I am having problems with getting my starter to work right. It's a Tuff stuff high torque mini starter. New Ron Francis wiring kit , seems to work ok if I hook up my remote starter direct to the main stud on the starter and the single post on the bendix. Turns over no problem this way.But if i go in the cab and try to use the key and my start button all it does is clank on the flywheel . Some times after using the remote,it will turn over on the first try with the push button and then go back to just clanking against the fly wheel again. I have tried shimming the starter ,taking the shims out,new battery.What am I missing? Any help out there?

 

Not to be a non conformist old man, but just one look at those starters
Myself wouldn't trust it, looks like a heater motor trying to start a 460.
We really don't know what engine automatic or standard. You talk about
shims, that sounds GM Fords dont use shims. Neutral safety switch went
bad/ dont know. Some standards, the clutch must be down, again we dont know what your setup is. So far you jump it, it starts so Its gotta be
from its trigger solonoid circut to the start switch button or whatever. If
being an all correct flathead that start button is grounded to the dash.
Just so many combo's.
I am curious how you make out.

 

I think big job might be on to something with the starter button being grounded to the frame. I added a 12 volt relay to my truck with constant 12 volts on one side of the coil, and the other side of the coil getting ground through the push button starter switch when depressed. The coil contacts switch 12 volts positive to the starter solinoid.

 

Sorry for not clarifying ,I'm on the dark side 350 automatic. Haven't started yet crate motor just turning it over. Thinking about trying Ford relay to starter to try and get twelve volts direct to solinoid. How do i test to see if it's getting the right voltage to the solinoid on my starter. Hard to do by myself.I tried scraping the paint off around the push button ,thought it might be a ground problem. Can the flywheel be put on off centered somehow? The starter has no problem turning the motor over when hooked direct,but when I try the push button in the cab it's like it doesnt kick the starter gear out all the way.

 

Sounds to me like the starter is not getting correct voltage or enough current to turn when you use the new wiring. If the starter turns ok when you hot wire the starter, the flywheel is not the problem. I take it that 350 is a SBC?

 

Ray that's right a chevy. Previous owner had it set up for a Rat motor.

 

Unless that engine is ultra high compression, go with a stock starter.. Cheap and readily available. Sell that fancy thing to someone who may need it. Those high torque aftermarket things are an unknown to me.

 

You are getting power to the solenoid but not the starter itself, or the solenoid contacts that trigger the starter are bad. You do have a big cable from the battery (+) to the starter terminal, right?

I've been running a mini-starter for more than 10 years, it's as nice an upgrade as an alternator over a generator. Very easy on the battery.

 

I have to use the mini starter due to header clearance. The starter has the positive cable hooked up to it .Wire from the Ron Francis fuse box goes to start button other wire from the start button goes back into fusebox and out to the single spade connection on the solenoid. The distributor is electronic with no negative coil wire .How would I hook up a firewall solenoid to this system? Positive cable to one side in ,positive side out to starter and then I am not sure where to run the small wire to. The wire from the start button to the small post then another from there to the spade connector on the starter? I have three positions on the starter for rotating it around for clearance . one guy I know says this changes angle of the gear ,but I don't think it does. Tried two different positions ,all with same result.

 

Are you saying your start button has two wire terminals on it rather than one? If that is the case then the button won't be grounding to the frame when depressed. It will just be a set of contacts. If that is the case, try jumpering around the start button to see if it's contacts are the problem. I thought stock start buttons only had one terminal which grounded when you depressed the botton. Sounds like you have an aftermarket button with 2 terminals. If jumpering the start button doesn't help, I think it is in the starter contacts as ALBUQ said.

 

It's a two wire start button for a twelve volt system from Mid Fifty. The only thing that grounds it is the clips that hold it to the hole in the dash I think.

 

He doesn't want a starter button that grounds. These type of starters get a 12v signal to their solenoid to energize, so he has just what he needs.

The way I have mine wired uses the Ford original solenoid. I run the big cable for the starter off the big terminal on the Ford solenoid, and run the trigger wire for the starter off the same big terminal on the Ford solenoid. So my starter button triggers the Ford solenoid, which powers up both the starter and the starter solenoid. Works great.

 

I have a Ford solenoid,think I'll try your hookup Albuq F1. Don't know how to hook up my trigger wire . To the solenoid from my fusebox to the big post hookup from battery then run a wire from the ford solenoid to the spade terminal on the tuff stuff solenoid?.

 

See diagram below

 

Thanks for the diagram,hope this will solve my problem. I think it will . Can't get back to it til next week ,working the weekend and I' so tired of dropping the starter so many times today it's got me frazzled. Can't thank you enough ALBQU F1!



Rolled it outside for some pictures.