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Ok I have a 51,2492,288. I just replaced the engine wiring harness and everything worked just fine. The engine started like it should. Haven't been able to work on it for about a month. Went to start it up all it does is just crank. The little red light in the speedometer now doesn't come on now ,it use too. What the heck did I do wrong?

Dear IBUB:

I don't know what light you are referring to. I think if the oil light wire is loose that red light will not come on.

A quick check is to get a squirt oil can and fill it with gasoline. Remove the air cleaner and squirt three or four strokes into the intake manifold.

That should prime to motor enough to pull gas into the fuel pump. It also saves starter motors.

If nothing happens then you probably have an electrical problem.

Next check for power on the minus side of the coil using a test light. If nothing then run a jumper wire to the negative post on the coil. Then crank the motor and check the breaker action via the positive side. The light should flash.

If all systems are go, check the spark using a tester from NAPA. Set it to 20kv.

If still go then pull the plugs and squirt some oil into each cylinder. Crank the motor and replace. If the motor starts then it is getting old.

Good luck with your car.

Need some clarification. when you turn the key on are the oil and bat lights red? The red light in the speedometer between 30 and 40 is the high beam indicator and should only be on when the headlights are turned on and the high beam is selected. Do you have 6 volts to ground at the yellow wire on coil when key is on?

Easiest test, gap a spare spark plug (of any type or size) pull one of the wires and click it in, let the ground prong sit on something bare metal on the engine, turn the key on and roll it over...have spark?

If yes, do the gas trick and it will likely fire, prime the pump, and be fine.

If no, then start tracking down ignition as others suggested.

Centrifugal pumps need priming as they do not create a vacuum. Engine fuel pumps do creat a vacuum thus do not need priming. You will not find any Packard or other US car service manual of the era saying anything about priming.

When replacing a fuel pump you don't have to prime it. If you run your tank dry adn put in a few gallons yoiu don;t have to prime it.

Squirting gas into the carb replaces the action of a carburetor accelerator pump that is not working properly.

Some of this stuff I can't let go without comment as it leads fellow forum menbers and others down the wrong path.

One of these days I'll tell everyone about my 54 1/2 experimental Packard 12. It has a V6 cyl engine in the trunk powering the front wheels and a radial 6 under the hood powering the rear wheels. 4 wheel steering, turbo charged air conditioning and 15,000 rpm muffler clothespins.

Fred, we are not all the backwoods hillbillies you may think we are. (no offense to backwoods hillbillies). I think some of this is common sense.

Thanks all. I will try your suggestions today after work. I did try the gas in the carb though. That didn't even get a little responds. I will check the coil next. I know its basic stuff. But for it to stop like it did after being so reliable its just makes me scratch my head stuff.

To Big Kev,
I do not think anyone is a backwoods hillbilly, it's that some know more than others in a particular area. I can't fix a car radio nor do I know beans about a Packard financial report so if I were to give advice in those areas I would expect to be corrected lest I be left to mislead others. Those are not my areas of expertise or even knowledge!

So when someone says to prime the fuel pump to fix a non-start condition they are speaking in an area of their non-expertise. Look, I can't do or even advise on brain surgery and if I did it would lead people astray.

So that others may "get another opinion" combined with supporting facts I post to the forum and I do this to help EVERYBODY. If anyone thinks I should NOT post what I believe(being very cautious here)the correct information let me know why, I'll consider it.

Yes, some of this is common sense but these days it seems fewer and fewer have it. When George Carlin passed away he will his title of Spoofer of the English Language to me.
Thus I have renamed common sense to "Uncommon Sense". If it were common then most people would have it.

From post #5 above:
" Engine fuel pumps do creat a vacuum thus do not need priming. "

Therefore any vapour or gaseous-state matter (air, vaporized gasoline) on the SUCTION side of the pump would simply be pulled on thru the pump to be pressurized on the pressure side back to a liquid PROVIDED that the pressure side is not so hot to continue the boiling process.

Therefore, vapour lock does NOT and can not occur on the suction side of the pump.

See:

https://packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7245&forum=4&post_id=77931#forumpost77931

"Centrifugal pumps need priming as they do not create a vacuum. Engine fuel pumps do creat a vacuum thus do not need priming. You will not find any Packard or other US car service manual of the era saying anything about priming."

Listen {expletive edited for posterity}:

Go back and read about my fuel pump woes. Sure, the pump creates a vacuum and SHOULD prime itself if there's no fuel in it. BUT many well worn and even one NEW pump i installed had took FOREVER to get fuel from the flex line by the pump up into the carb. So long that the only way to get it done was to put fuel in the carb, fire it up, and then 5-10 seconds later i had fuel....after DAYS of playing with the fuel system.

I had THREE known good pumps, two used and one new, and i couldn't figure out why i wasn't get fuel after putting the new motor in. The lines and tank and pickup were clear, everything was new and clean. it turns out that on a 6v starter there just isn't THAT much vacuum to get your carb full again. Who wants to wear their starter out trying to let the pump prime itself when you could put gas in the carb and let the motor pump it much faster?


ALSO you said, somewhere on there, that a diaphragm pump won't pump air, just liquid. So are you wrong now or wrong then?

I FOR SURE HAD 3 PUMPS THAT WOULDN'T PULL FUEL FROM A CLEAN LINE, NON CLOGGED TANK WITHOUT A S*&T TON OF CRANKING. ALL THE HELP YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE OFFERED DID NO DAMN GOOD, THE THREE PUMPS WEREN'T GOING TO PRIME A DRY SYSTEM. I'M TALKING LIKE SEVERAL MINUTES WORTH OF CRANKING SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. QUIT JUMPING ON EVERYTHING EVERYONE SAYS, ALTHOUGH YOU'RE 100 YEARS OLD, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN EVERYTHING.