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05-13-2011, 12:20 AM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 72
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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.... |
05-13-2011, 01:54 AM | #2 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: charlottesville, Va.
Posts: 588
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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.
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05-13-2011, 11:56 AM | #3 |
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 72
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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... |
05-13-2011, 12:11 PM | #4 |
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,371
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Re: ANOTHER 6V electrical puzzle...
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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. |
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