im sorry guys, this is the first car ive ever done any electrical to. she wont start, im guessing ground wires. i have a larg ground strap i thought about bolting to the block to the frame. Then my small block chevy starter has two posts, a large one for positive that i have all my cables to and a tiny small post that nothing is on, should i run a black 14ga. cable to the frame or block from that post? and i heard the msd 6a box i have that i grounded to the negative of the battery also needs a ground to the frame and one to each cylider head...is that true??? or what can i get away with? Iguess ill miss the car show this afternoon if i dont figure this crap out soon.
on the solenoid on a SBC starter there is the big post for the battery cable , and two other small posts marked R , which is on the outside and S ,which is to the inside..... which are you talking about?
hm...i just crawled under it to see...no letters s or r. what i do know is that its a 1978? montecarlo 305 that came in this car when i got it, so who knows how old the starter is. its a delco remy and has the larger post to positive battery and a tiny post, thats it, theres not two smaller ones?!?!? heres a picture, nevermind the crappy blue tape, it was just to keep water off the connections, i was doing this at 5 a.m. this morning on no sleep for days.
Some starters have one small post, some have two. If there is only one thats what you put positive power to to get the starter to engage and turn. As far as ground cables, your best bet is to run one 2 to 0ga. from the neg battery terminal to the frame, one 2 to 0ga. from the neg terminal to the block and one 10 or 12ga from the body to the frame
the longer post at the very top with the red paint on the nut i believe had a wire to it when i got the car, theres the two smaller silver hex heads diaganal from eachother but they didnt have anything before and look like they hold the solenoid to the starter, that top one though is an inch long threaded post.
thanks iceberg, im running a taylor relocation kit in the trunk so my negative cable is strapped to the frame under the bat. box, can i instead just ron that 0ga. from the kit to the frame, then way up front by the engine run the braided ground strap i have from the frame to the engine block, then run a 12 to 14 ga. cable from the block or frame to that tiny post on the starter? AND i gues a 14 ga. from frame to body too!? Sorry, electrical is obviously NOT my thing and this is my first so all the help is GREATLY appreciated!
as iceberg460 said , that small post with the red paint on the top in the picture is to activate your starter. there should be a 14 gauge coming from the start position on the ignition switch , go through a neutral safety switch and then go to that terminal. on GM cars that wire is usually purple , but who knows what you have
Starter gets it ground thru the block. Thats why we ground the motor to the frame. Then the frame to the negative side of the battery. If your using an automatic trans the purple wires go to the S terminal. That makes the nuetral safety switch work.
The stud with the nut on it is your start terminal, those two bolts do hold the solenoid to the starter, and are grounded, don't put power to those or you'll let the magic smoke out
Not sure if i understand you. I would run your strap from the neg batt. to the frame, like i think you have it, then one 0ga (most braided straps are not ment to handle the amps that a starter draws) from the frame to the block in front and one smaller cable from the frame to the body. DO NOT ground the small post on the starter, you put a switched (most likely from the ign. switch or neutral saftey switch) positive (+) on that, when that gets 12 volts your starter will engage and turn if properly grounded
wow thanks guys...i just realized what a screw up i did.... in that picture i attatched the purple wire from the painless wire kit to the large post, it says ignition to starter solenoid on it...so i need to move that to the small post where it belongs seeing as its the only thing i have that says ignition on it and im guessing its a hot wire from the ignition switch. But if i were to do that then i have the positive batt. cable going to the large post along with a wire for the alternator and one from the fuse block that says goes to positive to the solenoid so those are good and ill move the purple 10 - 12 ga wire back to the small post. Then it should be ok now to add the ground strap from the frame to block so the starter gets its ground through the block correct??? seriously, i could never get this crap done without you guys, thanks!
Yes, the starter gets its ground through the block. When you say ground strap I hope you mean cable, the starter can draw 200-400amps and needs a good ground path to the battery.
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