Relay/Switch

[ReggieFoote]

I received a lot of assistance with my YF 833 carb problem and am grateful

I have another new owner question??

There a small relay/switch mounted to the firewall.  It's centrally located on same. There is a fuse (blown) attached to the lower side. Also, there's what appears to be a white plastic "junction" on the bottom with many wires coming into/out of.

The question....What is it???

[Fid]

This?



It's the overdrive relay

It's mounted roughly the same place on the Henry J except on the early '51 Js it was mounted down by the steering sector.

[ReggieFoote]

Many thanks...

No wonder the Overdrive doesn't work. I'm learning. Be patient with me. Any particular amp fuse recommended. Can't find the part on the 1951 Henry J Wiring Schematic hence the reason for asking.

Reggie

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The factory shop manual states that fuse types are listed in the Parts List for the various functions.  It's a 20 amp fuse.

[Fid]

The wiring diagram is in the shop manual.  Because overdrive was an option,  it is not included in the main wiring diagram. It's in the Electrical section of the shop manual. It's a 20 amp fuse.
Anyway, here's a copy of the OD wiring diagram:



Also attached it so it can be downloaded.

[Fid]

Looks like we hit the "Reply" button at the same time!

[r1lark]

Generally, most overdrive problems are electrical. There should be a good troubleshooting sequence in the K-F Shop Manual, or here is a link to a B-W overdrive manual: 
http://www.studebakerclubs.com/NorthGeorgia/Overdrive.pdf

[alohagreen]

one thing that happened to me
   I LOST overdrive... found it to be,
lack of 6Volt charge ( needs a little adj to the regulator )
after a CHARGE up it worked  just FINE.

[Fid]

Same thing happened to me Alohagreen - for years my '53 J was plagued with OD issues. Turns out it was my voltage regulator was only putting out 5.9 volts. The shop manual says it should put between 7.2 and 7.6 volts with the lights on at xxx rpm (I'd have to look it up again). I replaced my voltage regulator in 2006 and never had a problem again.  The OD solenoid is the one electrical component that takes the most current so if there  is any deficiency in your charging system at all, the OD will be the first thing to fail. You can replace solenoids, relays, kickdown switch and wiring like I did and still be plagued. The whole time it was my charging system and not the OD circuit.  It's all new now though!

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Using the Shop Manual or Service Standards information, all electrical wiring should be checked, especially if the car still has some or all of the original wiring.  The stuff is old enough that it will be or will have corroded due to normal aging of the copper strands.  The current draw on a 6 volt system is such that even a bit of a bad ground will cause the heavy drainers to fail but the rest of the system to run fine.