Hey guys,

Working on my 85' trans am project and after quite a struggle, I got a 350 mounted (originally out of an 85' K10). Anyways, I'm not very experienced with wiring these things, and I'm trying to figure out the starter. I know I need a large cable coming from the + battery terminal to the top post of the solenoid. I'm currently searching for the small wire for the S terminal (I think that's where it goes). Any idea where to look for that wire? Nothing is hooked up so I don't know what to look for. Thanks!

 

Yes the wire in question should go to the S terminal. It's purple.

Should be in a harness with a couple of large red wires, which go under the batt cable on the large terminal.

 

Thank you! What wire provides power from the battery to the key switch?

 

I see an orange wire in a harness with a couple of red wires, so the orange goes to the S terminal, and the two red wires go to the post on the starter motor itself? What do they power?

 

No, orange does not go to the S terminal. That wire will be purple.

Red wires carry power from the batt toward everything in the car. There are usually 2 or 3 such, depending on various details. Each will have a fusible link at the end where they go to the starter.

If the 2 red wires have large ring terminals (3/8") then they go to the batt cable post on the starter. You might have located the right harness, just not the right wires in it yet.

 

The 3 wires are the only ones in the conduit. Any idea what the orange feeds? It has a small ring connector on it, like it goes to one of the solenoid terminals. The red wires have a 3/8 ring connector, i hooked them up to the large post on the solenoid.

 

The only purple wire in the engine bay is one that goes to the left side of the firewall to the cylinder labeled "refrigerant only"

 

There's nothing on the left side of the firewall related to "refrigerant". The entire A/C system is on the pass side.

There's a purple wire SOMEWHERE. Blee dat. You don't have the only car GM has produced in the last 65 years I know of that the solenoid wire is something other than purple. Of course, your "orange" one might just be a severely faded purple, or of course some jackleg might have got in there and spliced some kinda crap onto the original, iunno. But it was FOR SURE purple when it was new.

You could test it by putting a meter on it while your assistant turns the key to Start; if it has no power until that happens then gets power, it's the one you need.

 

Sorry, I meant "left side" from the orientation I was looking at it, so that was passenger side. And good to know, I'll try that once I get the dash wiring sorted out. Every connector is unplugged, and connecting one of the 6 pin connectors causes a short so I can't tell if anything is working.