Hey folks, I've been putzing around with my Frankenstein '54 truck trying to figure out why it seems to have a dead spot when depressing the gas pedal when a new problem reared its ugly head. I had just tried changing the coil when ole Bessie decided that instead of starting she would just make sparking noises at the battery and kill all the electricity. (I had the interior light on since the only time I get to fool around is usually after the kids are in bed.) I tried checking for loose connections and and eventually decided the culprit was a sticking starter. So I tapped on it with pair of pliers. It worked. After talking with a guy at work , he suggested that the contacts may be sticking closed if they are too corroded etc. and by George, when I took the switch off of the starter the contacts are rather pitted. SO, any suggestions on how to clean them up. I didn't see anything by searching the page, but y'all seem to know how to do just about anything AD related. Thanks, Josh
Josh ; This is a pedal starter ? _POLISH_ the two copper contacts in the starter switch and on top of the starter , _DO_NOT_ sand or scrape them ! to prevent arcing and rapid wear , you must always _polish_ electrical contacts . Next time the starter jambs , put the truck in top gear and push it backwards to pop it loose without damaging anything ~ this trick works will all engines , BTW . The sudden dead spot is called a " flat spot " and is usually cuased by poor accellerator pump function , engine off , remove the air filter (always loosen the screw first) , peer down the carby throat with a flashlight and slowly work the throttle ~ the _instant_ the throttle linkage begins to move , a stream (not dribble0 of fuel _must_ squirt out the accellerator pump jet ~ if not , you need to go into the cabry and clean it up and prolly install a new accellerator pump plunger . Also , failure to adjust the valves causes this as does incorrect ignition timing and fried ignition points . I hope this helps .
What you suggest polishing with? When I used to maintain AC switchgears we used emery cloth. Is this suitable for this situation? Also, neat trick pushing backwards to save the hammer. Thanks, Josh
Contact Cleaning Metal polish suitable for brass or copper , pretty much any metal polish will do . I do this to return old dead headlight and power window switches to like new performance too....
