Ignition switch overheating on 29

Unknown

Hi, guys. I've been in radio silence, more or less, for a few months

because the Hudson was in the shop, awaiting the attention of my local

mechanic to fix a long-running oil pump problem. Finally got that

resolved, after more time and $$ than is reasonable, but it turns out

to be a problem I could not have fixed myself.



Having restored oil pressure, I re-surfaced a couple of other problems.

First, the expensive and modern Holley fuel pressure regulator that I

had installed along with a new electric fuel pump (you may Geoff's

derisive laughter when I first posted photos of this), turns out not to

do the job. It can only be cranked down to a nominal 1 lb pressure,

and that was still, intermittently, flooding the carb. I took it off

and replaced it with one of the old dial-a-pressure units I had in the

parts bin, and it seems to be working.



Second, and the real reason for this post, is that the ignition switch

(the keyed switch) becomes VERY hot when the car runs even for a few

minutes. Obviously, a lot of corrosion or something has built up on the

contacts, and is providing a lot of resistance. Unless someone on the

list can advise how to disassemble the switch and clean the contacts, I

am going to presume that the most feasible solution is to install a

modern high-amperage toggle switch adjacent to the keyed switch, and

just leave it on the dashboard for decoration, but use the modern

switch to control the vehicle electrical system. It appears from the

circuit diagram that a simple Double Pole Single Throw switch will do

the job. Any comments on this approach?



Engine is also running a bit roughly, but I am going to leave that for

later to resolve, once I get rid of the resistance in the ignition

circuit that is probably cutting the spark voltage in half or

thereabouts. (In the next few days, I will disconnect the wires from

the switch and measure the resistance, just to confirm my expectations

that it has high resistance.)



Yesterday, after about five minutes of running, the switch was hot

enough that when I touched it with a fingertip, I got a blister-raising

burn instantly. I would equate this roughly to the temperature of a 50

watt light bulb.



Query: does anyone know the resistance of the coil, and/or the "normal"

current flow in the main coil circuit?



Lew