1942 Ford deluxe coupe project

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
John did a good job tracking down a loose connection on the dimmer switch and has working lights again on the 42! And I finally got some pictures to load even though they are smaller.




Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[Daryl Watson]

Love the car. Well done !

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
I traveled with John to Martins starter repair in Blooming Valley PA. John had two generators for checking and or repair. We dropped them off yesterday around 2:00. John called me today and said he needed to go get them. Wow! Talk about service! The repair shop even had to get a new armature from down state!
John is installing one of the reworked gen units into the 42 Ford tonight!

Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[sugarmaker]

Folks,
I have been helping John work on the electrical gremlins on his 42. Though we had it today and he called and said that now the dash lights and interior light were not working. I am not very good at electrical troubleshooting. We found a couple things we thought might have been issues? Will keep checking connections and verifying functions of components.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[SoCalCoupe]

Wish I was a lot a lot closer. Love this project and would rather work on electrical than anything else!


Is this the original wiring harness?

[1942deluxe]

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Then harness is a Dennis Carpenter one. We had everything working and then only the headlights (high and low beam) along with the high beam indicator worked. Coming off the firewall I have power to the green wire that goes to the brake light switch. I think we have the circuit breaker wiring correct but at this point real open to suggestion...

[flatford8]

Is the switch good?......is it new manufacture or NOS?......Mark

[1942deluxe]

Mark, the switch is NOS and I tried a Carpenter reproduction switch last night with the same results.

[Als48]

John, did you reuse the adjustable light control that was mounted on the lower edge of the dash, which controls the dash light brightness? That could well be an issue.

Al H

[Als48]

Sorry, Lower left edge of the dash, under the light switch.

Al H

[1942deluxe]

Al, I did but I have a reproduction one I could try.

[1942deluxe]

I tried the new dash light dimmer switch and no change. About 2.8 volts going to it. Something to add, when I pull the headlight switch out to the park position there is no discharge showing on the amp gauge. It does show discharge on the headlight position.

[1942deluxe]

More checking. I have power to the wires for the front parking lights, 5.85 volts at the firewall connector for the tail lights. At the circuit breaker all 6.29 volts except the "A" circuit is not consistent but ranges from 3-5+ volts. My 46 reads 6.24 volts on all the terminals. Is there a way to test the circuit breaker? I have another circuit breaker I could try.

[flatford8]

You could use a jumper wire with alligator clips just long enough to check the lights, then remove it......Mark

[1942deluxe]

Well, we have lights again and I hope they stay working. Checked a rear taillight and
I had 5 plus volts bulb also good. I had an extra circuit breaker and I thought it was worth a try as everything that wasn't working is on the "A" terminal. Installed the spare circuit breaker and then all the other lights started working. Now getting 6.39 volts on all three terminals. My guess is either a poor connection or there was something wrong with the A terminal.

[flatford8]

Good job John!!.......we all knew you’d get to the bottom of it!!.......Mark

[tubman]

I'm glad you got everything straightened out, but it is troubling how man "bad out of the box" parts are around these days.

[1942deluxe]

Thanks Mark. Cathy crawled under the dash to help me put the circuit breaker back together. Welcome to my world. Tubman, that was the original breaker but I could give hours of examples of poor quality reproduction parts. DC dash dimmer switch that falls off the wire harness they make. Nobody bothered to check the fit? DC starter button that won't ground to the dash. Guy at the starter place said the last 4 6-volt voltage regulators he got were faulty. I may be the exception, but I'll pay for quality.

[sugarmaker]

John, Folks,
Warning! I have embraced, existing, better wireless technology, and will now be dangerous loading pictures. One we may have missed, when John and his 42 were in the shop!


Regards,
Chris and Cheryl

[sugarmaker]

Ford Folks,
John continues work and testing on his 42 Ford electrical components and systems. He stopped by today after getting several generators and voltage regulator tested at Martins starter and generator shop.
Cindy was preforming well all systems were working. I had to snap some pictures for the Barn! I mean how often do we have a 42 Ford in the driveway?















Regards,
Chris and Cheryl