i am running new wires in my truck. i have an hei 1-wire dist. and a gm 1-wire alternator, and a universal starter switch that has 4 terminals on back. they are battery, ignition, accessory, and starter. this is my first time jumping into rewiring a vehicle, so i don't know the best way to set it up. i am going to wire up a generic 6-fuse block so i can power my tach, wipers, and other necessities. so lets assume that im an idiot when explaining this to me, so we don't skip over small(important) details. so this is how im thinking it should be done...please correct me where wrong.

from starter switch: starter terminal goes to "s" on solenoid.
battery terminal goes to battery with an in-line fuse.
accessory terminal goes to fuse block via relay(acc goes to terminal 86, terminal 30 goes to battery with in-line fuse, terminal 85 goes to ground, terminal 87 goes to main power of fuse block)

i'm not sure what to do with the ignition terminal because many people have said that the "I" terminal on the solenoid should be wired to the distributor, so thats a question i need answered...where should the distributor wire go?

i think thats about it...after i get this all wired up i can start wiring things into the block and start blowing fuses lol. please let me know if there is a better way. i had it running before, but now that i'm going more complex, im a bit out of my league.

 

c'mon guys, i have a bog in 2 weeks...i find it hard to believe that nobody knows how to wire this stuff up... would it be better to run a relay off the ignition terminal(back of key) that connects the battery to the dizzy? with a fuse between battery and relay of course...

 

Connect the "ignition" terminal of the switch to the one wire that goes to the HEI. Since you have HEI, then do not hook up the "I" terminal of the solenoid, you don't need it.

I am not sure you are going to want to hook the "ACC" terminal to the fuse box (or the fuse box relay). I would first get a meter and see when the "ACC" terminal is hot in what position. If it's only hot when the key is turned backwards to accessory position, then of course your fuse box will only be hot when the key is turned backwards, and you don't want that. If that turns out to be the case, tie the fuse box relay to the same terminal as the ignition wire(IGN terminal).

 

alright, thanks for the info...i appreciate it a ton. does it matter that the starter switch is a 15 amp? and i will double check that the acc terminal is hot in the run position.

 

15 amps is plenty for the starter solenoid coil, and I assume it's rated the same in all positions, so it's enough for the HEI also. Putting the relay in for the fuse may be a good idea to take some of that load off the switch. Depending on what you are going to run, you could use two relays. Most of the common ones are 30 amps, so if you go over that, you could run more than one. One relay would feed a couple of fuses and the other relay would feed a couple more of the fuses. You would probably have to cut the bar that feeds the fuses though, to split them up.

Also this fuse at the battery that is feeding the switch is going to have to be fairly large. I would find a maxi fuse rated around 60 amps, depending on your total load. You are going to want to run this to the ignition switch and also to the fuse box. The factory has two sections to their fuse boxes, one section is hot only with the key on, and the other section is hot all the time. Coming out of the 60 amp fuse I would run two 10 gauge wires side by side. One will stop and feed the ignition switch, and the other will continue to the hot all the time feeds in the fuse box.

 

i had to read it a couple times, but im picking up what you're putting down...and i think thats what i'll try to do. i'll just get a another block and wire it up for things in the on position. thanks for the advice