Well I've been struggling w/ blowing the trans fuse for my switch pitch for some time now and am contemplating giving up on it. I just put the trans back in after pulling it out to change the solenoids and wiring. Everything in the tranny is now new. I hooked it up and for the first time in forever it didn't blow the fuse. It was actually working again. I was out for a cruise last night and it stopped working again. Now I'm back where I started, fuse keeps blowing no matter what I do... change the wires from throttle position to tranny, clean and grease the terminals, etc, etc...

Does anyone have any suggestions??

 

Here's what I'm doing: Get an electronic controller from Bruce Roe and wire it in fresh.

He's currently finishing up a completely electronic version (the last run had a mechanical vacuum switch), and hopes to have some ready within the next month, I think.

The controller does quite a bit more than the factory style switch. I could have gotten one last year, but elected to wait for the electronic vacuum switch version.

You can reach him at: bcroe at juno dot com

He'll send you some info, but here is a bit of what the switch does:

 

Check your switch pitch and kick down actuator switch. It may be shorting to the housing.

 

Thanks for the info on the new switch. I'll look into that. I do believe the short lies at the housing. I tried to ground it to the firewall but that didn't help. How could I prevent it from shorting to the housing? I still have the factory 2 prong connector on there, should I cut that off and try some new spade connectors?

 

Disconnect the wiring at the trans and see if the fuse blows. If it doesn't then disconnect the wiring at the switch and see if it blows. Make sure all the wires are not chafed and rubbing on the body somewhere. I'm not sure if your actuator is on the linkage at the firewall or by the carb.

 

Yeah. You have an intermittent short in the wire to the solenoid. An expensive new controller isn't going to fix that. The only thing that will is a painstaking inspection of the wire, from fuse to solenoid. The only other possibility is that there is something broken or loose in the switch. And note that simply disconnecting the wire may not tell you where the short is, since the very act of disconnecting it causes it to move and may eliminate any short to the frame or body.

 

My thought was by disconnecting the wiring at the trans eliminates the solenoids and/ or a short in the trans from the equation. If the fuse still blows move back to the actuator and disconnect the wire/s from the actuator to the trans. If it still blows then the power wire to the switch assy. If it still blows then its between the switch assy and the fuse box. Yes it may take sacrificing a few .25 cent fuses.

 

And as I pointed out above, if, in the course of disconnecting the wire, you also move it enough to eliminate the point of contact of the short, your test will falsely indicate that the problem is with the solenoid.

 

I appreciate the info. I had already tried disconnecting the wires at the trans and at the switch. It blows the fuse regardless. If I leave the 12v power wire off the controller it will not blow the fuse, but as soon as I plug it onto the controller it blows. And to add to the confusion, sometimes it won't blow until I actuate the throttle which is making me think more and more that the short is inside the controller. My last dignostic will be to run a new 12v wire from the fuse panel to the controller and see if that works.

 

I think your actuator is shorting internally. Is it the round/ square one on the linkage by the firewall or attached to the carb? A few members on the site probably have one available for sale.

 

I did some more testing and it seems to be the switch pitch solenoid in the Trans that's blowing the fuse. If I disconnect only that lead from the Trans all is good. Now I'm pretty bummed, I just pulled the Trans to replace that solenoid and wire with a NOS. It worked good for a week at least. Not sure where to go from here... Looks like pull the Trans yet again to inspect /replace solenoid. Is there a better option for this solenoid than NOS??

Question...the terminals on the trans, the horizontal terminal = kickdown, and the vertical = s/p control, correct?

 

here's a pic of my controller, the wire that's off is what powers my s/p solenoid but it's shorting the fuse when it's connected to the trans.