stupid remote solenoid ??'s

[SwitchBlade327]

ok got the solenoid mounted in teh car and the BIG battery cables booked up, but how do I wire up the rest of it? I gotta put the Ign. switch start wire somewhere, and the solenoid power wire. WHat do I wire up to the I and S terminals on the remote solenoid? Guess I'll go put my new belts on until someone can help....

[Rocket Scientist Chris]

The "I" terminal goes to the ignition coil and the "S" terminal goes to the "start" position of the ignition switch. The "I" terminal is basically a bypass around the resistor block to give the points a full 12 volt boost during start-up (and activates the solenoid, too!). When the engine is running, the points see about 8 volts.
Hope this helps a bit http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[53choptop]

To understand what you are talking about, you are using a starter solenoid to open pull on your door latches right? If this is right, I think you may have the wiring wrong. You do not need to hook up the the BIG battery cables to it. You hook up the negative to terminal to ground and then just rout a “hot” wire to either on the of the I or S terminals to see which one will activate the starter. Once you find which terminal activates the solenoid, the wire that send juice to whatever it is that you are trying to power when you press the remote is the one you connect to that terminal. That’s how I have mine set up.

Confused, me too.

Rey

[SwitchBlade327]

so where does the wire marked solenoid power go? I thought all I had to do was rearrange the wiring that was already there, not add anything going to the coil and stuff like that.
I'm just gonna go do the damn thing and see what happens...

[SwitchBlade327]

no no, remote starter solenoid. Not messing with the doors here...that's already been taken care of.

ps.-I"m retarded at electrical work, if that wasn't already clear.

[53choptop]

Got it.

[wayfarer]

Ok, I just checked out the wiring on the bonneville. Battery cable goes to one side, another battery cable goes from the other side to the stock solenoid. There is a plate on the stock solenoid that connects the battery cable terminal and the "S" terminal, effectively jumping that solenoid, as you would with a screwdriver. This allows the remote solenoid to work. The wire from the ignition switch is hooked to the "S" terminal on the remote solenoid. Hope that helps some.

[Petejoe]

Relocate ALL the wires that are currently connected to the BAT terminal on your starter (the large terminal) to the 'hot' side of the ford solenoid (thats the side connected to the battery, typically the large post to the left on the ford solenoid)
This will allow you to relocate the wires away from the (hot) engine block
Relocate the 'start' wire on the starter solenoid (small terminal closest to the engine) to the 'S' terminal on the ford solenoid (if using the relay as pictured above, the S terminal is usually the one on the left)
IF you are still using a points ignition system relocate the bypass wire (small terminal furthest from engine block) to the 'I' terminal on the ford solenoid.
Run a new heavy guage wire from the HOT side of the ford solenoid to the BAT terminal on the starter (the large terminal).
Yes, thats correct, the bat terminal will be hot at all times like the original hookup
Now, for what makes this a ford solenoid conversion "My Way", run at least an 8 guage wire from the cold side of the ford solenoid to the 'S' terminal on the starter. (Thats the large lug on the right of the ford solenoid to the small terminal closest to the engine block on the starter).
becuase many of the no start problems are related to excess voltage drop on the original 'start' wire and a hot starter, this method of wiring allows full battery voltage to reach the starter solenoid.
the ford solenoid does not require anywhere near as much current to activate, therefore the voltage drop problem is essential irrelavent.
Thats about all there is to adding a remote solenoid to your GM. A couple advantages to having the ford solenoid,
-its a lot easier to "start the car with a screwdriver" since all the terminals are up on the firewall.
-my favorite, disconnect the wires that run to the starter from the ford solenoid and you only need to drop out the starter from the bottom, no fiddling around while lying under the car to disconnect the wiring from the starter, especially if you have header tubes cleaverly designed to be in the way.

[Petejoe]

JJegs too has directions on their solenoid.
jegs pdf (http://www.jegs.com/instructions/555/555-10301.pdf)

[SwitchBlade327]

I pulled up that same info from google, along with a couple of different ways, that's what confused me. I just went out ther eand hooked things up however looked right to me, and the car is starting, but I dunno if it's right or not. I hooked up the battery cable like wayfarer said, have the ignition wire hooked up to the S terminal (i think), and I don't have the solenoid power wire hooked up anywhere, i just ran it off the side with the battery cable going to the starter (and it works? i guess) but now the solenoid power wire comign through the firewall has nowhere to go? I also have a wire goign form the I terminal on the remote solenoid down to the starter...I don't know if it's right, but it seems to be working. THat ford solenoid sure seems loud though, you can hear the click CLEARLY over everything else when starting the car.

[DrJ]

For the life of me I can't figure out what the point of that is.
You still have the GM solenoid functioning the same as it doe without the Ford Solenoid.
All the Ford Solenoid is doing is acting as a big ugly relay.
I think you could use any relay, like a horn relay for the same thing, that is, if the only point is to take whatever amperage there is off the ignition switch.

Some one got a new explaination?
I've read all the explainations in posts past on this and don't see the point.

[SwitchBlade327]

i thoguth the same thing when I was told to do this, but I just want my damn car to start when I want it to, if I gotta have another ugly solenoid bolted in there, then I'll do it.

[Petejoe]

More Info I've learned: Most ford solenoids are designed to engage by a hot wire from the ignition going to the solenoid. Some of the earlier ford solenoids are designed by running a ground out to this switch from a grounded button on the dash. The ground activates the solenoid.
The extra wire you have there, I believe should be the hot one that activates the solenoid.
DrJ. I don't understand your question, Yes any solenoid that can handle the amperage will work for this application,
The idea of remotely mounting it, I believe, was to get it away from the exhaust heat.

[reece]

Switchblade - I have attached a picture of the way I hook up remote solenoids on SB Chevys. I have done this many times by just buying a solenoid and making my own bat cables and jumper. My way results in just one cable running down to the starter from the Ford solenoid. You do need a heavy jumper from the S terminal on the starter to the bat cable terminal on the starter. I usually make a jumper about 3 inches long from 10 gauge wire. The method explained previuosly works but you end up with more wires than you really need.

[wayfarer]

Reece, that's exactly how the bonneville's remote solenoid is hooked up, except there is a plate instead of the jumper, but it was a kit from summit. Also, nothing hooked to the I terminal, since it's got HEI.

[SwitchBlade327]

ok, so I have everything right except one wire. I'll run the one wire to the coil+ and see if it still works, heh. Thanks.

[reece]

I bought the kit from summit the first time also http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif- after seeing what was involved the jumper wire ends up doing the same thing as the swanky plate summit sent!