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Onto another issue…so went to start my 41 110…made terrible sound and winding…pulled starter and can see fresh metal scrapes on flywheel teethe…but flywheel seems ok…I did not have key on at the time…I was just bumping it with start button to check my valves…when it happened the starter stayed on and would not turn off until I pulled battery cable….so I removed starter today..I reinstalled a new starter after bench testing it..I had to use selenoid from the original one but it bench tested fine…put in Packard but starter button seems almost stuck and would slightly turn over engine and then not at all… when I remove the starter ignition wire from the top of selenoid and use jumper across the terminals the starter works fine and engine turns over nice…not sure if I have a problem with starter button or could the selenoid be bad? Tks for any help jim

You should be able to test the solenoid and see if there is a massive voltage/current loss on the starter lug when it's activated.

It could be sticking, and also not fully engaging if the points in the solenoid are fouled or bad.

Ok I was thinking selenoid is ok because is works when I jump from batt terminal to starter terminal…it’s only when I attach starter button wire …..but I’ll check again Tomorrow..thanks!

That's not a good test as it may fail under load if the contacts are burned but work fine on the bench.

Ok tks…I’m also trying your idea I saw on another post regarding 0 compression on one my cylinders..have cylinder filled with oil and will rotate engine tomorrow and repeat….have no idea how long it’s been at 0 compression.. all the others seem ok

I am presuming that you have the spark plugs removed as the engine will not crank and some damage may occur if they are in because oil does not compress well. You should be cranking the engine by hand only using a socket and breaker bar on the vibration damper bolt.

Yes plugs out… and moving by hand

Ok this am I laid towel across the 6 head holes and turned by hand …no oil popped up through holes…I bumped the engine over and still very little oil came out of holes….I did a compression test on the two bad cylinders which are next to each other 3 and 4…the 3 cylinder that had 0 compression now has full compression at 90 psi..number 4 remained at 30:psi…I did notice that some oil squirted up out of engine in the rear cylinder 6…I did not put any oil in that chamber so that is odd? Put a little more oil In 4 cylinder and after a little delay it popped up to 90 psi like the others…would my next step be to add more oil into both chambers overnight again? I probably filled each chamber up with about an ounce or two last night…I was afraid to add much more…will get to starter switch later today..any advice appreciated!!!

If your 41 - 110 is still wired per factory diagram, battery voltage from the BAT side of the ign switch is supplied to the starter button so the button is always hot. In that situation the starter will energize and crank the engine with ign switch off but the car will not start until switch is turned on. In 41 Clipper models with the carb switch and most if not all 42 models this was changed so ign switch needed to be on for the starter to be energized. In some of the 41 models with original always active start buttons owners or dealers changed the wiring to the 42 standard so those cars also had to have the ign switch on to engage the starter.

In your first post you mentioned jumping the solenoid and all seemed normal. If this jumping meant you momentarily connected a jumper wire between the solenoid battery post and the small start terminal on top of the solenoid where the wire coming from the button connects to bring in the solenoid and all worked as expected then that would indicate the issue is in the starter button or wiring to the solenoid. If this is correct then while I believe the 41 starter buttons are a pain to access and remove, once out they can be disassembled. Checking for any possible short in the wire between switch button and solenoid then removing and checking the switch would be my suggestion as the first step. If the switch appears to be burned or damaged beyond repair then go from there. Flackmaster might be able to help with a switch if one is needed and if not, they have shown up on ebay from time to time.

There is a 41-2 "rebuilt" switch on ebay now but like many other things "rebuilt" means different things to different folks. Some call only an outside cleaning or a new coat of paint a rebuild while others actually take something apart to check for and repair any damage. The phrase caveat emptor should always come to mind with the purchase of any old or used ebay electrical items but in this case the vendor is a long time Packard guy so it should be OK.

When any of the pistons reach the top of their travel on their compression stroke, there is very little space left above the pistons, and if any significant amount of oil or any other fluid is present in the cylinder, the engine will be locked solid, assuming the valves in that cylinder are not stuck or leaking badly. Oil from one cylinder could be forced into another cylinder when cranking the engine via the intake manifold, especially if any valves are stuck or leaking. When putting oil into an engine's cylinders, the amount should be limited and the engine should be cranked manually with the spark plugs out to distribute the oil and allow any excess oil to escape, thus preventing locking the engine. It may be necessary to suction oil out of the cylinders before the engine can be started. This can be done by using one of the squeeze bulb devices that are used to add water to batteries, or a suction gun. Put each cylinder on top dead center on the compression stroke and suction the oil out through the spark plug hole. That will usually get enough oil and debris out to allow starting the engine.

Oil and other fluids CANNOT BE COMPRESSED!

I have seen an engine shoot oil over 30 feet after it was loaded with oil, then cranked via the starter with the plugs out. Be careful, and think about what you are doing to avoid a massive mess and possible injury or engine damage.