Overdrive freewheels but no high gear(HELP!!)

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in HUDSON
I have a 54 Hudson Hornet that freewheels when engaged and you ease off the accelerator, but it isn't kicking in the higher gearing. It seems to me, there is a short in the electrical part of the O/D. With the solenoid out of the vehicle, I can make it click in and out but with everything hooked up, It will freewheel but no high gear. Help me out guys, I've troubleshot as much as I can. Need more ideas, Is this a common issue? Should I wire the solenoid to a toggle switch?

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  • J Spencer
    J Spencer Expert Adviser
    hornutt54 wrote:
    I have a 54 Hudson Hornet that freewheels when engaged and you ease off the accelerator, but it isn't kicking in the higher gearing. It seems to me, there is a short in the electrical part of the O/D. With the solenoid out of the vehicle, I can make it click in and out but with everything hooked up, It will freewheel but no high gear. Help me out guys, I've troubleshot as much as I can. Need more ideas, Is this a common issue? Should I wire the solenoid to a toggle switch?



    Sounds like one of three possible problems. Have you checked the wiring to make sure there is no broken wire and that it is wired correctly? The solenoid may be bad, do you here it "click" when you reach about 25-30 mph?, if not it could be bad. Another possibility is the govenor on the right side of the tranny. It may be grungy inside and when the points close it is not competing the ground circuit to the solenoid. I fixed one of my club members Hudson that had this problem. I took the cap of the governor,cleaned and reistalled. These are the main things I would check first. I also had a relay (on the firewall) that a rivet that holds one of the connecters rust away. I fixed iy by using a very small screw and nut from from a hobby store.



    Jim Spencer
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    Good advice from Jim. After making sure the fuse on the OD relay is good, I'd do this ... with the ignition on and the OD control knob pushed in, use a jumper wire to ground the wire at the terminal on the governor. If the solenoid clicks, the governor's at fault (as Jim said, they get oil up in the contacts sometimes). If not, it's likely something between the governor and the OD relay. Work your way from the governor ... first ground each side of the reverse lockout switch on the back of the OD, near where the speedo cable plugs in. Then check at the kickdown switch ... the two terminals closest to the floorboard. You'll likely find the problem in one of these places.
  • hudsonguy
    hudsonguy Senior Contributor
    Electrical problems can be frustrating. A few years ago, my newly installed overdrive quit working while away from town and doing a lot of freeway driving. I sure missed it, all of a sudden! Turns out that even though I'd installed a brand new relay under the hood one of the riveted connections at the fuse was slightly loose and making a bad connection. You could wiggle the riveted joint a little bit and it would work again, which luckily got me home that weekend. Exchanged the relay at my friendly auto parts store, and it's been fine ever since.
  • Uncle Josh
    Uncle Josh Senior Contributor
    The plunger on the kickdown switch is prone to stick in the in (open)position. WD40 and a needlenose plier.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    A common problem with the old solenoids is that the piston backs out of the magnet too far, The fiber washer wears and collapses. Sometimes as little as a .010 washer will bring it back into the magnet far enough to work.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    J Spencer wrote:
    ......Another possibility is the govenor on the right side of the tranny. It may be grungy inside and when the points close it is not competing the ground circuit to the solenoid. I fixed one of my club members Hudson that had this problem. I took the cap of the governor,cleaned and reistalled......

    Jim:



    Do you have pictures of the process to take the cap of and guts out? I need to disassemble my OD Govenor so I can install a new wire connector (one of mine is broken).



    Thanks in advance.
  • Park_W
    Park_W Senior Contributor
    P500, there's no need to fear removing the governor cover. If you merely take the three or four screws out of that outer plate, the piece comes off readily and with no flying springs, etc. The little contact point mechanism is on the underside of that plate, but it's no problem.
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