1941 Packard starter pushbutton switch

[Bob Stein]

My starter pushbutton is hanging up, requiring a little fiddling to get it to disengage.  Has anyone tried electrical contact cleaner or some other cleaner?  The problem has been getting worse.  Is there a push starter switch that can be modified to accept the starter plastic push knob?  Thanks for any assistance.

[West Peterson]

Have you tried taking it apart, Bob?

[Bob Stein]

Quote

 

Not yet, being a coward when it comes to working with hard-to-find parts.  However, I just lucked out on eBay and picked up a NOS 1941 Packard starter pushbutton switch in the original box!  I'll play with the old one once I have the new one installed.

[Bob Stein]

Further developments - the ammeter registers a discharge when the starter button is pushed, but nothing happens.  The starter activates fine with the pushbutton on the solenoid, so it now looks like the solenoid is the culprit. New one on the way.

[Bob Stein]

It was definitely the solenoid. Bella's starter was hanging up, and then stopped working from the starter switch completely.  I had to use the external solenoid pushbutton to crank the car. Searching by part number  (SS 4001) I was able to find a NOS in the box solenoid which was delivered this afternoon.  It is a perfect replacement complete with the pushbutton cap, and took minutes to install.  Most importantly, the car starts great now.