47 starter question.

[FastEddieB]

I'm new to posting here. Been lurking for a while. Have a 64 Series 62 and 47 Series 75. I still regret selling my 73 Eldorado convertible.

The 47 75 is converted to 12v. Has a number of upgrades throughout. Has a 'painless wiring harness' from the PO.

Generally reliable, but something new is happening and it is kinda odd and I think I know the answer but wanted to see what some caddy owners think. Most of my cars are 60's, 70's. These older ones are something different for me.

Coming out of winter storage and cranking it over, I heard a nasty pop, then no starter. I checked connections, tested for power. Disconnected battery. Reconnected. Went to test again and it fired right up.

Next two times starting, car is dead at the key for the starter (ignition is working). If I disconnect/reconnect the battery, starts fine.

It has what would appear to be the original solenoid with the square box. I am guessing something is stuck or sticking in there.

Is this a typical problem on cars of this vintage and is my best course of action to just pull out the starter and clean up the inside of the solenoid?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[harvey b]

Were yor battery cables loose?,if they were on hand tight,the noise may have been a snap they make when they lose contact?.Ive had that happen to me,check to see if the ends are clean and no white corrosion any where,Hard to tell without actually being there. Harveyb

[FastEddieB]

I believe you are correct. About 10 pm last night after wrestling the starter out of an incredibly tight spot, and the solenoid looked fine and it all bench test fine... I thought 'crap' could it be another crap made-in-China cut off switch?

Second time. I'm going to reassemble and reinstall. Thanks for the confirmation. A true Occam's Razor moment.

I included an attachment.

Now, where can I find a decent cut off switch?!?!

[39LaSalleDriver]

I had one of those. Was a few hundred miles from home when my car died and I couldn't get it to start again. Fortunately my wife was in a chase car and I was within a couple of miles of a Tractor Supply and was able to get a new 6v battery which I thought was the problem. When I got it home I figured out that it was the cutoff knob which had failed, not the battery. 

I now use a knife style cutoff and I've never had a problem since.

[FastEddieB]

I've done the exact same thing. Figured I would have learned!

I've been getting two kinds of knife switches. I got some online from Wirthco. Not cheap, but They seem to been fine after a number of years. I bought a couple of cheap ones at Advanced A. One failed almost immediately. Even closed, it didn't pass a continuity test! Took them back.

Tried a couple of these knob types. This failure was dumb. I'm going to find better ones or go back to racing cut-offs.

With the knife switches I do find I have to 'exercise' them to keep good contact beyond just open and close. I figure just a matter of time before they keep failing in use. But have been better than knobs for me.

[39LaSalleDriver]

I've done the exact same thing. Figured I would have learned!

Same here. But when you're hundreds of miles from home and you're literally on the side of the road, you don't always think as straight as you should. Part of my problem was that it was around 5 pm on a Sunday and I barely caught the store open so I was having to make snap decisions. Jump starting wasn't working and it never crossed my mind that the cutoff had failed completely. After all, I had just been driving for like six hours with no problems. Of course, in my haste to drop a new battery in, I removed the cutoff from the circuit and everything started fine. Had I thought about it a little more beforehand I would have methodically walked through what could be wrong rather than jumping to conclusions. This is the switch I bought to replace it with. No name or anything, but it's held up well for the last two years. Time will tell I guess. https://www.ebay.com/itm/163328458053

[Cadman-iac]

  I have several different styles of cutoff switches, from the cheapest piece of crap, to a really great one. The best one that I have, and there may be others that are better, but mine is a rotary type with a heavy metal case and two large terminal posts on the bottom. It takes about a 90 degree rotation to turn it on or off with a big metal lever. It's meant to be mounted in a panel with just the lever showing.
I'd post a picture, but I'm not at home right now.
  But a suggestion would be to keep another one in the trunk as a just in case measure if you're going to use the same thing again, especially if the one you're using is Chinese.

Rick

Edit:  Home now, so here's the pictures of the type of switch I had referred to. I believe it says "Cole Hersee" on it and made in USA. I've had this one for at least 20 years now,  so I honestly don't know if you can still get it, but if so, it works great.  I removed it from a vehicle that I sold so I could use it on my 56 when it's done.
The last picture is of a cheap one I got at Horrible Fright tools. I had one just like it on another vehicle and believe it or not it worked fine for 7 years before I sold that one. It is also rotary switch, and it uses a removable key to turn it on and off.

[Daryl Chesterman]

Edit:  Home now, so here's the pictures of the type of switch I had referred to. I believe it says "Cole Hersee" on it and made in USA. I've had this one for at least 20 years now,  so I honestly don't know if you can still get it, but if so, it works great.  I removed it from a vehicle that I sold so I could use it on my 56 when it's done.

Cole Hersee still makes battery disconnect switches similar to what you pictured, Rick.  They are available on Ebay with lots of variability in pricing, depending on what model you get.  I searched for "Cole Hersee 2484-06BX" and came up with quite a few.  This is a part number that NAPA has available under part # 248406BX for $42.00.  Here is the website for the Cole Hersee Catalog: 

http://colehersee.com.au/resources/

The battery disconnect switches are toward the front of the catalog.  I am not sure why the part # above does not show in the catalog, but that part # has been available from NAPA for several years, so must be in current production!?  Cole Hersee is quality, but not cheap—you get what you pay for!!!

Daryl Chesterman

[Cadman-iac]

Thanks Daryl, I appreciate the information. I had wanted to use one of these on each of my trucks, but had no idea if I could get more, so I've been saving this one for the 56 Cadillac.
I know I could get those cheap ones at Horrible Fright tools, but that just doesn't sit right with me. I used one in a 64 Chevelle Malibu that I had years ago and it worked ok, but I was always wondering when it was going to fail. That's why I still have the one in the package. I kept it in the trunk as long as I had the car as a just in case measure.
That's a strange catalog that Cole Hersee has. And very hard to see on a phone,  but it looks like those are on page 8 if I could make it out right. Thanks again for the information, very helpful.

Rick

   And yes,  this one is very well built. I wouldn't have any problem paying more for one of these because I know I would only have to buy it once.  Not like that cheap @$$ Chinese crap.

[Daryl Chesterman]

Yes, Rick, the Cole Hersee catalog is difficult to read on a cellphone—in fact, I had to magnify page 8 on my desktop computer for my old eyes to be able to read it!!!

If you are really interested in buying more battery disconnect switches, just enter "Cole Hersee battery disconnect switches" in the Ebay search window, and you will get a lot to choose from!

Daryl Chesterman