ILIKECARS53

Thanks Neil for the tip. Will check it out today. Jim

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. On to the next issue. Since I had the steering wheel and horn trim off to fix the turn signals, I decided to replace the horn trim with one which was in better condition than the original. I took it apart and cleaned it etc. Put it on the car and reconnected the battery and jumped about 10 ft. The horn went off and scared the hell out of me. Was not expecting that. Took it off to make sure the wire was not frayed and making contact. No issue there. Grounded the end of the wire and the horn worked as it should. Put the horn button back on and the horn went off as soon as I touched the steering wheel. I have the shop manual and there is a diagram of the horn button but it is very difficult to read. This car has the 3 spoke steering wheel with the matching 3 spoke horn, not the one with the horn button in the center of the steering wheel. What am I doing wrong. Did I put the horn button back together incorrectly. There is not much there. A few insulators, 2 springs and a couple of nuts. Help!!! Thanks Jim

Just got to the Buick today. The heat subsided a little today. Pulled the steering wheel and all the other little springs, ball bearings, bushings etc. to get to the actual switch. I did it again!!!! The wires were backwards on the indicator lights and the outside signal lights. But is was not that obvious to see. there must be something inside the switch that picks up the bulb size that wire is attached to. The indicators worked on both sides of the switch but the outside lights only worked on one side. Any way all fixed. Thanks for everyone's help . On to the next problem. Thanks Jim

Ok you have convinced me. The steering wheel is coming off to check the wiring and the actual switch. Will keep everyone posted. Thanks Jim

Hi All, Did one more thing before I removed the steering wheel to check the switch and the wiring at the switch. Please refer to the diagram that Neil sent. I disconnected the 3 way connector. The left side dash indicator does light because it does not go thru the 3 way. You will note there is a connector just before the bulb. I exposed the connector and hooked up a jumper from that connector to a bulb and ground. The dash indicator and the bulb flashed. Then I tried connecting the outside lights and the dash indicator and the outside lights all flashed. Then I did the other side and they all flashed. I hope that is all clear, because i am getting confused just typing it. Basically Bloo, I hooked the flashers up they way you thought they were before you saw the diagram from Neil. And they worked. So my question is..... can I do it this way. Will I be doing any damage. Can the wiring heat up etc etc. Right now I have the wire connected using mini jumpers and clips. I would have to make permanent splices etc. Tell me what you think. Thanks Jim

I have concluded I wired something wrong. I have good grounds and power to the lights. Have a good flasher, tested as Bloo suggested. Only conclusion...... I screwed up something at the switch. will keep everyone posted. Thanks Jim

Bloo, I was going to let you know that the dash indicator lights were not connected to the outside lights, but Neil beat me to it. My turn signal diagram is exactly as the one that Neil posted. I rechecked everything today. Goods grounds at the outside bulbs , power to the bulbs etc etc. and still nothing. I am going to repeat exactly what the issue is. When I use the turn signal handle the dash indicators light up but do not blink and the outside lights do not go on. I did rewire the steering column but was very careful. Bloo, can the problem be in the switch wiring. The dash indicators work properly but there are 4 other wires i could have screwed up.

Bloo, I learnt more about flashers and directional signals in your post than i have in the 40 somethings years I have been having fun with cars. Thanks The dash has 2 indicator arrows. The rear turn signals are below the running and brake lights, not on the trunk. I will try to get out to the garage later today, some house and outdoor projects took up my time the past few days. Thanks Jim

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL!!!!! EVERYONE HAVE A GREAT DAY.

I will recheck all the grounds. But I do get lights when I hot wire the left and right turn signals. Thanks Jim

They worked when I got the car. I had to rewire parts of the car due to wires just falling apart. The turn signals were one of the areas that need attention. I also did the steering column wires, but was very careful with the rewiring making sure I did not remove more than one wire at a time. But maybe I was not as careful as I thought. Thanks Jim

Hi All, Onto the next issue....... no turn signals. When I try the signals either left or right the dash indicator lights work, but the front and rear lights do not even go on. I have a good ground and power to the lights. If I put power and ground to the front light junction block the turn signal lights go on front and rear. They do not blink but they do light up. The front are a double contact with the parking lights. The rear are a signal contact. All the other lights work. I replaced the flasher unit with no change. I tested the flasher by putting power to it and connecting a bulb and the bulb blinks and the flasher makes the clicking sound. But it only does it on P side of the flasher. When I do it on the L side, no blinking and no flasher noise. Wait it could be the other way around, I do not remember at the moment. What else can I check. Thanks Jim

HI All, My neighbor came over to give me a hand taking off the hood. We all know what a pain in the butt it is to working on a Buick that has the dual hinge hood. He stuck around a little while and gave me a hand diagnosing the problem. Started at the beginning. Bench tested the starter. No problem. Then did the same to the solenoid. No problem. Put the starter in the car and reconnected all the wires at the starter and carb switch. Nothing. Started doing the checking that Robin outlined. All was going well until the generator wire check. The wire was not making good contact at the generator. It looked connected and did not go further when I first encountered the problem. I called myself every name in the book. Bottom line to all of this, the car started has it should. Now onto the next issue. Thanks to all for the help. Jim

Thanks to all. Will try the procedure outlined within the next day or two and will let everyone know. Thanks Jim

Hi everyone, Here is the starter and solenoid. The cover is on the solenoid. Under the cover is the contact. When I touch the contacts together the starter engages and the car starts. Based on this, I believe it is not the starter nor the solenoid. I could be wrong. Also when I jump the wires at the switch at the carb, nothing happens. I cleaned the contacts. Based on the manual the contact gap and air gap were right on. I took the solenoid apart and shined up the copper bolts and washer. When I press the plunger in manually, the washer makes good contact with the bolts. Any other ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Jim

Hi All, It has been awhile. My first Buick project in the new garage. Will have to send some updated pics of the garage. But getting back to the issue with the Buick. It is a 1942 Buick Limited with the 320 engine. It has the dual carb setup with Carter WCD's front and back. The problem has been going on for about 2 years, but just getting to it now since I have a very nice place to work. When I would try to start the car the starter would just click. I thought it was the battery, but that did not solve the problem. Then I thought it was the vacuum switch in the carb. I bypassed the switch by touching the wires together, still nothing. Pulled the starter and cleaned the contacts of the solenoid and checked the gap, still nothing. Then I tried to start manually by touching the contacts and it started right up. This is how I have been moving the car around for the past 2 years. It is a little awkward. This past week I pulled the starter again and rechecked everything and again cleaned the contacts. Pulled the vacuum switch and cleaned it. Still to no avail. I left the cover off the solenoid and touched the contacts and it started right up. Am I missing something. What else could I check. Thanks Jim

Have been dealing with them for twenty years, never an issue.

Received the March/April edition yesterday. I like the new look.

Received my first copy yesterday. Well packaged and delivered right to the front door. Glanced through it when I opened it up, looks like it will be a first rate magazine. Nice going Richard.

Are they still available?

Don, I am interested. Will send you a private message. Thanks

You can also look into Stonebarn Restorations, right outside of Hackettstown in Northwest New Jersey. Excellent shop, they have a few Pebble Beach winners in their resume. As does Steve Babinsky. You can also try McCoys located in New York, they specialize in interiors.

In my area of northeastern PA they were predicting between 10"-15". Got a solid 12" on the driveway. Some of the drifts were over 18".

Hi Lamar, I am undecided about peg board over the workbench. I have a workbench in the original garage and plan on moving it over to the addition. It is 36" deep and it is hard to reach the back wall. If I cut it down to 30" it maybe better, not sure yet. Thanks Jim

Dave, I still have more shelves to build and will look into your suggestion. I put up the peg board on the common wall. I picked up the peg board at the local KMART when they were closing for a $1.00 each. They are about 29" x 47" and 1/4" thick. I bought 20 panels and used 8 on the wall. Here is a pic of the installed peg board. I could not resist starting to put some items on it. Thanks for viewing Jim