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Ok got to it early this morning. Turned out to be simple....two of the connectors were making contact and causing the lights to illuminate. A little electrical tape fixed that. The original plastic insullatior that held all three together originally disintegratied.

Then I didn't have any brake lights. Tightened the switch to the brake line a bit more and that resolved it.

Torsion leave is still inoperable and I'm stuck backside up. At least the more important item, brake lights, work.

Now to figure out wtf is going on.

Make sure the Packard light green wire at that 3 wire connector has power full time (except when brakes are applied) from the conversion. Check that a wire didn't get pulled out of the TL on/off switch under the dash and that it is on. If those are OK then the control switch should have power to operate.

If it does have power but no action, it is possible that as the car reached near max height the motor was pulling a lot of current and the 20 amp inline fuse feeding the solenoids and motor was blown. That fuse is located in a red wire and should be within a few inches distance from where it connects to the battery post at the starter solenoid.

If stock the fuse holder should be sized for an SFE20 fuse which is 1/4" in diameter x 1 1/4" long On that particular fuse a modern AGC fuse will also fit the holder but that is not the case with all the other fuses in the car. Packard used a lot of SFE type fuses which vary in dimensions according to the amperage. Some holders are specific to the amp rating of the fuse and will only accept a specific size. Napa and maybe others carry the SFE fuses.

If that fuse is blown also verify that as it reached upper limit the limit switch was activated in time and is what stopped the motion. If the bracket holding the solenoids and limit switch happened to have been bent at some point it is possible for the transverse bar to miss the switch actuator completely. If that happens the motor keeps going and will try to run the bar past the center of the compensator before the fuse blows.

Howard, thank you as always!

I wondered if it maybe hit the limit switch, given how high it is riding now. I considered checking that fuse by the starter motor but the heat from the manifold and my back urged me to pack it in for the day lol

I'll have to come back to it in a week maybe two, given my schedule.

So I'm 2 for 3: brake lights working & heater working. At least I can still drive it!

Howard, quick question: if it hit the limit switch on the way up and the fuse was not blown would the car then come back down on its own?

The limit switch stops it only in the direction it is moving when it reaches the top or bottom. Providing it is wired correctly, fuse good, no wires are broken or have a bad connection, yes it will go the other direction if the control switch tells it to.

So I'm almost confident that it has to be the fuse off the starter motor and that it's not blown but oxidized...but not 100% confident. Recently had a similar "works randomly" problem with an oxidized fuse on my W124.

I've driven the car a few times, for quick trips around town. Still kept its backside up in the air...then this morning I decide I'll take him out for an early drive because the weather is great. The drive was about an hour long and at some point the compensator must have kicked in and leveled the car because by the time I got home he was level. At some point in my trip I thought the car was riding level, but chalked it up to just adjusting to it being off kilter.

I didn't hear the compensator kick in, but when I'm at speed or have the heat on I usually can't hear it.

However, I'm not 100% confident it is the fuse because while I normally turn off the leveling system when I park it I did leave it in the on position overnight once and still nothing. Maybe a loose connection somewhere?

I'm definitely going to follow Howard's suggestions for trouble shooting, it's just taking me longer since right now I'm not physically able to bend over the side of the car. But until I can it's gonna be left alone while other more serious work is taken care of.

Something to think about for your car and your convienance,

My 55 Patrician has the torsion level fuse wire changed from the starter to the firewall where the power windows circuit breaker electrical feed is. Someone thankfully moved this before I got the car. I can look at or change the fuse without being burned by a hot exhaust manifold. I don't have to lean way over the fender either.

Review the electrical diagrams on pages 42 and 44 in the service manual section VIII.

Another possibility of oxidation more so than the fuse is inside the control box. There are 2 sets of contacts in the box that need to be closed to bring in a relay for the motor to operate in the desired direction.

The first is a mechanical set which is operated by the link to the bar. When one of those contacts closes it starts the heater wrapped around a bimetal strip so the strip will bend for the time delay and then close the next contact. Once the bimetal has made the connection the relay pulls in and starts the motor. Any of those contacts can oxidize and cause the problem. There is a chance relay contacts could be burned or pitted but not as likely as oxidation on the others.

Old age can take a toll. One poster bought a NOS control switch to replace a damaged original and that new one did not operate. Opening it up he found that after 60 years the contacts all had a layer of oxidation just from sitting on the shelf. Once cleaned the switch worked flawlessly.

Cleaning the switch might be something to consider. The cover is held on by 4 rivets which can be drilled out and cover just lifts off. Once the contacts are gently cleaned using a burnisher or thin contact file the cover can be replaced using ordinary screws and nuts. Just watch out for the hair thin wires going to the heaters and don't use enough force the contacts could get bent.

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Ah, very good information. Since the car is level now I think I'm going to leave it be until I take care of some other projects on it. But one question: is this also the same part that can be replaced with a solid state unit? For something like this I waver between keeping it stock or not.

It is and solid state would get rid of the bimetal contacts but possibly not the mechanical set. I have not seen one of the solid state conversions to know exactly how much of the unit was replaced but if you did replace the switch with a conversion one would hope and assume the unit was gone thru and any remaining contacts would be in excellent condition.

Since Packard made the polarity shift in 56, one unresolved question I have is polarity compatibility and, like most solid state units, are the conversions for a specific polarity or not. There was a field change and kit back in the day to install the 56 switch in place of the 55 version to simplify stock and in order to have the weatherproofing enclosure on the terminals. If the conversions go by year of the switch that could be confusing if the solid state replacements are polarity specific by year of switch.

The existence of a kit in the day would seem to indicate there could be many 55s running around with 56 switches. One regions ads are exchange or they convert the buyers original switch and return it. There were advertisements from other sellers of the solid state units to make sure to specify which year to ensure you got the correct item. I don't know if that is to get the switch with the correct terminals to match wires already existing in the car or in order to get the correct polarity or both.

If anyone has a definitive answer as to whether the units are polarity specific or not I would appreciate knowing. I made an inquiry to one seller and never received an answer.