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What Years Buick Used Switch Under Accelerator Pedal


kenmatthews

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I'd like to know a little history regarding when and why Buick decided on having ignition switch engaged by the accelerator pedal. I have a 55 Super with this feature and I understand it was only offered for few yrs. I have a few friends w. 56 and they don't have that setup.

I'm also interested in removing contacts from carb and installing a heavy-duty push button switch under the dash. I'm assuming this is possible and I have my eyes on a switch at Eastwood:

http://www.eastwood.com/shopping/product...iProductID=3192

This seems like a pretty straight-forward install by simply bringing those 2 carb connections indoors and hide under the dash.

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Oh wow, I didn't realize that BUick offered it for so many yrs. Was this an option where you could choose dash switch vs. pedal switch?

I never truly found where vacuum is being used to engage the switch nor did I find a switch. All I see is that the accelerator linkage arm connects up to the carb and there are 2 wires on the back of the carb. However, my shop manual states an actual ball in a socket which the vacuum activates and pushes into position to make the contact. Still in search of that mechanism...

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It was not an option , is was standard. Unless you are familuar with buicks, most people never knew how to start the older cars. Think about changing, it might save your car from getting stolden. The younger theif know nothing about this starting system, and the ignition has to be on.

Jim Schilf

palbuick

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Guest my3buicks

That reminds me of when I sold my 57, the gentleman that bought it only watned to ride in it and didn't want to drive it. When the day came for him to pick it up, he climbed in the car(and I could see this coming a mile away) fiddled with the ignition switch, fiddled some more, looked toward me and said, the starter must be screwed up. I told him to try again and to give it gas while he tried, well she fired right up. I proceeded then to explain how to start a Buick. I got allot of smiles over the years thinking back on that.

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in my 1950 group, I get two email a year saying, " i just bought my '50 and I cannot get it started"!

the switch is a black plastic tube with to wires on it. When the car is off, there is no suction, so the metal ball rests on the two contacts and the power goes to the starter.

When the car starts, the suction pulls the metal ball up the tube, off the wire contact and breaks the curcuit, so when you floor that buick engine, or go 110 mph, the starter dose not ingauge.

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Ken

A few points:

You can buy that switch from a local auto parts store cheaper.

A good place to mount it is the hole in the left lower dash ( this hole is for the power antenna)

The wires to the vacuum switch are NOT protected by a fuse and will fry your wiring harness if grounded with the key 'on'.

The starting circuit is pretty reliable and not that hard to fix.

Willie

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At Car shows, I used to offer $5.00 to any teen ager who could start my 1955-76R. It was a terrific idea and made it real easy to start while you had the hood up and messing around with the engine. Just be sure the switch mad.gif was on and pull back on the throttle rod. I could never figure out WHY they scrapped that system.

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This switch is amazingly simple. It is a tube, with a set of contacts on a carrier inside pushed AWAY from the contacts where the wires are by a spring. On my 56, when the engine is off, the ball rests on the throttle shaft. When energized, and you step on the pedal, the throttle shaft which has a high spot on it, rotates, and pushes the ball into the carrier for the contacts. This in turn compresses the spring and allows the contacts on the carrier to connect with the contacts on the inside of the wires, thus completing the circuit. Once the engine starts the vacuum in the carb is routed to a port on the switch and the ball is pulled off the throttle shaft so subsequent rotation of the shaft does not result in pressure on the contact carrier. The manual says there is a secondary failsafe to prevent the starter from energizing even if the ball is not drawn off. I have a hard time understanding it but it relates to the solenoid I think. Something about the charging circuit. When the car is off the energy flows one way to the starter. When the engine is running and the generator is generating, the power flows a different way and the starter solenoid cannot be energized. Seems to work.

If you are having problems with this switch I recommend removal, and a thorough wipe down inside with rubbing alcohol on cotton swabs. I even polished the innards with super fine steel wool, and then blew everything off really well. Then reassembly WITHOUT any lubrication. That's what my manual says, and my switch is still working well after 50 years.

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One of the suggested reasons for the accelerator operated starter switch (it is not an ignition switch as the key operates this and it is not under the accelerator) was to eliminate people engaging the starter when the engine was running. With the old starter buttons on the floor and the two position (on/start) ignition switches many people were stripping the teeth from the ring gear. Also if your engine stalled in traffic it was easy to restart without having to push a separate switch or turn a key. Studebaker tried a similar idea by mounting the starter switch under the clutch pedal.

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Guest imported_moopar2ya2

I don't know about the later cars but the early ones had a cut out circuit operating off the generator. If the engine was running (and the generator was charging) then the electro magnet from that circuit prevented the one from the carburator from closing and the starter wouldn't run.

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Guest 53and61

moopar2ya2's description was certainly true up to '53. Part of this design is that the ground return for the starter relay is through the generator armature. When I was a kid and our '53 Special wasn't yet very old, the generator developed an open commutator segment. The generator still worked well enough, but if the engine happened to stop with the dead segment under a brush, the starter wouldn't work. No one could track down this maddening intermittent for many months, so a mechanic finally drilled a big hole in the dash and mounted a pushbutton switch that bypassed the whole starting circuit. Years later I discovered the dead segment, replaced the generator armature, and restored the original circuitry (and still more years after that repaired and refinished the dash).

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Guest my3buicks

One of my 57's had a push buttom mounted on the dash when I bought it to start the car - the FIRST thing I did to that car was to change it back to start like a Buick should.

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  • 9 years later...
Guest jazzfi

I've enjoyed the look on friend's faces when theyre standing outside the car and I start my Buick with both my arms hanging out the window> "Wow, how'd you do that?" but on the other hand, the car wash guys never can start it and I gotta start it for them..

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It's amazing how you can make people laugh starting a Buick that's '60 or earlier. When I got my '60, I had to push way down on the gas to engage the starter. I took the switch apart and the piston has a place for shims inside. I had to make some shims and made it so that the starter would engage earlier on the pedal travel. The system works well. I'm not sure, but I think Packard the same idea for a while.

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Packard used the same Delco parts for the starter switch.

******

When properly adjusted, the starter should engage with half of the pedal travel.

Full pedal travel disengages the choke. So,

That would conflict with a cold start,

We know the nailhead needs a choke until warmed up...

Mine does at least, it doesn't run well until it reaches 150 deg or so.

As far as when the pedal start was introduced, the year was 1936 or before.

Dad's '36 Buick had a factory pedal start

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  • 3 years later...

When Ruby arrived in Cyprus , I was also ignorant of Buick starting system and did exactly what most people would .Actually thought battery was flat when I turned key. Wasn’t that surprised as car had been in container for 2months , however was very surprised when friends mechanic who came with me , told me to blip gas pedal and amazingly after 3 tries bingo! she fired up. System does amaze people here to.

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58 minutes ago, Sja68gts@gmail.com said:

Instead of using a button because I am rewiring the car and changing the carb couldn’t I reroute the carb switch wire to my new ignition that has the spring loaded start position on the ignition.

 

 Without seeing the switch circuit, I can't say for sure. But, don't see why not.

 

  Ben

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The only down side to this switch system is sometimes trying to start or restart a Buick so equipped on a hot day. You can get a pretty good POP back through the carb when you hit the accelerator. I have installed a switch under the dash along with the standard system on mine so that I can avoid giving it the gas on really hot days.

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Some years ago my father and my brother traveled to Michigan to look at a 1941 Series 90.  The broker they were dealing with knew nothing about old Buicks (or floor starters).  The broker kept trying to turn the key to start the car.  He was embarrassed that he could not start the car.  He kept offering up misinformed notions of what was wrong and why he could not start it.   My father, an old school Buick guy,  jumped in, set the switch and pressed the pedal and --surprise-- the car started right up.  The broker was even more embarrassed, but he learned something.  My brother did purchase that car--more like stole it for what he paid.  He still has that great 1941 with the foot starter.  Lots of good times.

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My 1951 Nash has the starter on the bottom of the clutch pedal.

Great safety feature ensuring you can't start it in gear but... don't shove the pedal all the way down after starting! Makes a noise hitting the ring gear....

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So do many years of Studebakers. You can still use the starter to move an out of gas car by just pressing on the starter button (looks like dimmer switch under the clutch pedal) with the car in reverse or first. DAHIK! ?

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I read about a ball and vacuum here but the switch on my ‘49 and the three spare ones that came of spare carbs I bought do not have a ball. 

 

The system on the straight eight carb is a metal strip with a hole in it, resting on a pawl attached to the gas lever. Inside the hole there is a spring loaded piston with various width. In off position the piston is thin and the metal strip can fall lower and make contact. Now if the engine engages one releases the gas pedal. Because the hole is now back in line the piston can be sucked in further by the engine vacuum and the strip cannot fall as low again, restricting it from engaging the starter engine. 

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I deliberately removed the manifold starter switch from my '37 Buick to protect the flywheel ring gear. If the engine didn't get off to a strong start, the starter would try to re-engage with the flywheel while the engine was running at a very slow speed. I just couldn't stand the grinding clashing sound of a ring gear being destroyed.  If there was an adjustment for it I never found it.

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  • 2 years later...

@Wilf Sedanet

I bought a '48 Roadmaster this past summer and the accelerator switch had been bypassed to a push button installed underneath the dash. I would like to change it back to the original accelerator pedal start, if possible, but I can't figure out how it originally worked and what components were involved even as I trace my way from the accelerator linkage up to the carb. Maybe some components were removed from my car. If you get a chance sometime, would you please take pictures of the relevant components and post them here? It would be much appreciated!

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39 minutes ago, Sir Gonzo said:

@Wilf Sedanet

I bought a '48 Roadmaster this past summer and the accelerator switch had been bypassed to a push button installed underneath the dash. I would like to change it back to the original accelerator pedal start, if possible, but I can't figure out how it originally worked and what components were involved even as I trace my way from the accelerator linkage up to the carb. Maybe some components were removed from my car. If you get a chance sometime, would you please take pictures of the relevant components and post them here? It would be much appreciated!

The 1st thing for a new owner is to source and buy the appropriate Buick Shop Manual for your model. They can be found online in either CD or paper reprint for about the same price. Cars LLC is one source. Search Ebay or Amazon. The book is invaluable.

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The two wires attached to your push-button starter switch under the dashboard should instead be attached to the starter switch on the side of the carburetor, assuming the car still has the correct carburetor on it with a starter switch. Look for two electrical contacts with screws on the lower side of the carburetor. The wires go there--doesn't matter which wire goes to which, as long as you keep them separated. 

If the carburetor has been changed, it is possible that you no longer have one with a starter switch on it.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Leonard, TX

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@Pete Phillips Thanks, Pete, I'll check that out.

 

@TexasJohn55 I have a PDF of the shop manual for my Buick that I reference often. I've searched the manual multiple times for a detailed description of the accelerator switch, but I only find reference to it in regards to instructions on starting the car. Even the carburetor section doesn't mention it, but maybe with Pete's input I can make some progress.

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A lot of people have been impressed by the voice command on the '60 Electra. I sit in the driver's seat, point my forefingers at the instrument mirror, and say "Start".

 

That's not as scary as what I did to one poor guy while driving my car that had a telescoping steering column.

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12 hours ago, Sir Gonzo said:

@Pete Phillips Thanks, Pete, I'll check that out.

 

@TexasJohn55 I have a PDF of the shop manual for my Buick that I reference often. I've searched the manual multiple times for a detailed description of the accelerator switch, but I only find reference to it in regards to instructions on starting the car. Even the carburetor section doesn't mention it, but maybe with Pete's input I can make some progress.

In my 55 manual, it is in section 10 electrical and starting.

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15 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

A lot of people have been impressed by the voice command on the '60 Electra. I sit in the driver's seat, point my forefingers at the instrument mirror, and say "Start". 

 

I'LL HAVE TO USE THAT WHEN WE TAKE FOLKS FOR A DRIVE IN THE '37 ROADMASTER

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