QuestionHi Dick...I am hoping your expertise with the pre-war Studebakers will extend back from the 30's also....
I have a 1916 Series 16 SF Four Roadster that was occasionally not getting starting spark. Some troubleshooting made me think that the generator/battery 6 volt "cut-out" relay located on the engine firewall was not engaging. This little beast according to my 1917 DYKE's manual allows the battery to provide energy to the high tension coil for the start and then once the generator is running it cuts out the battery and the generator takes over duty providing energy to the coil and even hopefully charges the battery.
Normally when you turn the ignition lever to start you see a discharge on the charge/discharge dial and that was not happening. Upon opening it up inspecting the relay it looked worn and was remaining open and could only be engaged by pushing down on the sole set of contact points inside. I did get the discharge indication as normal only when I physically engaged the contacts which sat on a floating plate between two terminals. Thinking maybe it needed cleaning I opened the thing up and after the explosion of wires I dicovered 2 sets of lengthy wire windings and there is no hope in putting it back...besides the relay is worn...only 91 years old.
I would like to find a similar part...or at least something that would work. My Studebaker manuals don't tell me much...I don't think this is a voltage regulator as this era didn't have them as far as I know...but the wires must at least have sensed generator current when the engine started and switched off the battery. Any ideas on a NOS item or something compatible would be much appreciated.
The starter is a Wagner, the generator a Wagner, the distributor a Remy...this relay has no markings or numbers.
Rick.
AnswerActually, I wouldn't have been able to help the guy who got his '30 out of time unless it was such a common problem that I've had to help folks over the same hurdle so many times before with modern (1940 and later) cars! I have ZERO experience with anything as old as your car - however I am an electronics engineer, and I understand what you are describing, I think!
What has happened to you, as you correctly surmise, is that the relay coil has burned out. There is no hope of repairing it at any reasonable cost. If you are really into do-it yourself, you could verify this by checking the resistance of the relay coil- I think it will test as "open". You could obtain a duplicate of the fine wire, in the same length, and rewind the actuating coil - this might bring the relay back to life, but you'd still have the worn contacts to deal with.
My advice, much as it pains me, is to give up on it. Close it up so it looks legit, and secrete a manual push button switch somewhere in the driver's compartment, wired such as to connect the battery to the coil during starting (by pushing the button while you are cranking) and then simply release the button when you have the engine running. Connect the generator output through a replacement "cutout" relay to the battery to maintain its charge. I believe the plain "cutouts" are still available - perhaps even from JCWhitney or the like - as they were used on many tractors up into the 50s. All a cutout does is disconnect the generator from the battery when the generator isn't producing current, to keep the battery from discharging back through the generator (and burning it to a crisp!)
This is at least a temporary solution - maybe someday you'll come across a source for a replacement automatic switch of the type originally used, - you can always go back to it.
I hope you are a member of the Antique Studebaker Club, and a subcriber to "Skinned Knuckles" - they both are a wealth of information on the old Studebakers. (The oldest one I ever had was a 1948).
There aren't many cars that are too old for me to know about, but yours is one of them!
Dick
