Overdrive - general question

Unknown

General question regarding an overdrive, but not necessarily for a Hudson. But suppose an old 1940s car with an overdrive were converted to a 12V system and one wanted to retain the overdrive feature. The 12V will blow out the 6V solenoid I am told and that seems reasonable and it has alos been suggested that a 12V to 6V reducer will not work because of the sensitivity of the solenoid holdiong coil. So, what I would like to do is use a solenoid from a 1957 Nash that has two terminals labeled 4 and 6. The intent is to bypass the 6-terminal (yes, 6 terminals) relay, kickdown switch, and governor and just use a dash-mounted or steering wheel mounted toggle for control. In reviewing some wiring diagrams, it is unclear how to connect to the 12V solenoid terminals 4 and 6. Is one the hot wire and then the other ground? I.E., would we run a hot wire to the toggle and then to one terminal while just providing a ground for the remaining terminal? It appears Terminal 4 would get the hot wire?

Unknown

Seems like a lot of work to do when the cars run just fine on 6 volts.

Just my humble opinion.....

Unknown

Have been driving my '46 pickup with overdrive, every day for over 5 years using 6 volt soliniods and relay, powered by 12 volts. No problem!

Unknown

Don't know if it ran "fine" or not. 12 V when I got it. That's not the point. The point is to get it working with 12 volts.

Unknown

Thanks re: '46 PU. Something for us to verify, but 6V solenoids are hard to find and pricey. Do not have the entire history of what has transpired on the car other than two 6V solenoids in boxes and one on the car as previous owner(s) did whatever it is they did. But several sources have indicated the only voltgage sensitive component is the solenoid and the 6V to 12V conversion booklet out there by an midwest auto supplier indicates it will not work. If they were cheap and available, I might be more willing to try it and maybe I will anyway.

Unknown

Using an ohmeter, determine the resistance of the 6 volt solenoid. Then get a resistor of the same value and wire it in SERIES with the coil. I think a ten watt resistor would be hefty enough. I think this idea will work, but as in life, there are no guarantees. If you do this I believe your coil will be secured from damage. It might be well to protect any relays in the circuit in a similar fashion.

Unknown

Thanks Tom, a resistor was considered but was uncertain of what size to use but it's worth a try.

Unknown

OK, I got my login and password restored....don't know what happened.