1955 6 Volt Positive Ground issues

[DanB]

Good day, Im attempting to get everything working. - History - The car is new to me, it came out of a museum 2 years past, had a body off restoration 2010 - 2012, in museum for 8 years, in a garage for 2 years, driven 2800 miles in total. All new wiring harnesses and mostly new components.

Today - With the car wired Negative Ground - All lights work, signals, break lights, Head lights, Heater fan Note the battery terminals don’t fit as they should, as they are different for Positive and Negative just as though they are reversed
With the car wired Positive ground, the terminals fit as they should. Now no signals, No horns, all others working including the radio- its marked positive ground and is new but looks vintage.
Im confused a little.
I understand there could be a wiring or fuse issue with the horns that I will look into more and maybe the clicker is done now as the signals were painfully slow
Im looking for any suggestions or a head start

 

[CSPIDY]

So to be clear,
the car was wired negative ground when you purchased it
all worked ok
Now you want to switch it to positive ground?

 

[DanB]

No one knows exactly how it was wired Positive or Negitive. I have a feeling it was wired Positive ground as the Radio is a positive ground radio and the owner that had it for two years said it worked. Its a strong possibility that he diddnt know the difference pulled the battery to charge it and reversed the terminals. I could see its an easy mistake

 

[55blacktie]

If it's negative ground, are you sure it hasn't been converted to 12v?

 

[DanB]

When the car arrived, the horns didn’t work and the radio didn’t work. I would prefer it was as built, positive ground. The radio doesn’t really matter. I got into all of this because the horns have to work, or I cant license it

 

[DanB]

It is and always has been 6 volts, everything is labled 6v

 

[CSPIDY]

Light bulbs and most of the electrical components don’t care about polarity
The ignition system does, coil and condenser need to be polarity correct
All you can do is check the wiring to ensure it is correct.

 

[cokefirst]

The problem with the horn is likely the horn relay. If you have a test light, hook the alligator clip for the test light to the negative terminal of the battery. you should then have someone press the horn ring and test the connections at the relay. the terminal to complete the horn circuit should light up when the horn is pressed which completes the ground side of the circuit to the relay which then sends the power to the horn.

 

[DanB]

cokefirst, thanks very much. I routed out the horns. The wire had been lifted at the relay. They looked pretty on the outside and were very crusty in the coils. Used some air , sand paper and got some sounds. Going to use the vinigar and salt solution and possibly some citric acid cleaner to perk them up. Thanks for reading and the assist. Would anyone know where to buy some New period correct horns?


CSPIDY, Thank you as well, I will confirm the polarity’s on the coil and condenser to be certain. The engine does seem to flash up better with Positive to Ground. But this could be my never failing optimism

This now leaves me with why the little flasher fails when its on Positive ground and works on Negative ground. As well anyone have tips and tricks on making the foot pump windshield washer work right?

 

[Ward 57]

The washer pump is easy to replace and/or repair with a kit at $37. There is a screw under the rubber pedal cover to remove the pedal from the shaft and the keeper can be unscrewed and remove from the engine bay. Could be the hoses are deteriated also but also easy to replace.

 

[cokefirst]

The foot pump for the windshield washer probably needs a new bellows. You can remove the pump as above, then replace the bellows only, and NPD has them for $8.88 which is a low price. They are not real easy to replace, but can be done with a little patience and some rubber lube.