Overdrive wiring

Aaron D. IL

Hey all.  On my 50 Pacemaker I re-did the overdrive wiring harness duplicated from the original.  When I connect the car battery I can hear the overdrive solenoid click.  Is that normal because the solenoid coil is powering up?  Or should I not hear the solenoid at all because it's turned off/not engaged (which it is).

ernie28

Hi Aaron

Is this with the motor running? Check the relay wiring or relay itself. The solenoid should only get power when the engine is running and the overdrive is engaged.
I have had issues with my '50 P overdrive recently and luckily it was no major issue and is back working like it should. I checked and rechecked the wiring to ensure I had not missed anything. Ended up being the governor had filled itself with oil.

Good luck

Geoff

 You definitely should not hear the solenoid clicking.   Do you have a wiring diagram?  the solenoid should only be energised when the engine is  running so that the generator is charging, and the  car is up to governor cut-in speed.   You need to go over the connections, you have something  haywire.

Aaron D. IL

OK so I studied the wiring diagram.  Seems I actually reversed the Overdrive harness plugs between the kickdown switch and the OD relay. Put the battery back on and it didn't click. Fixed that.  But now for some reason I hear it click when I'm shifting.  Is that the gears I'm hearing or could something actually be grounding out internally?  Only wires I wasn't sure about was the two little bullet connectors that go into the little sensor thing on the top side of the OD housing. 

Geoff

You need to be more explicit as to what you mean "click when I'm shifting">  The only time you should hear the solenoid click is when the govenor gets up to speed and  energises the relay.   It does this by providing a ground to the relay coil, which in turn gives voltage to the solenoid coils.   Make sure that the connection from the relay coil (through  the kick-down switch) goes to the open contacts of the govenor.   You may have two contacts on the govenor, one normally closed (to ground) and the other normally open.  The relay coil must connect to the n/o contact of the govenor.   Have fun!

Geoff 

Park_W

"the little sensor thing on the top side of the OD housing" is the overdrive lockout switch.  Its purpose is to disable the electrical controls when you don't want the OD working, i.e., when you're in reverse or when you've got the OD cable button pulled out, to lock out the OD.  It doesn't matter which wire goes into which little socket on the switch.

Aaron D. IL

So is it common for that that lockout switch to go bad?  What happens when it does?

Geoff

It is a simple open/close switch which is closed when the bowden cable is pushed in. I doubt that it is a common failure item, and it would not cause and clicking until the govenor  cut in. 

Aaron D. IL

Can the Govenor get stuck ?

Geoff

It can get filled with oil if the seal is crook, but this normally causes it to open circuit rather than short. 

Aaron D. IL

OK So I drove my re-wired 50 Hudson today for the first time.  I still hear a clicking noise between shifting when there RPMs come down.  It certainly sounds like the OD solenoid.  Other possiblities?  : Reverse cable? OD cable not all-the-way disengaged?  Sparking inside the Voltage regulator?  I'm at a loss.   (This drivetrain is a 1949 262 w/OD components and solenoid switched to Pacemaker arrangement.)

leegall

if the clicking sound occurs at all speeds,disconnect both the power sources to the overdrive relay  then go for a test drive,if its still clicking its not the overdrive    make sure the disconnect wires are insulated if alive

Geoff

Did it work before you rewired it?  If so, you need to double check your connections. 

Aaron D. IL

That's kind of a tough question because before when it worked 4 years ago I had a Pacemaker 232 w/ OD but it was wired to a by-pass toggle switch but it did work fine.  That motor needed a rebuild and so I went a less expensive route. I got a 1949 262 w/ OD that someone was getting rid of in favor of a modern V8.  The OD on the 262 is a bit different and the Solenoid on it had 4 posts.  It was according to the book "fully electric."  So I switched out the solenoid with the 2-post one off the Pacemaker motor because the pawl end of it was physically the same length and everything as the one that was on there.  So I used all the Pacemaker overdrive components on the 262 including the relay and the wiring (duplicated from the original Pacemaker harness).  Electrically it should work fine.  I studied both diagrams. 

Glowplug

Aaron: At the risk of sounding a bit pushy, may I recommend the trouble shooting sequence offered within the Hudson mechanical procedures manual. Following the steps found there will allow you to systematically evaluate the electronic and mechanical operation of your particular installation. Changing the relay and solenoid pretty much qualifies the installation to be that of the later model transmissions. But, in all cases, the information to trouble shoot this problem is available thanks to Alex Burr and others who have posted the required data to the INTERNET.

Ken Cates' Hudson Restoration website has posted the BW OD manual as well as other links to OD information.

Hoping you efforts are quickly rewarded with a solution(s).

Geoff

I agree, you need to go right through the whole system and check out each circuit methodically.

Park_W

Aaron, hang on to that 4-terminal solenoid, in case you want to convert to 12v down the road some time.  That's a '48-'49 solenoid.  It has separate connections for the pull-in coil and the hold-in coil, which makes it easier to deal with in going to 12v.