overdrive
 

Is it ok to wire direct from the battery to a switch to the solinoide . thanks for any info. jack.

Re: overdrive
 

I would use a relay to power the solenoid and a switch to activate the relay.

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Can you/or someone post a picture of your solenoid? I am slowly collecting parts for a Columbia for my '36 and have thought about using a solenoid as I don't want to drill all the vacuum line holes in my freshly painted firewall.

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I suppose with some fabrication of brackets anything could be made to work. Though I think I'd just run the vacuum lines down the firewall or something rather than reinvent the wheel.

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Check with G.M. here on the barn. He used a 1990 Ford fuel tank switch for dual tanks to control the Columbia. Not quite sure what he does. Dave/Green Bay

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You should have a 30 amp fuse somewhere in that circuit. On my 40 Tonner with a 49 Merc O/D I ran a 10 gauge wire from the hot side of the On/Off switch on the steering column to a 30 amp inline fuse to a 30 amp rated toggle switch and from there directly to the solenoid.

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To answer your question, yes. As stated before a heavy duty switch and wire are recommended.
Is this a test or does the original setup seem overly complicated or confusing to you? It is extremely simple and is so cool the way it works. I'm glad I figured mine all out. Nothing like slamming the gas to downshift on a hill.

Re: overdrive
 

If you are talking about a BW overdrive, I have done this but only in an emergency. My OD would not kick in while on a long trip so I wired a switch from the battery to the Sol just to get me home. I would not use this method for a permanent fix.

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Agreed. I had the same problem and did the same fix. With a toggle, you have to have a good memory whether it's on or off otherwise you risk the following:

1. Starting off in first OD.
2. Breaking the trans if you accidentally try to start in reverse OD.
3. Killing your battery or cooking the solenoid if you leave it on while parked.

BTW, the reason my OD failed in the first place was due to a voltage drop in the solenoid power line--- it happened at night when my headlights were on. Those things don't like to activate if voltage is less than 6 volts.

And another thing, always put a fuse inline if you decide to hard wire it.

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Thanks for the info. guys. yeas i have a inline 30 amp. this is just a fix till I can get the od. working again. It just stoped working??. thanks again. Jack.

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A Columbia installation on 36 has no vacuum hoses inside passenger compartment, just one hole in the firewall for valve control, 2 holes underneath dash for control bracket

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I have found many Borg-Warner relays with as much as a two volt drop due to bad connections inside the relay. If you remove the cover you will see that all connections are made with rivets and over the years corrosion sets in and you get a voltage drop. The rivet connection where the fuse holder connects is usually a place to start. I clean all rivet connections and using a good flux, solder all these connections. You can also have a drop through the ignition switch that will cause the same problem. I have a test setup with a battery and sol. that I can use to check the voltage going in and out of the relay and after doing the above, if you have proper output from your charging circuit it will work every time. Another thing that helps is to go with an alternator, even if you are running 6v.

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I have a project 49 Ford Club Coupe i have been working on for several years. A few years ago i put one of Bubba's electronic GM distibutors in it. Later i found out that you cannot use the original O.D kickdown switch with electronic ignition. So i got instructions on how to wire up the toggle switch system. After that is when i found out what you have to do to use that system correctly or end up with problems such as posted by Mike51Merc in post #9. At 70 years old i sometimes can't remember what i did five minutes ago much less get in a situation where i accidently tear up a transmission. At this point i think i am going to have the original distributor rebuilt with points and condensor and not worry about it. All i have left to do is put on new brake lines and fill everything with fluids and start it up.

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Thanks for the reply 38 coop, I have a bubba gm dis.with points and cond. in the 49 over 60.000 miles on it and all is good. Good luck with your 49. Jack.

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I'm running a pertronix with electronic ignition. I just had to install a resistor in line with the grounding circuit of the kickdown switch. Nothing else is affected.

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I ran a Pertronix on my '50 for over 5 yrs without any other modifications at all. No OD problems. Only OD problems I have had was due to low voltage because of charging circuit.

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I may try putting everything back to the original kickdown switch system then see if it works. I guess the only thing i would lose would be the electronic distributor. Has anyone else used the original kickdown switch style with electronic ignition and no other modifications? I wonder if Bubba would have any input since it is one of his electronic distributors. It might save other folks from doing all these modifications if they don't have to.

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See post # 16

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Pertronix recommends a resistor which Cecil did not use with no adverse effects. I used it and it works fine. It just keeps the coil grounded for a fraction of a second so there is no fire to the plugs.