The Ford Barn - View Single Post - OD not working on '53 Ford 3-spd w/R10

bbarry · Today, 08:46 AM

FBarners, sorry for the slow response. I did the pawl check. The pawl moves in ~1/2" and retracts under its own weight. Then, with OD cable in, held the pawl in while rotating the driveshaft. When the pawl aligned with the balk gear it moved in ~1/2" more. And, again, easily retracted. It was at this point that I reasoned it had to be an electrical issue and, further, had to be a grounding issue despite all my efforts to keep grounding surfaces clean. So, I ran a redundant ground straight to the battery. That worked and the solenoid fired while installed. So, installed a permanent wire from solenoid to battery.

But, on the next test drive, all excited I might add, still not working. My next step, because of the comment above about voltage sensitivity, is to ground the governor circuit with key on to ensure that the solenoid sees a healthy voltage. I will get the values that Kens 36 asks for.

Thanks, again.

Today, 08:46 AM	#11
bbarry Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2025 Location: Ada, MI Posts: 5	Re: OD not working on '53 Ford 3-spd w/R10 FBarners, sorry for the slow response. I did the pawl check. The pawl moves in ~1/2" and retracts under its own weight. Then, with OD cable in, held the pawl in while rotating the driveshaft. When the pawl aligned with the balk gear it moved in ~1/2" more. And, again, easily retracted. It was at this point that I reasoned it had to be an electrical issue and, further, had to be a grounding issue despite all my efforts to keep grounding surfaces clean. So, I ran a redundant ground straight to the battery. That worked and the solenoid fired while installed. So, installed a permanent wire from solenoid to battery. But, on the next test drive, all excited I might add, still not working. My next step, because of the comment above about voltage sensitivity, is to ground the governor circuit with key on to ensure that the solenoid sees a healthy voltage. I will get the values that Kens 36 asks for. Thanks, again.