1936 starter button HOT!

[Tudie 36]

Took Tudie out today after replacing fuel pump. She ran really good, just went about 5 miles and came back and parked in garage. Took her out about two hours later, made it about 3 miles she started to stumble then shut off. Trying to restart found that the floor button was red hot. Had her towed home. I replaced the starter button about 6 months ago, noticed one of the posts is not straight and whole post spins. She had been turning over slow when starting lately. Ordered one that looks more original. Anything besides starter button that could have been damaged? Thanks, Greg

[sugarmaker]

Greg,
Not sure on these. But had a old Falcon with red hot dimmer. Floor had rotted out and did not have a ground.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[Steve in Denver]

My ignition switch on my '36 was too hot to touch, turned out to be some looose wires.

[Tudie 36]

Originally Posted by Steve in Denver

My ignition switch on my '36 was too hot to touch, turned out to be some looose wires.

It did have a loose connection, I thought I had every tool I needed for roadside adjustments but, 1/2 socket for some reason I left off. real hard to get a box wrench to that area. anyone know why it would have shut the car down? Coil maybe?

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Tudie 36

Took Tudie out today after replacing fuel pump. She ran really good, just went about 5 miles and came back and parked in garage. Took her out about two hours later, made it about 3 miles she started to stumble then shut off. Trying to restart found that the floor button was red hot. Had her towed home. I replaced the starter button about 6 months ago, noticed one of the posts is not straight and whole post spins. She had been turning over slow when starting lately. Ordered one that looks more original. Anything besides starter button that could have been damaged? Thanks, Greg

I had been advised late last year by a very well respected '36 guy that the repop buttons are crap.
Source a NOS switch.

[FortyNiner]

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Originally Posted by Kube

I had been advised late last year by a very well respected '36 guy that the repop buttons are crap.
Source a NOS switch.

The quality isn't any better for the 46-48 versions.

[Planojc]

The repo's are so bad that I changed over to a solenoid with a push button.

[TJ]

Those repo switches are junk. As advised look for a NOS one or a known brand NOSR one.

[Kurt in NJ]

Use new nuts and washers , rusty ones will make for bad connections, and check the terminal ends on the wires, some cables have cheap steel ends that get internal connection problems (use magnet)

[mcflash]

Test your voltage regulator. It's a remote possibility that the points can fuse.

[Karl Wescott]

OK, some basic troubleshooting here. If the floor switch is red hot electric energy is flowing through it, and where there is resistance you get heat. You have a partially shorted out switch. The switch should ONLY be making contact when you are engaging the starter. The reason the car quit is all the battery/generator energy was sucked out of the system to heat the switch.


The floor switch has nothing to do with the ignition or any other circuit than Battery-Switch-Starter. Because of the high amperage of the starter this is a heavy duty switch. This is why on later (1937 on) there was a solenoid (heavy duty switch controlled triggered by a low amperage signal).


This situation could easily have progressed to a fire. If the floor switch gets hot the battery needs to be disconnected NOW! If the motor still runs the generator also needs to be disconnected NOW! There is no fuse protection. Expect arcing when the battery (and generator) is disconnected as there is high current flow. Gloves and face protection would be a very good idea.

[Automotive Stud]

Originally Posted by sugarmaker

Greg,
Not sure on these. But had a old Falcon with red hot dimmer. Floor had rotted out and did not have a ground.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

Dimmer switch shouldn't be grounding to the floor.

[Tudie 36]

Originally Posted by Karl Wescott

OK, some basic troubleshooting here. If the floor switch is red hot electric energy is flowing through it, and where there is resistance you get heat. You have a partially shorted out switch. The switch should ONLY be making contact when you are engaging the starter. The reason the car quit is all the battery/generator energy was sucked out of the system to heat the switch.


The floor switch has nothing to do with the ignition or any other circuit than Battery-Switch-Starter. Because of the high amperage of the starter this is a heavy duty switch. This is why on later (1937 on) there was a solenoid (heavy duty switch controlled triggered by a low amperage signal).


This situation could easily have progressed to a fire. If the floor switch gets hot the battery needs to be disconnected NOW! If the motor still runs the generator also needs to be disconnected NOW! There is no fuse protection. Expect arcing when the battery (and generator) is disconnected as there is high current flow. Gloves and face protection would be a very good idea.

Thanks, for this answer. I disconnected battery roadside, new button will be here today. Hope I didn’t do something stupid to cause this, like resting my foot on the button. Greg

[sugarmaker]

Originally Posted by Automotive Stud

Dimmer switch shouldn't be grounding to the floor.

Probably why I am not good at electrical stuff!
Thanks for the clarification.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[azlkk]

I’m seeing around 0.2 ohm resistance across the original 90 year old starter switch. Is this normal?

[collinrestores]

Those floor switches were not Ford's finest moment. There's about an eighth of an inch between you and the battery exploding under your feet at all times. I'm planning on upgrading mine with a solenoid.

[1942deluxe]

Originally Posted by FortyNiner

The quality isn't any better for the 46-48 versions.

100% agree. Ended up hunting down NOS ones for my 42,46 and 48 cars.