Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Early V8 (1932-53)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-13-2011, 12:20 AM   #1
Jake H.
Member
 
Jake H.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 72
Default ANOTHER 6V electrical puzzle...

So, I noticed this shortly after installing a new six-volt starter solenoid on my car:

I wanted to "hot wire" the engine compartment just to see if the long dormant engine would turn over, or try to start, so I ran a wire straight from the positive post of my coil to the negative post of my battery, then made a short jumper wire from the solenoid's small switch post.

Touched the solenoid wire to the positive post of the battery (ground)....nothing.

Touched the solenoid wire to the negative (energized) post of the battery...bingo! Engine turned over and fired.

What this told me was the solenoid is activated by a "hot" circuit, NOT a ground, as it should be.

I'm currently running all new wires for the car, and I want to make sure I don't run into trouble if I just wire the starting circuit the way it wants me to, and still run the charging, et al, to positive ground.

Has anyone experienced this?

Edit: The starter button that was in the car is not a stock one, and has two terminals on it. I wired it stock-style with one side to a ground I made under the dash, and the other side to the solenoid and got nothing, as I expected. Put a live lead to it in place of the ground wire, and voila, it kicks over....
Jake H. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2011, 01:54 AM   #2
quickchange34
Senior Member
 
quickchange34's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: charlottesville, Va.
Posts: 588
Default Re: ANOTHER 6V electrical puzzle...

The solenoid you purchased is the type that is grounded thru the case, to the body. It does not have the isolated ground. They make solenoids both ways. The starter switch with two posts is made for the solenoid you just got. You run your hot wire to the switch and then out to the solenoid. You push the switch and power goes to the soleniod. Ford did not do it that way. The starter switch on the dash only had one post. The switch grounded the solenoid. The solenoid had a isolated ground.
quickchange34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 05-13-2011, 11:56 AM   #3
Jake H.
Member
 
Jake H.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 72
Default Re: ANOTHER 6V electrical puzzle...

Thank you. That confirms what I was thought was the case.

Is this a problem to keep it wired this way? Or should I buy a stock type, isolated ground, solenoid, and one-wire push button?

The only problem I can see is that I may be drawing too much voltage to start the car if my starter solenoid and coil are both running off the energized side...
Jake H. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-13-2011, 12:11 PM   #4
rotorwrench
Senior Member
 
rotorwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,371
Default Re: ANOTHER 6V electrical puzzle...

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
If you connect the battery to the wrong side of the early type solenoids, they won't work by grounding the small terminal. You might check it with a volt ohm meter to see if there is continuity between one of the two large terminals and the small terminal. If there is continuity, the resistance level will match the energizing coil and that would be the battery terminal. If no continuity on either large terminal to the small one, then it is a power to small terminal type unit.

The original solenoids had the power connection for the relay coil internal to the unit. The one end of the coil was connected to the battery terminal inside there. The other end was connected to the terminal that was for connection to the start button switch. This way there would be no power connections that would require a fuse or circuit breaker. If the grounding wire to the push button shorted to ground, it would activate the starter but not burn up any wires. If you have a hot wire that can short to ground, it will burn a wire.

If you protect you wiring well enough, you can use a power wire type solenoid set up without too much worry.

Kerby

Last edited by rotorwrench; 05-13-2011 at 12:20 PM.
rotorwrench is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:15 AM.