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Hey Desoto team,
I have the 1948 custom fluid drive. It drives great but I noticed that it wasn’t kicking down gears when stopped. Based on what I can find it looks like there needs to be 2 wires going to the kickdown switch and anti stall but the set up that is in there doesn’t have that. I am unsure if the guys that tried to get it running before put the wrong carborator in without a kickdown switch. Here are some images can anyone tell me if this is the right carborator and where the wires should be running to and from so that I can fix the down shifting. Here are some images and thanks for the help!
Rick, sorry to tell you, you have the wrong carb on there, on the picture of the top of the carb there should be a little black box on there with a wire going to it, on the back at the bottem there should be a wire there. I cannot tell what the wiring is but it does not look right at all. Do you have a Manual,If not they are ebay quite offen.
Paul
Thanks Paul! By any chance do you know how the kickdown switch works? Can I run a micro toggle to the carborator that will kick down the gear? Is there a way to rig this correctly?
Theoretically it can be mounted anywhere as long as it's activated at wide open throttle. Review the wiring diagram to determine how it works.
Tim Mabry
The Lost Cause Garage
47 Suburban
57 Sportsman 4dr HT
Hi Rick,
Here are a couple of photos of a very dirty Carter B&B carburetor that illustrate what the fellows have been telling you. This carb is from a 1950 Chrysler, but the kick-down switch at the rear, and the dashpot solenoid cover at the front are both shown. Your carb should have those.
Brent Jacobsen
Owner of a 1952 Desoto Firedome
Here is the front view of the dashpot solenoid.
Brent Jacobsen
Owner of a 1952 Desoto Firedome
It really sounds like you are having a problem on the coast-down downshift- is that correct? If so, that is actually controlled by the contact points in the governor. When those close, they energize the hydraulic control solenoid, dumping hydraulic pressure, and allowing the downshift spring to push the gears back to the lower range. That should happen at about 8 MPH on a coast into stop. Here is the wiring schematic from the shop manual that shows this circuit. There are a couple common problems with this system, including the 30 amp fuse, and dirty contact points in the governor. Use this schematic to make sure your wires are hooked up right though.
Hope this helps!
Brent Jacobsen
Owner of a 1952 Desoto Firedome
