patricklav

iTrader: (7)

My car was originally a TBI car, however the PO had cut up the harness to convert to a carb setup, which is what im using now also. Most of the harness doesnt look like what it was supposed to be and i cant rely on a wiring manual now because nothing matches up.

I took the car apart several months ago and now im assembling everything and cant remember how many wires are supposed to run into the starter. I am now using a mini starter which has two terminals and a blade connector. Looks like one of the terminals should connect to the blade connector. I know a wire is supposed to run directly from the positive to the starter but are there any other wires supposed to be connected to that terminal? Most of what i have read has said there should be multiple wires running tot he same terminal as the battery. Which ones?

Im not very good with wiring and am a bit lost. When i try to turn the ley to get power i get nothing.

Thanks for your help

redneckjoe

basics,....battery to starter. there should be a wire from the alternater that hooks up with the battery wire. and a wire to the S terminal to activate the starter.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Thanks

What color wire connects to the S terminal? Where does the wire come from?

I have the alternator wire hooked up to the battery as well as the battery to starter wire in place.

redneckjoe

im not positive but i think its purple. i crawed under my car, but couldnt see. your car is a different year then mine & im using a push-button for the starter. sorry i couldnt be more helpful.

ZimGTA

The wire is purple. There should be a couple of wires/ fusable links that go on the top terminal of the starter.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

thanks for your time Joe.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

So the purple wire goes to the S terminal right?

Any idea on what color wires the other wires that go to on the other starter terminal are?

If i take some pics of what im working with tonight, would that help?

Thanks

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

Most likely thick red or org power feeds , as already noted with fusible links ( black plastic cylinders ) on them
However on some later cars the feeds came direct from the battery Pos or a terminal block , not the starter Pos terminal
If you have to rewire the car it makes no difference were they go to ,Same difference so long as the are connected to Batt +

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Here are some pics of the starter and the wires that should be attached. I tired hooking them up but two of the prongs are too small to mount to the terminal. Are these the right ones? Im still not getting any power whatsoever to test this.

Any idea why im not getting any power at all? I turn the key and get nothing.

redneckjoe

can you pull the purple wire off,...use a test light/multimeter,....have someone keep bumping the key forward,...see if your getting power to the start/purple wire.

you can also use a screwdriver to jump the S/start terminal on the solenoid/starter, to the main hot wire from the battery,...does it crank?

maybe you got a bum starter?

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

I have power on my wire direct from the battery and the purple wire now, however when I attach them to the starter I lose all my power and have nothing.
Doesn't make sense to me.
Any ideas on what's causing that?
Thanks

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

Purple wire should only have power when key in the Start position

When you hook them up or when you turn the key to START?
Did you do as suggested above and test the starter by jumping the starter terminals?

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

As soon as the wires are put on the starter terminals i lose all power, regardless of where the key is.

I will try jumping the starter tonight to make sure its good.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

This is driving me crazy.
I jumped the starter which kicked when I hit with 12 volts however I immediately lost power everywhere inside the car. Usually I can get power to the radio and interior lights when I connect the starter wire to the fusible link which routes to the fuel pump and fan relays and fuse block. Now I can't get power anywhere. I still get 12 volts at the starter wire and that's it.
Not sure if it matters but the LID fuse blew as well. Replaced it right away and still nothing.
Can't understand why I keep losing power when I connect a hot wire to the starter.

I have a main ground wire off the battery attached to the block a few inches from the starter but I wouldn't think that would matter.

Any other ideas?

Thanks for your time.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Here is a pic of the starter. Which terminal should have the power feed and which one for the purple wire?

Thanks

t-top havoc

iTrader: (3)

Do you hear a fuse(s) or circuit breakers trip? Wire(s) getting warm // hot?
Bare or broken wire contacting metal?

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

How many small terminals on the starter?
Your pic is unclear but what is the black wire you show that appears to run between two terminals?


There should be two large terminals on the solenoid,
One (usually at the bottom) has a wire that runs to the starter, the other (usually at the top ) is where
the battery Pos cable connects
If you have the red / org power wires to the car that I mentioned above then they go on that same top terminal
with the main batt cable

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Heres another pic of the starter. Both terminals are the same size. There is a blade connector that has a wire running to one of the terminals. I cant say for sure that the wire is on the right terminal as i bought this starter used.

I hooked my power feed up to the terminal that has a large wire running into the starter and the purple wire up to the terminal that has the wire running to the blade connector.

Hope this pic helps out more, however its upside down.

thanks again

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

Did you bench test the starter before installing it?

The way it is wired at present the starter should spin as soon as you connect the main batt cable because the
batt POS is connected directly to the solenoid bypassing the key. (Doing that is how you test if a starter is working)
If it doesn't engage you have a faulty starter

Correct , but lose the wire connecting the two terminals
PO of starter has used a different setup with a remote solenoid

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

I got the power back, not sure how, but it just came back on as i was checking the fuse near the battery.

I touched the main battery feed to the blade connector and the starter starts turning so the starter works. It would make sense that the purple wire would go there as signal from the ignition. I ran into the same problem once again as i connect the 2 fusible link wires to the starter - lost all power. The power stays on once i connect the main battery wire, but once i connect the other fusible link wire that consists of three wires that route to the fan and fuel pump relay, as well as fuse block i lose everything.

Jk_Under

hey i have this problem with my car, i got 3 wires going to the (+) terminal, is that wrong? should i have any wires going to the other terminal that leads to the big part of the starter?

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

So your problem is with the wiring from the starter terminal to the car , not the starter or it's wiring

Your really in the territory of needing the factory manual with the circuit diagrams and a DVM so you can track and isolate where your problem lies.
Without that the best you could do for now is split the 3 wires from the fusible link ( leave long enough so you can crimp them back on )
and identify which wire is the problem one
At least that way you know you are looking for a problem on say, the fan circuit; instead of " somewhere" in the whole car

vetteoz

iTrader: (13)

Post # 17 above

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

Electrical problems are so much fun!!!! Looks like it will be a long night for me tonight. There's nothing better than working on a car in a garage with no heat when it's 30 degrees up here in NH.

Thanks for your time and help. Greatly appreciated.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

"You're the man VetteOz". The problem was in the fan circuit as you hinted it may be. Got it fixed and now I'm able to get power to the starter from the ignition. Couple more gremlins to take care of and she's ready to fire up.

Thanks again for the followup, it saved me a lot of time and aggravation.

patricklav

iTrader: (7)

I have my rebuilt engine ready tk fire up but I can't get the starter to disengage from the flywheel after it turns a few times. I have it shimmed at least 3/8 inch already and still doesn't retract away from the flywheel. It turns over ok for a few seconds then bogs down and stops altogether. I then have to loosen up the bolts to move the starter and retract the gear. If the starter is unbolted and taken away from the flywheel it operates fine.

Any suggestions?
Thanks