Ford Solenoid Wiring

[DriveWFO]

Does it matter which side of the Ford solenoid my 12V cable runs to from the battery? In other words, can I run the wires to the solenoid the way the diagram shows, except flip-flopped, or does it have to be wired the way the diagram shows???

http://www.2quicknovas.com/trunkbat3.jpg

[fixing-gpas ride]

a ford solinoid can be hooked up from either side with the positive cable

[DriveWFO]

a ford solinoid can be hooked up from either side with the positive cable

I'm not sure what's wrong. I only get power to the car (instrument panel, headlights, etc) when I turn the key to start the car (to the start position).

[patman]

Sounds like you have the main feed to the distribution block hooked up to the wrong side of the solenoid, or your main feed is connected at the starter main lug.

Following that diagram:

Battery + to solenoid "A" (pick your own names, one is A, other is B)
Solenoid A to master switch A
Master switch B to main distribution
Alternator + to solenoid A

solenoid B to starter + lug
starter + lug to starter S terminal

Your power feed for instruments, ignition, etc. should all be attached off the main distribution lug...not to the starter lug...not to the solenoid...not to the switch.

Pat

[DriveWFO]

It turns out the diagram from MAD Electrical is missing the wiring from my switched source to the "S" terminal on the Ford solenoid.

[Nova_Guy]

It turns out the diagram from MAD Electrical is missing the wiring from my switched source to the "S" terminal on the Ford solenoidThis diagram you posted is missing the S wire. I think based on my experiences you are suppossed to use a screwdriver to short across the solenoid.

[Mike Goble]

You also want to be careful hard jumping the starter solenoid when using a permanent magnet starter. They will tend to hang up.

[luke'snova]

I looked at the diagram you posted and then went to the MAD site and found a slightly different diagram that shows a wire running from the left front post on the Ford part to the "start wire"

Would like to know how this turns out, want the same for my car.

Luke

[RED67]

Note,,when installing F@@d parts on a :chev: ,,especially vital organs like electrical:eek: the Chevy will need some time to adjust to the foreign/F@@d parts.Also plenty of "rejection drugs":beer: :beer: need to be administered during the said adjustment period.:D :D

[72Orange]

Not to hijack the thread.

But I heard that you can't use a mini starter in conjunction with the F*rd Remote Solenoid. Is that true?

[patman]

Not to hijack the thread.

But I heard that you can't use a mini starter in conjunction with the F*rd Remote Solenoid. Is that true?

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. Should work...

On the other hand, the built-in solenoid on the mini starter might be less prone to heat soak, in which case you wouldn't need to run a remote solenoid.

[Real McCoy]

The mini starters I used in the past used the external solonoid with no problem. The one I bought year specifically said not to use an external solonoid so I had to slightly rewire the car to use it. RM

[Mike Goble]

With a setup like this you are not using a remote solenoid, the solenoid remains firmly attached to the starter. You are using a Ford relay to control the current to the starter solenoid. The starter solenoid in turn controls the current to the starter motor, basically you have two sets of contacts in series. One would be sufficient.
A permanent magnet starter will generate voltage if you spin it with the engine. If you happen to have the solenoid permanently jumped to the motor lead, it can keep itself engaged if the motor spins it up. This could cause some damage to your starter.
If it was me I would use the relay to control only the current to the starter solenoid and leave the battery attached directly to the starter.

[patman]

One of the benefits of the MAD approach is that there is no hot wire going to the starter unless you are using it. That's nice, but...you end up with more contacts in the path. More contacts = more places to lose oomph.

I set mine up to have the battery + go through a master cutoff switch, then to the starter BAT connection. In an emergency, the juice can be cut off...otherwise, just one set of beefy switch contacts in the path. Then I wired the external solenoid under the hood to feed the internal solenoid using heavy gauge wire from the starter BAT connection, then to the solenoid A, and from solenoid B to the starter S terminal. The original ignition switch wire then goes to the external solenoid coil wire, and the other side goes to ground.

Battery connected directly to the starter motor, internal solenoid supplied solid juice by the external solenoid. Works great...

[NovaResource]

When I installed a permanent-magnet type starter, I had to change my Ford-solenoid wiring to what I believe is a better setup:

http://www.novaresource.com/images/solenoid03.gif

[patman]

One slight change suggestion:

http://www.bracketracer.com/howto/solenoid03a.gif

That gets rid of a joint in the main feed. I used something like 8 or 10 ga wire for the A and B lines. Very beefy to get good juice to the internal solenoid, but not anywhere near as thick as battery cable, and much easier to work with.

(Actually, mine has the cutoff switch spliced into the main battery cable also.)

[NovaNate]

I looked at the diagram you posted and then went to the MAD site and found a slightly different diagram that shows a wire running from the left front post on the Ford part to the "start wire"

Would like to know how this turns out, want the same for my car.

Luke

Luke

I'm using this method, it is a must for permanent magnet starters, and works great. It also works for OE starters, but is a must for permanent mag mini starers, otherwise they stay engaged for a couple seconds too long.

[NovaResource]

One slight change suggestion:

http://www.bracketracer.com/howto/solenoid03a.gif

That gets rid of a joint in the main feed. I used something like 8 or 10 ga wire for the A and B lines. Very beefy to get good juice to the internal solenoid, but not anywhere near as thick as battery cable, and much easier to work with.

(Actually, mine has the cutoff switch spliced into the main battery cable also.)
I think that's overkill. If you're going to wire it that way you could just use a regular 30a relay:

http://www.novaresource.com/images/solenoid04.gif