Mystery box, what is it?

[Jeri Conklin]

Hi there, one more mystery to solve. This box was mounted on the back fire wall. It had three wires going off it though there is room for four. It has been suggested that it has something to do with the overdrive system. The box is metal or appears to be metal. Or, is it a step down resistor to 6 volt? Any suggestions welcomed. We have looked at the shop manual for the 1949 Frazer/Kaiser and just can't decide what it is. Thank you in advance. Well I can't tell if the attachments loaded or not so will post and if they didn't I'll try again.

[Jeri Conklin]

Okay, let me try to add the other pictures.

[joefrazer]

That's your overdrive relay. One wire is hot and the others all run to various items related to the car's overdrive transmission. If you have a shop manual...even a generic one from the late 40s, a wiring diagram will show where all of the wiring goes. From the looks of the pix, the wiring needs replaced, Bob McBride, a club vendor, makes replacement harnesses that are correct and very reasonably priced.

[Jeri Conklin]

Thank you for info. Bob is making my harness as we speak. Do you have any suggestions for changing over from 6V to 12V? If we take out the generator and put an alternator in, what type of alternator is recommended?

[joefrazer]

If you swap to an alternator, you will need a 12V overdrive solenoid. The unit now in the car is meant for 6V applications and will work with 12V but will burn out eventually. Most later Ford and Studebaker 12V solenoids will work. Just make sure the mount holes and wiring connections are the same.

Most folks who go to a 12V setup use a GM one wire alternator. Also, don't forget that you have alot to consider when swapping to 12V...things like bulbs, gauges, coil, etc. And, the old, brittle cloth covered wiring should be inspected and replaced as needed.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Do you have the Kaiser-Frazer factory shop manual for your car?  The relay is pictured in it.  You should be aware that during the years of production there were at least two different units used with different types of wire terminals (plug in, screw in, etc) and you should have the design type correct for your model year automobile.

If you don't have the factory shop manual for the car, I strongly recommend you get one, along with the ILLUSTRATED parts book covering your car.  A lot of vendors in the club tend to work with part numbers rather than descriptions.

[Jeri Conklin]

I do have the Shop Manual for 1947-1949 Models. What picture of a box are you referring to? I don't see any picture of a box similar to mine in the Transmission/Overdrive section (page 129). My box is 1-1/2" tall and 2-1/2" long and attaches to the fire wall. There is nothing coming out of it other than there appears to be at least 3 wires going in different directions. So is it possible that the small box is a drop down resistor? I can't find a picture of what a resistor looks like.

[Fid]

In the picture of your OD relay, I see the fuse and retainer that holds the fuse (it mounts vertically) is missing. Without that, the OD will not work. I've never seen a picture of the relay in the shop manual or the parts book. My guess is, at the time those documents were printed, they just assumed every mechanic knew what these components are and what they looked like. Sixty years later, that's not the case.

[Jeri Conklin]

Thanks Fid. So what is it I need to make it complete so the OD works? Does anyone have a picture of what a functioning one should look like? I have a box of pieces and parts, maybe it is in that somewhere if I knew what to look for.

[joefrazer]

There are 5 main components of an overdrive system that have wiring running to them.

1. Overdrive relay. That's the box attached to the firewall. It distributes power to the OD system.
2. Overdrive kickdown switch. That's mounted to the firewall using a bracket assembly and is located below the relay. It makes contact with the accelerator rod and causes a ground condition that kicks to transmission out of OD.
3. Overdrive solenoid. It's mounted on the driver side of the transmission and is about the size and shape of a soup can. One of the wires from the kickdown switch runs to it to allow the OD to engage/disengage.
4. Rail switch. It's mounted at the driver side rear of the transmission. It's purpose is to allow OD only when the dash lever is pushed in.
5. Governor. It's mounted on the passenger rear side of the transmission. It's purpose is to only allow OD when the car reaches a certain forward speed (28 MPH I believe).

Page thru your shop manual, there should be pictures of most of the components.

[Kenn Evans II]

Mac's has 6 volt alternators avail. If you realy want to get away from a generator.  If a terrorist ever uses a pulse bomb, all the cars with electronics will not run, the computers and ecm's will be toast.  Just a thought to keep classics a original like. just my 2 cents

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

As the unpacking continues, I got to the 47-50 factory shop manual.  SP-418 in the Electrical section shows the relay as part of a schematic, but does not show the actual part as installed anywhere in the book.  I was mistaken...I thought it was pictured as part of the overdrive repair information in Electrical.

[burusu]

Since the wires in Jeri's photos are all black, mine are all white, and the shop manual refers to the wires by color, can anyone tell us which wires should be which colors?

For what it's worth, mine has four wires and a fuse (with the metal sleeve holding it in place,) but the overdrive isn't working.

[joefrazer]

Here are two photos of the OD relay in my 50K Traveler. Your Frazer will be the same. In the picture, it looks like the large orange wire running from the relay ends up at the coil. That's not so, it goes to the starter solenoid. The red wire does, however, run from the relay to the coil.

[burusu]

Thanks Joe, that fits well with what the shop manual shows. White to the kickdown switch, orange to the starter solonoid, blue to the overdrive solonoid and red to the ignition coil.