Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hi guys, I bought a '55 400 recently and just now starting to get serious about getting it on the road. I discovered that my TL control box is missing, but the TL motor is there. I see a toggle switch and an adjustment knob under the dash, which I assume is the manual override for the leveling system. My question is this: is there a way to rig up the leveling system motor to the manual override knob without needing the control box? If so, is there a safety mechanism that will prevent raising or lowering past certain limits? I noticed there is a '56 solid state control box on Ebay for a decent price. What are the wiring changes to adapt a '56 control box to a '55 and what exactly does the 'solid state' conversion mean? Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and find the control box in the glove box whenever I get around to picking the lock (don't have the trunk/glove box key). I apologize for the rambling questions, I appreciate any advice.

-Newbie trying to learn as much as possible

Welcome and congratulations on your new "project".

It is hard to say if you have a manual override now. It was introduced as an option in 56 but could have been installed on a 55. On a proper factory type install, there would be a small black handled toggle switch at the extreme left under dashboard edge to turn the entire level system on or off. That would have been on all TL equipped cars. The factory manual override would have been a 3 position push pull switch mounted vertically next to the toggle switch. Center would be normal operation, Push the knob up to raise, pull it down to lower. The switch was not spring loaded and would have stayed in whatever position until it was changed by the operator. If you have something different then it will be a matter of chasing wires to see what was done.

You can use the manual override without the control box but, like the control switch it must be wired to go thru the limit switches. On the 55, the limit switches are both in a single squarish box directly connected with buss bars to the motor drive solenoids. The switch and solenoids are on a bracket bolted to the compensator assy. Make sure that entire assy is present, intact, and not obviously bent in some fashion before anything else is done. If someone has mickey moused an override switch and not gone thru limit switches, damage can or could have resulted.

The 56 box can be used in place of the 55. Guts and electrical were identical but the wire loom needs to change a tiny bit because terminals were different. 55 had 3 exposed screws on the outside of box for regular terminals. 56 switched to bullet type connectors and placed them in a weather tight enclosure. 56 limit switches were different so there are some extra terminals inside the enclosure to tie those into the circuit. The extra terminals are not used if the box is installed on a 55 -- just the terminal ends change.

The original control box used resistance wire heaters bending bimetal strips for the 7 second time delay before the motor would activate. They are not polarity sensitive.

Solid state boxes eliminate the heaters and bimetal stuff to just use a modern integrated circuit timer chip to control the delay. The conversion will work just fine but the one thing you have to make sure of is polarity. The people making the solid state conversions do not state if the boxes are polarity sensitive or not. Since they don't, you need to make sure the box you order is right for your car.

If the car is stock, 55 used a positive ground and if you are going to keep it stock, order that one. 56 changed to negative ground so if you contemplate changing to accommodate modern neg ground accessories, then order accordingly and make all the changes at one time. Most all solid state items are polarity sensitive and once installed will be damaged if later connected incorrectly.

If the control box is missing chances are the connecting linkage is too so you will have to find a rod and turnbuckle assy to connect the switch lever to the drive lever mounted on the long bar. You could make something but it needs to be proper geometry and adjustable since that adjustment controls the height.

Here is a complete schematic of the 55 TL system and a second copy with the override switch properly installed. Note the factory switch is a 3 position switch with the center terminals providing the original wiring connection to enable normal operation. When over ridden, the center terminals break the connection so control switch has no power and cannot operate. At the same time, depending on direction, the switch connects one or the other direction terminal at "A" or "B" to ground provided thru the switch case. Motor will run until the limit switch activation is reached. You can manually stop at any point but the normal on/off switch must be turned off so the system doesn't automatically bring the car back to level. If a different over ride switch is used that does not have the center disconnect portion you MUST ensure the control switch has no power when manual is chosen. Not doing so could result in one switch controlling a solenoid for manual direction and the control switch bringing in the other solenoid to go to level. That would be a direct short to the motor.

On the trunk lock, if you are unsuccessful in picking, it can be opened another way so as not to damage anything -- as long as the trunk is not full of stuff. Not the easiest but many of us in the 56 crowd have had to do it. Start by removing the rear seat and back. GENTLY release the prongs on the clips holding the decorative cardboard in the trunk so as not to damage it. Hopefully the trunk shelf is not full and cardboard can be pushed aside. Once clear, borrow or find all the long extensions for your socket wrench you can so a socket can be threaded down to the striker plate under the lock. It is held on by two bolts and once the bolts are out, the lid will open. There is a photo in the body section of SM of what you are looking for. It is toward the end in the 56 supplement section, Fig 91, adjusting striker plate.

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Hotrod,

Congratulations on your new car.

I will echo what HH said, plus

My trunk was full, so I did the trunk hinge bolts.

I think there is a service Councelor that talks about installing a 56 box on a 55. My 55 Patrician had a 56 box on it when I got it.

Is your car level now?

Here's the citation LTRD noted.

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Pictures, we want pictures!

I will be happy to sell you a control box, cleaned and tested, and the connecting link for oh, say 125. You can have 55 or 56.

Don't generally get too excited about the solid state boxes as there are still mechanical contacts inside. I have found from looooong experience that the best thing for those boxes is leave them turned on unless the car is going to be hoisted or jacked. For example, the one on my 56 Packup has worked perfectly for the the past 6 years and 40K miles. The only other time I turn it off is when I am towing something.

I do recommend having a control box and having it work as it is too tedious to keep the car in trim otherwise. They look horrible and drive even worse with their nose on the pavement. Plus, its just cool.

There's a pic in hotrodv840's Registry entry.

Wow thanks everyone for the info! So I put the car up on jack stands tonight for the first time to take a good look at it...when I bought the car I wiggled underneath to see as much as I could without a jack and assumed the control box was missing since there were wires dangling where I knew it should be and the leveling system didn't work. I feel like an idiot now since it looks like the box is there (picture below) and it's just not hooked up. When I bought the car the battery was hooked up as negative ground and I've since hooked it up to positive ground (I was surprised the engine ran and either way). I wonder if a previous owner damaged the box hooking it up the wrong way. As far as the manual override switch it seems like it's a cable that goes into the back of the dash? (Picture below of black cable). I'll have to investigate further tomorrow but thanks again for the help!

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What you have assumed is the manual override switch is really a cable going up to the speedo and is used to set the trip odometer. The switch for the tl is to the left of the steering column on the bottom lip of the dash.

The item in your first photo is the trip odometer reset. The manual override would have been over at the extreme left of dash on the bottom in front of the level on/off switch as shown in this photo.

Have you checked over the owners manual?https://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/55_PAT_OM.pdf

EDIT: As the next poster mentions, there appears to be a lot hanging, damaged, disconnected and/or bypassed. Once you connect the wires and mount the limit switches properly to get back to a reasonable approximation of normal we can methodically troubleshoot to find where the problem actually lies. The limit switch is activated by the transverse bars swinging around the center. As the side of each bar end nears the switch it will strike the lever sticking out the end of box and move it to open the limit switch. The bracket needs to be adjusted so each bar can hit it's respective side of lever.

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