Hello, Listers! I am pleased to report that my overdrive is now functioning
perfectly on my '58 TR3A!! I was able to get some solenoid action and had
done the operating lever adjustment my Service Instruction Book called for
at the end of last week, but the overdrive was still not engaging. Yesterday
I took the car 'round to Brian, our club 'guru', who said he was 99% sure it
was dirty solenoid contacts. I removed the solenoid from the mount and we
cleaned it up. A bit of delicate work was involved in removing the dust cap,
because years of proximity heat had bonded the rubber to the side of the
solenoid, but it came off tear-free. Brian cleaned the contacts inside the
head of the solenoid, then tested it on his scope. It was pulling the 15A
necessary, so we knew it wasn't to blame. Brian also had some rubber renewer
stuff (awful-smelling!) which I applied to the cap, then we put a light film
of silicone around the base of the cap before putting it back on. We then
cleaned both surfaces where the solenoid mates with the housing, hooked up
the wire, and I road-tested it. Yee-haaaa!! It was kicking in before the
toggle on the barrel switch reached the top of the 'on' position!
Thanks to Joe Curry, Randall Adams, Randall Young (all the Randall's from A
to Y), and to others who offered assistance. I can now hear my wife while
we're driving the 3A at speed.
Hmmmmmm.....
Maybe I'll soon be disconnecting the OD ;-)
Cheers, John (call me Randall) Day
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