thebruce

Short version (without going into the great new and better mod I was about to start): I detached the wires from the starter solenoid, and now I'm not sure where they go.

Wire 1: About 2 gauge, comes from + battery, obviously goes to center large post on solenoid.

Wire 2: Red, about 8, maybe 10 gauge, with large eye lug, which leads me to believe it goes to the center large post also.

Wire 3: Red, about 10 gauge, small eye lug, goes to one of the side posts

Wire 4: Red, very small (14 gauge), small eye lug, seems to go to one of the side posts.

So- which side posts for 3 and 4? As you can imagine, I've tried both, and get nothing when I turn the key.

Follow up question: assuming I did have it hooked up right with one of the possible wire configurations, what else would cause me to get nothing when I turn the key? I don't ev en get the little click that you can usually hear when the ignition system gets voltage just before you crank the key over to "start".

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

redwingvette

Looking at a picture that I took of mine it looks like the #3 and #4 work like this, #3 goes back to th key switch: hot when key is turned to start position. The #4 goes to the coil. That being said. The #3 would hook up to the post on the left of the Big post and the #4 to the right side.

johnt365

i am looking at a wiring diag for a 74

0 ga black = battery

20 ga yel-(gbs) = coil

12 ga red = junction box on driver side fender

12 ga ppl = ignition key

just my thoughts now. you have too many red wires... i have a 74 also and the wiring was quite butchered up. you may follow the two remaining red wires back and check for splices.

ok dont laugh but here is how i made sure which wire is ign. i hooked up the batt cable and power lead to starter. then, i ran a test wire from the horn to the suspect ign wire. i jumped in the car and turned the key. the horn honked when the key was turned to start position. that wire goes on the S on the starter.

is the battery good?
do the head lights turn on?
what caused you to disconect the wires from the starter?

flood

Did they change something when they went to 75? I had 3 wires. 2 went to the large post and 1 small went to another spot, but it was sooo obvious. Seems like you have more wires? I guess maybe they changed it because of the HEI?

Also I took a picture with the digital camera before disconnecting.

thebruce

Hey guys-

I appreciate the input. When I get home frmo work, I'll take a look and try to sort out what I did. If I disconnect the wires and figure out which one is hot when I turn the key all the way to start, I figure that would go to the S terminal on the solenoid, correct?

And the one that goes hot when the ignition is on should go to the coil, yes?

I took the wires off because I was going to wire a remote starter solenoid to get rid of my hot start problems. In the process I managed to wind up with 'no start' issues.

And John, I like the horn idea. I may try it.

Thanks again.

johnt365

i think the remote solenoid is a great idea personally. on my 74 i used the stock batt cable and routed it straight up and bolted it to the firewall. you can send me a private message if you want. i am happy to share the experience.

thebruce

Johnt365-

Quick question on your remote solenoid-- how did you ground it? I read somewhere that it is supposed to be grounded by the solenoid body, which is great if you mount it on the fenderwell of a steel bodied car, but not so great for fiberglass.

Thanks,
Bob B.

johnt365

i used a ground strap (you can kinda see it in the pic running behind the solenoid) and connected one end to the mounting bracket bolt and the other end to the bellhousing. you can kinda see in the pic, i used bolts instead of the supplied screws to mount the solenoid.

that is now a very convenient grounding point.


I converted mine to HEI at the same time so it only has the 3 wires connected to it.

rihwoods

Hot start problems ??? In my case,it was the solenoid spring...but not sure of your history before mod....mine would go dead after a short trip...had to "bump" engine over with jumper wire (thru main harness) then the turkey would start when I re-connected harness...good luck on wiring ....

steves_77vette

Can you post your picture? I'm digging into the same problem on my '77.

thebruce

Alright, this is going to drive me nuts. I tested every lead.

0 gauge goes to the large terminal on the solenoid. 12V continuous (unswitched) as measured by my digital voltmeter. (If I couldn't find it I was going to use the horn method.)

Other lead with the large eye lug goes to the wiring junction on the driver's side.

Small (20 guage) wire is an ignition-on 12V circuit. As soon as I turn the key to run, it shows a good 12+ volts. Ive got it hooked up to the small solenoid terminal furthest from the block.

10 gauge orange wire- only place it will fit is the terminal on the solenoid closest to the engine block. When the key is turned to start, this lead shows 12 volts.

Here's the question: even with the wires hooked up according to the diagrams, and voltage good when it's supposed to be, I can't get the starter to do anything when I iturn the key. What is going on?!!! Any help wouild be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

redwingvette

Bad starter? take in and have it cheched out. The only other thing I can think of is the ground wire has a bad connection from the battery to the frame or the frame to the motor.

cardo0

Ok i'll just say what it should be:

Big red wire pos+ connects to solenoid large term lug - goes to batt

smaller red wire with big ring lug connects to solenoid large term lug also - goes to driver side junction block which is hot pos+

smaller purple wire goes to "S" term on block side of starter solenoid - from starter switch though relays and poopie

smaller yellow wire goes to outside term on solenoid (fender side) - conects to pos+ of coil (not neg-)
yes u were grounding out ur coil but u should have heard the starter solenoid pick up (click with key on start), if not the u have batt or starter solenoid trouble

i also install a black gnd wire from starter bolt to eng wire hareness.
BTW i also put in a connector for quick disconnect on the smaller gauge wires and covered them all with a spark plug heat shield sock.

Don't feel so bad as i spent several days getting the wiring the way i wanted. But now along with my starter heat shield i have great piece of mind and don't think twice.
Hope this helps. cardo0