On Wednesday Oct. 26, I made a quick run out to IRM to salvage more Waukesha parts from the units that were being scrapped. We had determined that the engine temp and oil pressure sensors were not working and I knew Dave Diamond was close to hauling the old Waukehsa’s away. My timing was perfect – he was within 10 minutes of driving the old Waukesha’s to the scrap yard when I showed up. He allowed me to salvage some temp and oil pressures sensors that we really needed before leaving.
One thing that had been baffling us was the understanding the Waukesha Enginator schematic. especially the starting sequence with all the time delay relays. By staying up late the past few nights studying the schematic and those in the Waukesha manual I was able begin to understand the unique starting circuitry.
Waukesha 'Enginator' Schematic
In order to get the Enginator started I had to put a piece of paper in the control circuit relay so it would not short out the magneto. This was necessary because the starting relay circuitry was not yet working.
So, having the control circuit relay opened up with a piece of paper, I turned the propane supply on and tried to start by holding the DC starting contactor up. It began to crank. Took a few tries but it soon started for the first time since the mid-1980’s!! I couldn’t believe it at first because you can barely hear it inside the car. It was mis-firing and smoking from the oil Chuck put in the cylinders, but it was running! Without coolant it could only be run very briefly. Unbelievable progress to a fully functioning car!
Click here for pictures and a 27 sec. video (right side of page) of it running.