Yes, it is a 6 volt solenoid.

Alan, I'm assuming you are running a 6 volt system. Are you sure your solenoid isn't a 12 volt solenoid?  That could explain a couple issues. Just a thought............

64F100 57FAIRLANE500

Thanks Dobie.  I will try the "experiment" and post the result.

My solenoid doesn't have terminals, instead it has two wires exiting the cover, a blue one and an orange one.  I assume that the blue one is the #4 as the blue wire goes to the relay.  So I only need to run one wire from the battery to the blue wire of the solenoid with a switch on that wire?   The ground will be supplied by the metal solenoid housing being attached to the transmission?  I think that if I can get the O.D. to engage in this fashion then my problem is electrical.  If still no engagement then the problem must be mechanical within the O.D. (assuming that the solenoid is working correctly which seems to be the case).  Is that a correct assumption?  Thanks

The 2 terminals on the solenoid should be marked "4" and "6". The #4 terminal  normally is connected to the solenoid terminal on the relay. You can run a wire directly from your battery to the solenoid through a toggle switch mounted under the dash for your experiment, bypassing the OD wiring harness. To confirm that you have it wired correctly flip the toggle switch on and listen for the click. When doing your test turn the switch off and drive normally until you reach about 30 mph, then flip the switch on and lift off the gas as you normally would. Be sure to turn the solenoid off before shifting into reverse. A lot of guys wired the OD up this way and just drove it like that all the time.

Well, it looks like I am running out of options on this non-working overdrtive.  I decided to test the governor on a test drive with a test lamp inside the car.  I hooked one lead of the test lamp to a hot wire inside of the car and I ran another lead under the car and connected it to the governor wire. With the governor that was in the transmission the test lamp burned "on" all of the time which clearly was not right as the lamp should have come only after 27 MPH when the points in the governor completed the circuit by making a ground.  I removed that governor and replaced it with another used one that I had which had tested O.K. on my Ohmmeter.  Test drove the car again and the test lamp came on only if the car was moving at 27 MPH or more which is correct.  I was convinced that the O.D. would now work so I reconnected the governor to the wiring harness but still no working O.D.  In summary, my relay tests good, I got my solenoid working properly and the governor tested good on my test drive.  The wiring harness is brand new as is the kickdown switch.  When I depress the kickdown switch, the engine momentarily cuts out which I think it is supposed to do, right?  I also loosened the cable and pushed the lever as far back as it would go before tightening the anchor but this made no difference.  Unless you guys can think of anything else I am wondering if the only possibility left is some mechanical problem inside of the overdrive.  Just wondering.....is there some way that I can run a wire from the inside of the car to the solenoid to bypass all of the other electrical stuff and the wiring harness?  This would allow me to directly activate the solenoid plunger from inside the car while driving so I can see if the overdrive will activate under any circumstance.  If this is possible, can someone tell me which wire or wires of the two on the solenoid to connect and how to run the wires to a hot wire inside the car.  I don't want to burn up the coils in the solenoid for this experiment.  

Do you have engine braking when you let off the gas? If the shift lever is far enough back to allow an overdrive shift, you should freewheel with no engine braking. If you have engine braking but no overdrive ratio, the overdrive is mechanically locked out. Additionally, you should only be able to move the overdrive shift lever toward the front of the car (locked out position) about 1/4” before meeting a good amount of spring tension. If the lever easily flops freely in either direction, there is a problem with the shift rail binding or else with the return spring.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

Most O/D problems turn out to be wiring issues.  Go back and check all your connections and grounds. Especially check the kick down switch as it's a source of some problems. I disabled my switch due to the circuit messing with my Pertronix unit.   The O/D circuit works backward from what you might think.  If you have verified both your governor and solenoid are working, you most likely have a wiring issue.

It’s been years, but IIRC that lever has to be all the way back. I usually set them so the handle had 1/4” or so travel before it bottomed out, just to be sure. Good luck.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ