.

Here is a page showing the engine compartment from the factory wiring diagram. It shows wire 1-R which is the only red wire listed for that area but that wire does have some splices going to other components such as regulator and horn before going inside the car to the headlight switch, ignition switch and body circuit breaker. You can download the complete original 54 diagram from the literature archive, wiring and radio diagram section. That one has pages showing wire colors and sizes or here is essentially the same diagram which BigKev condensed and colored. It might be easier to follow the splices and other connections on the red wire using his colors.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/diagram54.pdf

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Dumb question, maybe I'm seeing things.

I see a slip terminal on a reddish wire that Ernie points to the temperature sender, however it looks as if there is a green wire on the temperature sender.

Is the reddish wire just blocking the view of the green temperature wire?

I see a green wire further down in the photo, wondering if the other part of the reddish wire is just not visible in the photo. Just a comment, I have to defer to the experts as I don't know the answer.

That yellow circled wire used to operate the solenoid and went on the small terminal. It would have come from the start terminal on the ignition switch and passed through the neutral safety switch on the side of the trans. I am guessing that your car will probably start in any gear as it is wired now.

For hot starting problems: after making sure all your connections are clean, check the engine timing. For that engine the timing is set to 0 degrees. They hate starting hot if too advanced.

Thank you for your responses. Attached are more pictures of the area. The car is original with the positive ground 6 volt battery. Generator is still in place. AC has not been added and no modifications that I’m aware of have been made. I was made aware that they serviced electricity in the car before I bought it so it’s possible they may have wired it wrong. I had issues with my turn signals not having enough power to turn on so I bought a new regulator and put it in the way the wires were on the old one. It solved my issue for normal driving but when I turn my headlights on they become slow again. So is it possible the generator is bad? I’m mentioning this as someone mentioned the red wire could actually be part of the regulator.

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The temperature gauge works. There’s a green wire connected to the area.

If the wire in your original question could be brown instead of red then Ross is 100% correct that it was the original starter wire -- but if so, that begs the question where is the wire coming from that is on the small solenoid terminal now.

54 was the first year Packard used ignition switches with a key start position but the 54 ignition switches were delicate and somewhat failure prone and since they were one year only, also hard to get after Packard went away. If one failed some switches were replaced with earlier 49-53 switches and other provisions made for starting. Does your car still start with the key or do you have an extra pushbutton to start the car?

As to the wire in question being a wire for the regulator, I am the one that suggested that possibility but you already have a red wire on the BAT terminal and the regulator looks to be a bit too far away for the wire to reach.

Where does the bluish wire with the excess length held by the tie wrap go and also the black wire that is connected to the small terminal on the end of the solenoid?

The car still starts with the key only. I have seen videos of the previous models with the button on the dash. Mine doesn’t have that. Turns on with just the key so original starter ignition is still in place. As for the rest of your questions I’ll reply them when I get home from work. Ill take more pictures so we can get this sorted out. Thanks for your help!