> Thanks to everyone who has chimed in on the mysterious black knob. I hate
to
> put you all in suspense but that question has taken a back seat to a more
> important concern - getting the car started again.
>
> After the car was delivered last week I drove it twice for a total of
about
> 20 miles. After the second trip the car refused to restart (fortunately
it was
> parked safely in my driveway), giving only that infamous clicking sound of
a
> dead starter. I checked contacts and the battery to be sure and then
pulled
> the starter. The solenoid contact broke during removal so I took it to a
local
> rebuilder on Monday. Got it back this afternoon and installed it. Same
> clicking. Removed it again and had it bench tested at the local parts
store -
> works like a charm.
>
> So now what? I'm guessing, with some advice from the parts folks and a
> rather knowledgeable neighbor, that the problem is one of two things [or
both of
> them :-( ]
> 1. Starter relay
> 2. Ballast resistor
>
> I've measured the resistance across the resistor - ~2 megohms which leads
me
> to believe it's dead although I couldn't find a definite value in the
service
> manual.
>
> Questions:
> - How can I determine the condition of the starter relay?
> - Where can I get replacements for either/both of these components?
>
> Thanks
> Jeff
> Trenton, NJ
Jeff,
Hopefully you'll get some advice from our electrical expert, Dick Benjamin,
but I can give you a few thoughts in the meantime:
1. Don't rule out a weak battery as the cause of your clicking, especially
if everything worked before. Even if you checked the cable connections,
check them again, make sure the battery is good (or try another one), and
check voltage if you have a meter.
2. You can rule out the starter relay by using a screwdriver to jump from
the pos. to sol. terminals:
http://www.imperialclub.org/Yr/1956/FSM/Page097.htm
3. The ballast resistor won't affect whether your starter cranks or not;
it's just there to prevent your ignition points from burning up prematurely.
4. You can buy these parts, as well as other ignition and general
maintenance parts, from Northwestern Auto Supply, Andy Bernbaum, and others
(as well as a good local parts store). Here's a link with addresses and
phone numbers:
http://www.imperialclub.org/Part/General/Sources.htm
5. If the starter and solenoid checked OK at the parts store, then it could
be a case of the bendix (pinion) not engaging with your engine's flywheel.
Could be a problem with the flywheel ring gear teeth, or just crap on them,
or wrong adjustment of the pinion travel:
http://www.imperialclub.org/Yr/1956/FSM/Page100.htm
Actually, you might want to just read this section, starting here:
http://www.imperialclub.org/Yr/1956/FSM/Page089.htm
One trick you can try, if it's an engagement problem (though this probably
doesn't apply if you had the starter off) would be to rock the car while in
gear. Actually, you can put it in neutral, let it coast a little, and push
it back into drive while it's still moving a little. The idea is just to
get a different part of the ring gear on the flywheel to mesh with the
starter pinion, hopefully allowing it to engage fully.
Good Luck!
Mike Trettin
1956 Imperial Sedan, Turquoise
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network