High torque starter wiring

Discussion in 'Sparky's corner' started by racenu, Mar 29, 2021.

  1. racenu

    racenu Well-Known Member

    From what I can recall, The high torque starter only need one small wire going to the starter solenoid not 2 as the factory starter needed. Question, Which Small wire am I not using? Thanks Gordon
     
  2. rkammer

    rkammer Gold Level Contributor

    Possibly the R wire that puts full 12 volts onto the coil while the motor is cranking.
     
  3. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    You'll will still need the yellow wire to put 12 volts to the ignition coil for the engine to start in the start position. You will probably need a diode.
     
  4. racenu

    racenu Well-Known Member

    Hmm, I didn’t use a diode on my 71 skylark with the upgraded starter, this is on my 69 wildcat, I guess I got a 50-50 chance of getting the right wire lol.
     
  5. Jim Weise

    Jim Weise EFI/DIS 482

    Depends on the ignition system Gord.. The issue here is re-start when hot, when your using a ballast resistor or factory resistance wire in the harness, in the coil + circuit. After the car runs a while, the resistor heats up and drops coil voltage to around 5-6 volts.. sufficient to develop enough spark for the traditional stock engine.

    The factory did this to extend breaker point life.. the smaller yellow wire was hooked to the R terminal on the solenoid, it bypassed the resistor wire and provided full system voltage to the coil, for easier starting... two factors here.. the lower voltage thru the resistor wire to the coil, which was dropped further by the battery draw during cranking on a hot engine..

    Now, in practice these days, any system that does not use a resistor wire, there is no need for the yellow wire to be hooked up. Just tape it up in the harness. It is hooked to the coil + circuit, so don't let it ground out..

    Ignition systems with resisted power to the coil (using the factory coil + wiring), I have found is kinda a crapshoot.. some electronic triggers don't want full voltage anytime, others work just as well either way. I typically advise customers with HP engines of mine, using the stock coil wiring, to tie up that yellow wire, and only worry about it if they have problems with hot start. I don't recall anyone ever calling with an issue.

    JW
     
    Darron72Skylark and rkammer like this.
  6. racenu

    racenu Well-Known Member

    Thanks Jim, this is on the engine you built for the wildcat with the upgraded pointless distributor. A bit of factory wiring to sort out then onto the sniper Efi wiring next, looks like a lot of wires that will be taped up there as well. Gordon
     
  7. racenu

    racenu Well-Known Member

    Seeing as we are discussing the factory wiring, is the fusible link still required?
     
  8. Briz

    Briz Founders Club Member

    I would use the links. Main protection to keep the car from burning down should a short happen somewhere in the system.. If you experience heat soak and no start ya might want to consider a ford type start solenoid. On the Regals mini starter I wired a jumper into the S terminal from the main power wire to the starter. That was connected to the solenoid out and the factory S wire triggered it to engage. No more heat soak issues
     
  9. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Fusible links are made to melt and disconnect power in the event of a major short. They are there so your car doesn't burn to the ground. Leaving them off is No Bueno IMHO.
     
  10. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

  11. racenu

    racenu Well-Known Member

    Thanks Larry, so the fusable link is protecting the switching inside the car in case of a short somewhere back to the dash? If the starter shorts out the unfused main power cable from the starter to the battery that will result in a 911 call for sure.
    Cheers Gordon
     
  12. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    On the starter solenoid, the big connection gets the + battery cable, and the two main feed wires that supply the entire car with power. One feed wire is 10 gauge, and the other is 12 gauge. The smaller feed wire supplies the headlights only. The larger one supplies the rest of the car. Fusible links are 4 gauges smaller wire than the wires they protect, so the fusible links are 14 gauge and 16 gauge. They are designed to melt in the event of a major short anywhere in the car. They are like Main Fuses for the entire car. So when you blow one or two, the symptoms are no headlights and or no power to the car depending on which one blows. Of course you can also short the positive cable to ground, but that is relatively unlikely. NAPA sells fusible link wire.
     
  13. racenu

    racenu Well-Known Member

    gotcha, she’s all wired up and checked the fusible link with ohm meter and it’s good so Now onto the sniper wiring. Cheers
     

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