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

Good afternoon!

Dropped the 54 Convertible at a shop near me to get carburetor adjusted last night. They called me this morning to tell me the car would not start/wouldn’t do anything. They asked if it had a kill switch which it does not. So, I drove to the shop to see for myself what’s going on as it started just fine when I took it to them. Sure enough, when I got there and tried it myself - nothing. We checked voltage out of the battery (6.5Vs), checked connections to starter solenoid (one a bit loose, so tightened), checked voltage across solenoid and found the 6.5V in, but only about half that out. Decided the solenoid is toast.

So, have been looking for a replacement. I’ve looked everywhere trying to find a P/N hoping to be able to find one through someone. Have calls in to Merritt and Kanter’s and Brillman’s. Any other suggestions? Does anyone know of a compatible off-the-shelf replacement? Any input is always appreciated!

Thanks

Is it the large pinion shift solenoid that moves the Bendix and pinion in and out of mesh with the ring gear or a regular small 3 terminal type that just powers the motor. If it is the large type is the back part where the terminals are located made of black bakelite which can be removed or is it all one piece.

If one with the removable type back, the copper studs which are also the inner terminals wear and burn from arcing as contact is made and then broken. After awhile when wear is severe a solid connection to the motor can no longer be made. Often those terminals can be loosened and removed from the bakelite back so they can be rotated 180 degrees and give a second life. Those type solenoids may have rebuild kits available too.

If it is the small 3 terminal solenoid one should be easily found. Cole-Hersee makes a good number of replacement type solenoids.

Tucson Packard has the solenoid and maybe even NOS.

Hello Howard! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and suggestions. The solenoid on the Autolite starter I bought from Merritt is the small 3 terminal type. I ended up ordering one from them, but since this one didn’t last very long, was hoping to find something a little more affordable (if possible in the Packard universe) for possible future failures.

Hello Don! Thanks for your suggestion of Tucson Packard. The solenoid they show appears to me to be for the Delco starter. I opted to change out the Delco starter for Autolite due to issues with the Delco being unable to spin the engine when it was hot.

Regards,

Mark

54ocmac

Take a look at Standard Motor Products SS544A . . . the description states ‘fender mounted’, but the bracket has the curvature to fit a starter. $40.79 + shipping + tax at RockAuto. I searched the RockAuto site for a ’54 Packard, and found all of the listed solenoids were the large format units, but stepping back to a ’53 Clipper produced the small format solenoid switch. If it matters, I’ve had the exact item on my ’48 with no apparent problems. I believe the OEM solenoid had a means to manually activate, whereas the modern equivalents do not have this feature. Echlin ST63 also appears to be a functional equivalent.

dp

The senior Packards for 1954 should have the Delco starter which is much heavier duty for the large 359 engine. If yours has Auto-Lite, then it is incorrect. For the Auto-Lite type, it is more or less standard so Napa or most any auto parts shore should have or be able to get one.