The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay polarity reversing switch?

i have a 1945 chevy 1 1/2 ton truck and i see that it has a polatiry reversing switch on it and i havent seen much talk about these in the forum. mine isnt hooked up, its just sitting there and i was wondering what it is good for and how i would (if i should) wire it up.

thanks

I know nothing about Polarity Reversing Switches, but below are two entries from the 1947 and 1948 Chevrolet Service News periodical that were sent to repair shops. In 1947, Chevrolet said that mechanics should not wire around the switch; in 1948 Chevrolet explained what they had to change to eliminate the switch.

CSN 1947 October - Polarity Reversing Switch

Or, do a switch in this forum (The Electrical Bay).
Search on (type the following search "Keyword Search Terms": +polarity +reversing

CSN 1948 October - Polarity Reversing Switch

I suggest that you wait to see if anyone with first-hand experience posts information on how to remove the switch.

Or, do a search in this Forum (The Electrical Bay).
Search on "Keyword Search Terms": +polarity +reversing

Tim

alright well since it doesnt directly affect starting the truck, ill just leave it how it is and not use it.

thanks Tim

If the physical switch is attached to the starter, but no wires are connected to it, it has been taken out of the system. The points found their ground through the switch. Without it the truck wouldn't run.

If your truck runs and there are no wires attached to the polarity reversing switch, the distributor has already been modified to work without it.

Stuart

Thought I'd bring this back up to see if anyone has more comments. I am currently rewiring a 46. The switch is on the starter but no wires to it. The distributor is grounded to the engine. My other truck is a 46 as well and never had a switch on the starter or the mounting holes?

The manual says the reversing switch is used to make your points and condenser last longer through even wear. So was that the switches only function? At first I thought the switch was for a keyed start rather than the foot start.

The idea was to alternate which side of the points would be connected to ground by reversing the current flow through the points at every startup. Eventually, the factory engineers realized that by using the correct capacitance condenser, metal transfer across the points could be minimized and the current reversing was not needed. The polarity reversing switch just adds unnecessary complexity to what should be a simple on/off switching circuit.
Jerry