1955 President wiring

[RHO]

I have a '55 President with Borg Warner auto tranny. Starting total rewire of the car. Have viewed several sources for the wiring diagrams including the service manual, etc. and all show the same wiring for the particular area I am currently reworking. From the starter solenoid on the firewall, there are the two big cables to the starter motor and the battery negative terminal. And the wiring diagram is consistent with the NUMBER of smaller wires I have on my solenoid, but not the destination and wire color.
10 gage Red wire seems to be consistent with going to the ammeter
#1 question: 10 gage Black wire I do not not know where it was connected on my car and all the wiring diagrams show it goes to an overdrive relay, but since this is the auto tranny, the OD relay does not exist. I need to know where this rather long (about 3-4 feet) black wire goes from the solenoid.
#2 question: the wiring diagram shows a red & white wire going to the ignition switch; why my wire (that appears original up into the taped harness)is yellow is unknown, but I assume this is indeed the wire to the ignition switch (looks like a 16 gage wire).
Thanks for the help. This car has a LONG way to go.

[Roscomacaw]

The 55s stand alone as for as the start circuit goes. 51-2-3-4 cars either used a manually operated (foot) switch to send power to the starter or a starter solenoid that was energized by sending a ground to the little terminal of the solenoid.
For 1955, they went to the start function being part of the key switch. This necessitated a solenoid that was activated by a "hot" connection instead of a ground connection. And since '55 was the last year of 6volt systems, this make that 55 Starter solenoid a one-year application.
I'm confused as to whether you're describing the OLD wiring harness or a new one. If it's the old one, likely the red tracer has LONG since faded away and the once white wire has turned yellow with age and exposure to the oil vapors and heat of the engine compartment.[)]<-red 'n white.
'55 was also sort of a cross-over year as parts of the wiring were still the old cloth-covered type while some of it was the "new tech" plastic wire.[B)]
Now if it's a NEW harness, something's wrong. The only yellow wire in the car's wiring is the one that goes from the wiper switch to the wiper motor.<-yellow!
The 10ga black wire was only used for the Overdrive relay feed. It rightfully goes between the big hot terminal on the solenoid to the fused terminal on the OD relay. Since there was only ONE Main harness used for both standard shift & Automatic trans cars, the black wire may well have been incorporated into ALL the harnesses to accomodate O/D if need be. [8]<-Black (in this case 8ga - but you get the idea. [}]<-Me (being a prankster) Gotta have fun SOMEhow![]

Miscreant at large.

1957 Transtar 1/2ton
1960 Larkvertible V8
1958 Provincial wagon
1953 Commander coupe
1957 President 2-dr
1955 President State
1951 Champion Biz cpe
1963 Daytona project FS

[RHO]

OK, perhaps that is it; the red/white cloth coating has deteriorated to reveal a yellow type wire. Indeed, the car contains both cloth and plastic wiring. I looked at some other wiring diagrams like '54 Hudson and '54 Kaiser and they show a black wire from the starter solenoid to the "B" terminal of the voltage regulator. This wire is just long enough to reach over to that point. The wiring is very badly decayed and practically non-existent in some places. The car will require all new wiring from the firewall out and quite a bit inside the car as well. Since this black wire had such a length to it along with a terminal on the end, I figured it must connect to something, but as you say, the only connection shown on the diagram is to the OD relay. Thanks.

[RHO]

OK, have found a photo of the subject car from last March that shows two wires emerging from a small hole just above the windshield wiper motor. I see no such wires on my standard shift '55 Commander and in that hole on the Commander is a spring attached to the wiper motor. Any one else have the two wires or know what they may go to? Since the March timeframe with the car being moved around and the engine removed, those two wires have vanished.
Thanks.

[BobPalma]

RHO: What you are dealing with is the auxillary Starter and Anti-Creep Wiring Circuits unique to 1955 V-8s with Automatic Drive.

I installed a Thoms reproduction wiring harness (a beautiful work of art in its own right!) in a 1955 President hardtop with Automatic Drive a couple years ago and have an excellent color diagram of the circuits and wires you question.

I'm sorry I cannot scan and post it, but if you'll post your name and home mailing address, I'll make a color photocopy of it and mail it to you immediately. It's exactly what you need, and will answer all your questions...and then some. Bob Palma

[RHO]

Thanks Bob, I sent you an email.
I did remove the anti-creep device and wiring from underneath the car during the summer, but not getting back to the car for six months, I could not recall about the wiring and just did not take enough detail photos.

RHO

[RHO]

Wiring schematic arrived in god shape, Bob. Thanks. The rewire of the car is ongoing and hopefully will see a live test within a week or two.

[N8N]

Along the same lines, I have a '55 Commander that had a heart transplant at some point in time, so the anti-creep is all gone, except the valve is still hanging out on the frame. I also had no neutral safety. I "hacked" together some NSS wiring, but am curious how it would have been run stock. It appears that this wiring was part of the anti-creep harness. How did it tap into the stock wiring, as both ends of the "start" wire use ring terminals? I just used a small machine screw and nut and a big piece of heat shrink, but I'm sure that's not how the factory did it. (or is it?)

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight
62 Daytona hardtop

http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

[sasjdw]

Bob,

I'm restoring a '55 Speedster. Would the wiring diagram you mention above apply to my car as well? If so, would you be willing to send me a color copy of the wiring diagram you mentioned?

Thanks in advance,

Jim W.

James D. Wilkerson

[BobPalma]

[8D] James, Nate, etc:
The wiring diagram referenced details wiring for the start, run, throttle solenoid, and transmission anti-creep circuits ONLY for 1955 Automatic Drive V-8 cars ONLY. These particular circuits are the same for Speedsters and other V-8/AD cars.

If you want one, please send me a dollar to cover the return postage, envelope, and the color copy. I'll color-copy the diagram and mail you one. My address has been the same and is in the heading of any Turning Wheels Co-Operator for the last 25 years... [:I] BP

[RHO]

Now the wiper system wires are proving to be "challenging." Someone previously rewired and the white/blk wire had a ballast resistor in the line; was disconnected from the ignition switch accessory position; a short brown wire with a terminal end that reaches to nothing in the vicinity. The manual only shows "F & A" terminals on the back, but I found the wiper switch with F,A,P, and B terminals. Three wires obviously go to the motor and are routed together leaving the last wire needing to go to the ignition switch, so the plan is to just void what is there and run a new wire over to the Acc position of the ignition switch. Want to test the wiper motor on the car obviously before having to pull it.

[RHO]

Obviously someone had trouble with all the accessories or tried to hook up a 12-volt battery to the car. In addition to the mysterious wiper wiring, I found both fuses blown for the heater and defroster fans but they had been wrapped in aluminum foil.

[N8N]

Sounds like someone tried to convert to 12V and decided better of it. That would explain the ballast in line with the wiper motor, and the blown fuses for the blowers as well. I have a 6V under the fender motor that works if you need it as I just converted my '55 to 12V. I think I have the defrost as well but I had to steal the brush springs and maybe a couple other parts from it.

Anyway, "B" is battery and "P" is park. I forget the color codes but there should be yellow, green, and black coming from the wiper motor. There ought to be a circuit breaker on the switch itself tied to the "B" terminal. check the wiring diagram on Chuck Collins' site (or in the shop manual, it's the same one) hopefully all will be clear...

good luck

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight
62 Daytona hardtop

http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

[RHO]

Thanks. The "B" terminal is the one I used. The other three wires are all routed together. I just pulled the fender fan off late yesterday to clean it out of dirt dobbers and repair the power wire, then I'll know if it works. Two motor screws soaking in Kroil to faciltate disassembly. Just about to the point of hooking up the battery and progressively testing every thing.

[N8N]

Was just reading back through this thread to see if there was anything that I missed that might prove helpful... nothing to add but a nit to pick. There are TWO yellow wires; one to the wiper motor, and one from the switch to the heater blower motor

And then there's my car... (lessee... I added a tach, an electronic ignition, 4-way flashers... made my own harness for the neutral safety, since the stock anti-creep was long gone... there's colors in there that Studebaker never even used!)

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight
62 Daytona hardtop

http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel