I have been meaning to ask if someone can explain to me a little bit more concerning my starter solenoid.

My understanding is that it is nothing more than a switch and when energized (via my little pushbutton on the dash ) closes a circuit that enables the starter and battery to temporarily come in contact with another.

Here is the wiring diagram for my ignition system which shows a good shot of my starting system as well.

Unfortunately the kwik wire book/system does not cater well to Ford products in that it covers very few possible Ford wiring examples so I had to figure alot of this stuff out myself to make it work for my application.

I have been curious though on why there are two small posts provided on the solenoid.

I had no clue how to tell which was the one that I needed so I just touched one and then the other until something happened.

The two small posts are marked S and I ( same on the solenoid ) and on the diagram above they are showing the I terminal being used and linked between whatever that symbol is lower right corner that # 20 wire is passing thru and then into the coil.

This is not how I have wired my ignition system. Maybe I need to make a drawing of the way in which I have mine wired. My truck has a separate ignition lock cylinder and then push button Lock cylinder all the way to the right and push button on left.

I have a # 34 ignition power wire coming off of my fuse panel, I brought this up to a terminal on the back of switch marked RAD ( I believe this is what it says, original key switch for the 52 truck I believe ) I had it leave the ignition switch out of the terminal marked coil and from there it went to the push button seen farthest left.

From that push button it goes down to the small lug on the starting solenoid that worked to spin the starter.

On the same lug on back of ignition switch marked coil I have my # 31 ( pink marked coil ) wire that originates from fuse panel.

There is another wire ( # 20 pink in color ) that also comes out of the fuse panel and I have that running down to the positive side of my coil.

I hope all of this makes sense. I guess I am confused a bit by that cross looking deal lower R hand in the picture that they have the # 20 wire running into

One thing I did find interesting recently is that the stater solenoid does need to be grounded to the frame for it too work. I would not have guessed this.

 

The starter solenoid does need a ground to work. You have it bolted to something don't you?

The "cross thing" is the ballast resistor for the ignition coil. What type of ignition system are you using? Most Ford systems except the later TFI system, do need a ballast resistor. Some of the aftermarket ignition systems do not need a ballast resistor. If you are using a system that needs the resistor and don't use one, the coil and the rest of the ignition system can overheat and fail.

#20 is the feed for the coil + that gives the coil the power it needs to run via the resistor. The "I" on the coil is called the resistor bypass. The "I" sends a full 12v to the coil during cranking only. So the coil + gets a full 12v from the "I" and not the reduced voltage from #20 through the resistor. This helps the engine fire off quicker, since the voltage in the system is somewhat reduced anyway when the starter is loading down the battery.

 

The "S" terminal is what receives the signal to send power to the starter. This is normally from the key being in the start position (cranking). Once its started and you turn the key back to the run position the signal stops and the solenoid opens back up (stops sending power to the starter).

Hope this helps,

 

Yes, I have the solenoid bolted to the side of the frame rail.

I thought I had struck gold this A.M when I came across this dist. ( Pro-comp ) that someone had abandoned on a small block Ford engine, after getting it home I looked it up on-line and the reviews were not very good so it looks like I have a pretty paperweight.

My intention is not to derive too far from stock but if an item does not cost me anything but a little bit of time and it does some good than I will go for it.

I do not know the exact type of ignition that I have, I do know that the 68 F-350 that I yanked this engine from had always started very quickly and preformed well. I do not think I am missing anything such as a resistor but maybe you can look at what I have and tell me.





I do not think there is anything else to this dist. so maybe I need something ?
I am also wondering what the missing vacuum port on that advance is for, it has always been un-plugged and I have never had an issue. Thanks again

 

It sure does, I will have to look and see what terminal I am using. Like I mentioned one of the terminals did nothing so prob. safe to assume I am on the S

 

you have a basic points type ignition. you do need a ballast resistor. it comes from the ignition switch to 1 side, the other goes straight to the coil. the i on the solenoid is just an ignition bypass but is not neccessary with a push button starter, but it helps with cold starts. it should go str8 to the coil.
if i were you id scavenge dis, eec2 or 3 from said junkyard. have fun though!

 

What does the great wiring harness instructions tell you about the resistor? Do they include one in the kit, or tell you to buy one if you need it?

What did you say this wiring harness was called? "Easy" or "Quick" or something like that?

 

Thanks, safe to assume these are different dist. types? I have never had an issue with points type dist. in the past but I have read that electronic can help with mileage.

 

So I guess I now need to find a ballast resistor, I googled this for mid eighties pickups and have read that it an actual wire within the system that reduces voltage or cuts the voltage to the coil to 6volts in the RUN position of the ignition key (longer coil life). The coil gets a full momentary 12volts in the START position to give you a hotter spark during start ups.

What might be the best route for me here, get one from another make and install, I would hate to put a non Ford product on my truck unless it was the only way to go.

Maybe someone can explain to me where I can find one of these resistance wires to place before the coil, seems to me cosmetically this would be the neatest thing to do.

I would assume this is not the same sort of resistance wire I am using prior to my gauges but if that would work than I have plenty more where that came from.

I read on another forum that the vehicle will last 3-6 days tops without one of these, I have run this truck years without this without a lick of trouble but if it needs to be there than I would rather have it there.

 

Electronic has a hotter spark, and has less maintenance than a points type system. I believe that aftermarket unit in the picture above probably uses a GM HEI module correct? If so, it does not require a resistor, and no bypass wiring either. One wire hook-up. People love that phrase "one wire hook-up".

 

Yes but I have read on-line the many problems people have had with that particular set-up, some people though reported no problems. I will stick with what I have in the truck now. It has not let me down and is easy for me to understand and fix.

I would like to install the correct wire ( resistance wire ) prior to the coil. If you could tell me where to find one of these hopefully within a truck that I could readily find at the scrapyard it would be a big help.

I will make this happen tomm. if I know what to look for. Thanks again

 

Someone on here has a great picture of the original harness and the location of the resistance wire. I seem to remember the resistance wire is very near the ignition switch on these trucks in the harness. The ignition switch is mounted on top of the steering column, underneath the dash. I will search a little bit and see if I can find the picture.

 

Thanks, I will get that wire once I know where it is, is it safe to assume I need to keep its entire original length? I wonder how long that will be..... I am sure I can loop it up and tie it off if necessary.

Also I hope its Ok to us my crimp/heat/shrink connectors to get this into my harness. I have been using these connectors at almost all of my splices/joints.

 

Connectors like that work good when they are insidethe cab or under the hood out of the weather. If the heat shrink has the "goo" inside it that oozes out when you shrink it, they work very good for outside splices also.

I can't find that picture, but if you get the harness from the ignition switch, I think the wire is marked once you unwrap the harness tape.

 

I would need to dig in the garage to verify (it's all in a box up on a shelf) but it's 10°F outside right now and it'd suck to do.

IIRC it runs from the ignition switch on the column to the connectors on the wheel cover.

Here are some pictures from older posts...

In this picture (from Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Single Post - whats what (85 canadian truck with DSII) what wires go where) it's the redd-sh-pinkish wire on the uppermost connector:







In this post (Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Single Post - Internal or External Resistor) it's shown at the ignition switch connector:





I have most of the wiring harness from a 1981 in a box in my garage, these pictures look reasonable compared to my recollection (I hope I'm not getting senile ).