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My '41 120 Overdrive solenoid activation is via a toggle switch under the dash. Drove the car about 8 miles last week for the first time in well over a year. The OD engaged only twice near the end of the first 4 miles. Worked on it today and while I can get 6+ volts at the terminal to the solenoid while that terminal is disconnected, when I hook the wire up to the solenoid, the voltage is less than 5.85 Volts and I can hear the solenoid "whining" trying to activate. Battery three years old and while it meaured 6.90 Volts (trickle charger on it all the time), the water was low in the battery. I'm wondering if the initial 20-amp draw is bringing the voltage down in a weak battery and keeping me from getting 6 volts into the solenoid? Other than that, I have no ideas. Checked the ground and it's ok.

Is your OD solenoid the R9 or R11. Sounds like the 11 because you say "wire" but if the 9 are you using the toggle switch to work the original 6 terminal relay? It should pull in at 5.85 volts but depending on what you have, there are a couple of places it could be dropping. The relay contacts and connections would be a good place to look as also the fuse contacts if you have the R11 relay. Have you tried removing solenoid and see if it pulls in?

R9. No relays involved. No fuses. I wired it a number of years ago such that when I want OD, I let off on the pedal and flip the switch which is a direct hot wire to the solenoid. It's been strictly a one-wire activation since I've had the car. Haven't pulled the solenoid because I assume it will pull in if I can get the 6 volts to it. If I can get 6 volts at the disconnected terminal, I should get 6 volts when the terminal is connected to the solenoid. Been working for years that way until now. Even w/o driving the car about a month agao, I flipped the switch and heard the OD pull in and did that twice just to test it before the drive.

My R11 solenoid has an initial 10 amp pull in then drops to 2 amps for holding. Make sure ALL your contacts are clean and that the tranny is well grounded (folks tend to forget the ground side of a circuit)

Phils38 said it and would assume yours should have approx same values as his. There is only a couple of places the drop could happen with your setup. Bring the battery back up, check the connections including the battery cables, switch, and ground again. It's also possible the pull in coil contacts inside the solenoid need servicing. If it still doesn't work when the battery is up, then that would be also be a place to look.

Trog

How is well your car charging.? I have a '50 that has had intermittent charging issues. If the car is not charging correctly, the overdrive may reluctant to energize

Regards


John Harley

Well, this car was converted to 12V before I acquired it. I just carry a 6-volt battery under the hood on the frame at the firewall and keep it charged with a trickle charger, but perhaps it didn't maintain it and I did find the water level low. I'll get the battery full charged and even try another if that doesn't work and then as a last resort pull the solenoid. All the connections and ground I pulled loose, cleaned, and put back. If a I recall correctly, I think this one has to be energized to install on the car; I seem to recall it gave me some difficulty.

G'day all, I would recommend that if you change the vehicle to 12V then you simply install a ballast resistor for all of your 6V instruments and options such as the solenoid. I have used a 1955 Packard instrument ballast resistor in the past but a Japanese ( Datsun, Mazda, etc. ) ignition coil ballast resistor is very close to the mark and works very well. I don't worry about the 6V starter solenoid and it doesn't seem to mind. Best regards Peter Toet

G'day all, I would recommend that if you change the vehicle to 12V then you simply install a ballast resistor for all of your 6V instruments and options such as the solenoid. I have used a 1955 Packard instrument ballast resistor in the past but a Japanese ( Datsun, Mazda, etc. ) ignition coil ballast resistor is very close to the mark and works very well. I don't worry about the 6V starter solenoid and it doesn't seem to mind. Best regards Peter Toet

Are you operating the solenoid with 6 or 12 V? There are both 6 and 12V solenoids that fit an R11.