I wired my starter a little different than the factory. I bought a street wires power block. Then un-hooked all wires going to starter. I then cut the + batt. cable and ran it to the power block and also ran the 3 starter wires to the power block (that way NO wires are between headers and block). Then I ran a 4 guage cable from back of the power block to arround the back side of the header and to the starter (along with the solenoid switch wire <small post wire>). Edit 12/20/03 : I also added 5 inches of fusable link on the end of each starter wire (except the + batt, cable of course). So, now there are no wires at all between block and header.

Anyone??

Honestly man, i would just put it back to stock and just extend the wiring, i tried the same thing when i put the high torque starter on my motor and it did not work for me either, all i did was just extended the wires and ran them so they were not in the way, other then that i have no idea what to tell u my friend, let me know what u find out so maybe i can get mine on there also, wish u the best!!!

I would try and re-use the old fuseable links if possible.

Next best would be using fuseable links from another harness or new ones if you can find them. Problem is; identifying the correct amperage (on the old or new links). My schematics don't list their amperage.

Next best would be to use circuit breakers rated for the wire size you are running.

Next best would be to use fuses rated for the wire size you are running. Slow-blo fuses would be better than fast acting.

Running no fuses or fuseable links is very risky. It's a good way to catch the car on fire!

How would it catch the car on fire if I dont use fusable links?

I got a role of 14 gauge fusable link. I think I'm just going to make one 4 inch link for each wire.

All this is to cure the "starter clicking" problem that ALOT of people here have. I have a good feeling that this is the answer!

Is 4 inches of fusable link going to be enough?

And what circuits do those links protect?

I wouldn't bet my money on it, sorry...
It should be.All of them...

The fuseable links go to different things. Fuse box, cooling fans, and possibly some other high current drawing equip.

Take the one that feeds the fuse block for instance.
The power comes from the starter (or terminal block in your case), goes thru a fuseable link nearby, then onto the fuse block to feed all the fuses.
If there's a short down stream from the fuse block, the fuse that protects that circuit blows and power is removed from the shorted wire.
If the short occures between the fuse block and the starter, and there's no fuseable link to interrupt the power, the wires gets extremely hot. Hot enough to catch the wires insulation on fire. If there's anything near the wire that will burn, it burns too. From there, it's a chain reaction.
Another thing that happens is if the wire is touching another wire while it's insulation melting, the wires connect electrically and can damage other equip.

I also don't think your project will have any effect on the starter clicking issue you're having. The clicking issue happens when the solenoid energizes pushing the bendix into the flywheel and at the same time the plunger (inside the solenoid) pushes a copper ring aginst 2 studs. One stud has power, the other powers the starter motor. The studs and copper ring arc everytime they make contact. After a while the damage from the arcing creates a high resistance. The hotter the solenoid gets, the more resistance there is at the studs/copper ring contact points. If I remember correctly, the studs can be loosened and turned 180 degs so there's "new"
material exposed to the copper ring. Of course, this is a temp "fix". Replacing the solenoid is another temp fix.

The Delco starters have always been prone to this type of failure and their torque isn't all that great either.

I replaced my starter with a CVR gear-reduction starter and haven't had any starter issues since.

I used a 24" cable from the starter to a homemade 3/8" stud, insulated from ground on a wooden block. All the fusible links plus the positive battery cable attach there. It allowed only the positive cable & the solenoid hot wire to go to the starter. It also gave me enough length to reroute around my Hooker longtubes.

I'm currently using a new O'reilley starter for a 1997 Six-speed Camaro (mini-gear reduction LT-1 starter).

I've had the damn starter clicking issue for a long time now and it's only intermittent. It even happend on brand new big style AC delco starters, new small T-56 starters, etc... on the stock motor and new motor. Sometimes even putting in a new starter, it has clicked on the 1st crank then it was fine and would come back 2 weeks later!

It's got to be in the wiring (bad ground somewhere maybe)??

I also noticed that when ever the starter would click (on cold start mind you), that jumping starting would crank it up right away! (And yes, the battery and battery cables are new)! So, I also noticed that the 3 wires that goto the big post on solenoid are actually 4 wires. 2 of the 4 are bridged together into 1 small fusable link (making the 2 wires only one to the big post).
I've cut all the old links out and gave each wire it's own 16 guage fusable link to maybe flow a little more current. I also re grounded my negative battery terminal cable to the bottom bolt hole on the front of the head and ran another 4 guage ground cable from that spot on the head to the frame.

Everything is brand new guys. If this doesn't cure the starter clicking, then I'm all out of ideas!

This doesn't sound like the normal Delco starter clicking issue.

Maybe we can narrow it down some.

Are you getting one click or a series of rapid clicks?
Have you tried observing the dome light or headlights while trying to start eng?
Have you tried measuring the voltage at the "S" terminal on the solenoid while cranking?
Have you tried measuring batt voltage while cranking?

Mike, have you solved the issue of your battery dieing?

Got that tach, and spedo thingy wired up to ACC instead of constant positive?

Your gonna fry your new battery if you keep letting it get drained all the way.

btw, when I was at his place it is a multiple click issue. Starter gets power, but its not enough to crank from what I can tell.

Good luck, hope you figure it out bud

That was a different problem Steven.
The battery was dead and the multiple clicks are from a low battery.

And I have rewired the tach and SGI box to ACC. power already.

This post is something different and MANY people on thirdgen.org have the starter issue that I'm talking about in this thread.


Scenario:

New battery, new starter, tried 2 different styles of new starters (stock auto L98 big chevy starter) and (LT-1 six-speed mini - gear reduction starter), same problem.

Single click or clank everytime you turn the key to start.

Happens with new battery and new starter of both kinds, sometimes when completely cold (morning, first start of the day), or when warm from driving the car.

So, get in, turn the key, click, try again, click, try again, start!

It's random cold or hot, doesnt matter. Sometimes no click at all and starts fine.

All wires were tight and in good shape.

Dome light doesn't dim at all on new battery

Batt. voltage was 13 +

Havent checked voltage on actual starter.

But, when it's clicks, sometimes even a jump wont start the car and I have to keep turning the key and finally it will start.

I dont think it's a shimming issue. I dont use shims and GM said that I dont need to with my setup. Could be wrong!

Sometimes it just cranks up on the first try cold or hot!

Thats why I re-grounded the negative batt. cable, added extra ground to negative batt. cable from head to frame and rewired the starter the way I did.

Could it be the ignition switch under the steering column? If so, then why would it even get power to click (sounds like starter gear is hitting flywheel, but it's alligned perfect) ! Or maybe the ignition switch isn't getting enough juice to the soleniod to fully turn the flywheel?

I will be working on the car this weekend and will hopefully know if these mods will fix the infamous click!

Thoughts?

Ign switch is a maybe. That's why I asked abt the voltage on the "S" terminal while attempting to crank. The clutch pedal switch is another possibility. Need to check voltage at the "S" terminal first. If it's low, you'll need to start working your way back towards the ign switch.

Since you report the dome light stays on while attempting to crank, we can rule out the battery and battery cables.

I'd put my money on the ignition switch.

IIRC, there is contacts in there that wear out. Think of them as bad grounds. Same principal.

Stupid question, but does the (little post) soleniod wire go back directly to the ignition switch?

Looking at my 87 wiring schematic; power comes into the ign sw as a red wire, leaves the ign sw as a yellow wire and goes to the clutch sw. It leaves the clutch sw as a purple wire and connects to the starter solenoid terminal "S".

Even though my schematic doesn't match your vehicle year, I'd bet a beer it uses the same color wires.

I removed all wires from my starter except the one coming from the battery (and of course the trigger wire). The wires that were connected to the starter are now connected at the battery positive. Same darn thing except nothing routed under my long tube header primaries except for the main power from the battery and the purple trigger wire. It's been like this a long time and works great.

Tim

I'll try to take some pics this weekend. It looks nice and NO MORE CLICKin' !! :hail:

The starter requires a minimum of 9 volts on the "trigger" wire to actually function correctly. If you are having this problem on a cold motor, chances are, trigger voltage is low. Why?? Good question. Follow the circuits, and see what ya find.....

It's getting plenty of juice now and the starter clicking is cured! :hail:

I'm even using the same starter and battery!

I think the clicking occurs because of a loose contact point, wiring being twisted or even crimped together, instead of being soldered. Hence the intermittent clicking behaviour. (seen it and corrected this syndrome many times over the years. (even the wrong guage wiring...too small)

TTT for how this was accomplished?