VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Ignition Switch...Again!

Sorry Gents, I posted this in an old thread of mine but then thought it may get overlooked so I'm reposting here.Anyway while driving this evening my ignition switch shorted out or something, but I found myself on the side of the road dead. When turning the key (which I have to jiggle anyway)I got no reading from the ammeter guage. So with a flaslight between my teeth I took apart the ignition switch, cleaned what I could, reassembled and got running. Obviously I want to replace the switch, the only one from the Filling Station is a universal switch No. RW356, will that work?
While messing around in the dark I unhooked the wires from two poles then removed the 2 small screws to get inside the switch, the shielded wire from the coil stayed with the pole plate that the 2 screws held to the back of the switch and I was unable to see (it was dark, and didn't have time) how that shielded wire disconnected from the pole plate, can you enlighten me...again. I'm 99% certain my ignition switch is not original,there's no Bakelite material and the key has no markings to show it's a Chevy , it's just says ILCO (Independant lock Co.) with #NF77 on the other side. I just want to buy a switch I can connect the proper way from the diagram Gene sent me. Any suggestions? Oh yeah It's a '34 Standard.
I can't wait to get the bugs out of this car, I want to have some sense of reliabilty, at the moment I stay close to home and always have a towrope and cell phone, but once I get the wiring corrected and the ign. switch replaced along with a new fuel sender unit I'll feel much more secure. It's been a fun and frustrating experience so far, my '70 Chevelle must be lonley cause I haven't fussed with her lately.
Tomorrow Gene I'll know if I need that wiring harness, after I track down the previous guys creative wiring and see how much snipping he did!!


EDIT: There's a switch on ebay for a '34, Sales No 507 factory replacement for Electrolock switch and it looks exactly like mine, Item number: 120045687601

The switch on ebay is an after market.You would be further ahead to get a universal switch for now and wait and find an original- even if its a used one.The eletroloc/switch is different for a 1933.It was of the pop-out type...but the 1934 was used as a replacement (if you find a used one)
You could use the present cable and wire that you now have,remove the present switch (by surgery) and wire it up to the new switch under the dash....my thoughts.

I have a new ignition switch in and everything is fine, my question is when I disassembled the old switch to see what was wrong and also to familiarize myself with it, I noticed that the rotating cylinder plate and the stationary plate had lubrication between them with a grease consistency. Is this a normal practice to grease this area which has movement and friction?

I'm learning this car one part at a time, I'm enjoying it greatly but I'm sorry if my questions are elementary and or stupid, but I'm trying to learn as fast as I can. I want to learn and do things the correct way.
Fuel tank goes in tomorrow and I should be on the road again.If it goes in as easy as it came out I'll be a happy camper.

I have had various types of automotive switches apart and have found the "grease"

Take your rabbits foot,horse shoe, and 4 leaf clover along this coming weekend....We don't want that Chevrolet to die when among all those fords.

Thanks Gene, as I get things fixed properly I'm gaining confidance in the car, I'll do my best to do Chevy proud!!!Except for the ignition switch problem , no working fuel guage and a contaminated fuel tank all of which will be fixed by tomorrow, the car runs great. But I will use whatever voodoo I can conjer up just in case!!
I've owned over 35 cars in my life but I've never owned a "Fix Or Repair Daily" which is what we used to call F**ds.

But oh yeah the "grease", should I use any on my new ignition switch, can it harm anything? I can understand the purpose and possible benefits such as inhibitting corrosion and lessening friction but is there a down side?

Generally speaking light weight grease does not inhibit electrical contacts. I routinely use grease to protect battery cable/post connections from corrosion. If the grease is too stiff and does not allow metal to metal contact it can be a problem.

We dont want a Chev being a "DROF (driver returning on foot). Have fun.
Tony

Ignition switch is in and good, put the fuel tank back in today, gonna put gas in tomorrow and hopefully all will be right in the world. Twice I got the fuel tank straps half way on and they popped out of the slots they hang on so had to unbolt the bolts 1/2 turn of the wrench at a time and rehook the straps, finally wedged a screwdriver in the slots to keep them in while I tightened the bolts, so if I ever take it out again I'll know that little trick.

Guess it's time to do some rewiring. Filled up the repaired fuel tank today with new sender that tested out great and new ignition switch. Car started up quickly (no jiggleing the key) but the fuel guage still reads 1/4 tank when full AND now when I depress the clutch the ammeter pegs at -20, with clutch back out it goes to +10 to +20 at high idle. Whoever did the creative wiring knew less then I know, so make your own assesment. I wired the ignition switch exactly the way it was but the clutch never interfered with the ammeter guage before. Don't know whether I should use it this weekend, don't want to do damage to anything else.

A SWAG says that the stop light wire is being moved/touched/bare/ect as the clutch is depressed. Have someone raise the drivers side hood and as you depress the clutch see what wire moves.

I am concerned about the swing of your tank sending unit. If you inspect the sending unit the arm should go from full up to full down the depth of the fuel tank. That is, with the float up it should touch the top of the tank and when fully depressed should touch the bottom of the tank. Measure the depth of your tank. Now compare that measurement to the full up to the full down. Figures should be close.

Drew, is your fuel gauge stock?...Oscar

Yes it's stock, and the new sender tested out fine before I installed it in the tank .

When I changed my VDO hot rod gauges back to stock in my truck I
had to also change the sending unit. Something to do with 30 or 90 ohms. I also had to adjust my sending unit when I installed it...Oscar

Well it's getting stranger, I took it out for a drive thinking maybe a little bumping around might help. The good news is the ampmeter doesn't peg at -20 anymore when I depress the clutch, but the fuel guage jumps all over the place when accelerating. I bought the sending unit from The Filling Station #RV-63. Maybe I crushed the wire when putting the tank back in, guess I'll drop the tank again!

Just loosened the clamp on the sening side of the tank to get the wire a little room, but now it's pegged at full, so somehow it's not grounded or I smashed the wire too much, I really don't want to take that tank out again but it looks like I"m gonna have to. Other then that she's running great, hit the starter for just barely a second and it's purring.

I'm gonna go ahead and use it this weekend, I'll just keep topping off the tank at regular intervals.