I have a '92 with the 305cid tbi.

I noticed a problem when starting the vehicle after it had been running for a while, I would have to wait for the engine to cool off before it would crank again. So I tried an old hot rodder's trick from the early days. I put a Ford solenoid on the fire wall and wired it up.

That in and of itself was not an issue, the accessories wires (3 of them) and the wire from the battery go to the post on the far right, a wire goes to the starter from the post on the far left, and I get it to crank with the new solenoid by putting a jump wire from the (I) post on the Ford solenoid to the (I) post of the original starter mounted solenoid. I took the purple wire originaly on the starter and routed it to the (S) post of the Ford solenoid.

With it wired like this the car will turn over, you can clearly hear and feel both solenoids working, however, the vehicle dies immediately and will not run without actuating the starter.

I have tried every combination of moving wires around to get it to keep running, but to no avail. I have a feeling the solution is simple and I am missing a small step, but for the life of me I can't figgure it out. Can someone lend me a little bit of knowledge?


CamaroCop

 

Just wondering why you don't just replace the starter if it is going bad or wrap it in a heat shield to protect it from the high heat?

 

are you running both solenoids together? this set-up is designed to take the starter mounted solenoid out of the picture. on the starter, run a jumper from the main lug to the start terminal. run a min 6 ga cable from the main lug to the new solenoid location and attach to the "switched" lug on the new solenoid. attach the battery cable and main power feeds to the lug on the other side of the new solenoid. attach the purple "crank" wire to the proper terminal on the new solenoid.

 

To answer your question, yes, I am running both solenoids together. I attempted to put the jumper between the main lug and starting lug on the starter, then wired it the way you described and got nothing. The way I described it in my first post was the only way I have been able to get it to work.

I believe I have narrowed it down to the fact that the purple wire is the engine control wire, so it needs power constantly, not just at start. However, because of the design of my new solenoid it will only provide power to the (s) terminal upon starting the vehicle, and not while the engine is running.

According to my haynes manual wiring diagrams (pages 10-15 and 10-20) from the starter switch there is a pink wire that goes to the ignition coil. In your opinion would it be possible to splice into this wire and run a secondary wire to the (I) terminal of my solenoid, and would this create the power necessary to keep the engine running since the purple wire only receives power when starting the engine?


CamaroCop

 

Howdy!!


I wanted to take the time to send my thanks to those of you who assisted me in my attempt to fix my starter problem.

It turns out that it was not my starter the entire time, rather it was a VATS problem. I used the technical asistance on this site to assist in creating the appropriate bypass for the problem. Again thanks.

This makes me wonder, when GM put this system (PASS key) into its vehicles why would they have used those itty bitty wires that break so easily? There could have been an easier and much more reliable way of making that work, even in the days that computers were as basic as they were in the third generations day.

Of course y'all have to know that I have been a die hard Ford man since I was able to say the word car. This Camaro is my first forray into the realms of the GM lifestyle. That being said and beyond the starting issue, I do like the vehicle and so does my family. I look forward to more adventures with it in the future.



BroncoCop