[usp55]

Can Someone please verify these wires are correct? New everything clicking starter on 455



The harness was wired for an hei but I can tell which wire it is. The one I'm holding doesn't appear to go anywhere or that is the hei addition. That then begs the question is the yellow wire on the starter not supposed to be there? That's for the old points style distributer correct?



Doing I have to wrong wire hooked up to the hei?
And should I remove the yellow wire?

U see an extra ground on the starter too. All wired are new never used and don't head up.

[george kujanski]

Looks like the wiring to the HEI is correct IF the pink wire connects to the ignition switch IGN1 terminal and the yellow connects to the "R" or "I" terminal on the starter. There should be a purple wire at the starter that connects to the solenoid "S" terminal.

Don't know what the wire are for that you are holding...perhaps if you can tell us where they go that would be the best clue. Could that be for a internally regulated alternator? In the wrong location for that, tho. What color wires are on that connector?

George

[usp55]

Thank you for the reply I really appreciate the reply

Those two connections I'm holding come off the harness with the wire u see connected to the hei. They are not long enough to reach the alt and that's all wired up. FYI I've reached out to American auto wire with no response. It was altered to be plug and play for an hei. The flat double connector im holding has one blue wire coming off of it.

The starter has the yellow to the left side
Purple to the right
And red from batter to the big lug along with the smaller red wire on the harness

[george kujanski]

The letters "R" or "I" and "S" should be molded into the plastic by the terminals on the starter. I don't recall which is left and right.

A single blue wire may be for an oil sender.. what car is it? On a '67 dark blue is for the oil pressure switch/sender.

George

[usp55]

Yeah I matched then up and they are correct.

The oil is blue but it is hooked up already. Those two wire I'm holdin literally only go that far. 71 firebird

[usp55]

ok so ive check with american auto wire and i have everytihg crutial for the starting system to work.

with the plugs out the engine turns over - still slower than i think it should but it turns over.

im going nuts here, i got a new battery and when went to track down the electrical issue that batter was dead. 5.5v and my charger would even help it. what is going on!?

I pulled the plugs and i put on another batter, one I've had for two years but it sat in my garage I figured it went bad on me thats why i got the new battery.

i dont even know what to check now

[LPete]

What exactly is the problem you're having now? Originally you said that your starter just clicks, but it sounds like now it works?

[usp55]

true, and it did click today after the battery dropped under 12v trying to start it a few times.

so i took the plugs out, darted it and the starer turned the motor, felt weak but still way more than it does with the plugs in.

so i have to belive i have a second bad battery, and i the starter is new but could i have gotten a bad unit? possible, but i thik if i get another batter, a high torque starter i should be good to go right?

no i had an water cross over leak when i installed the intake last week. i had a small amount of water in the oil. changed that, pulled the intake and valley pan cover and it looked great inside. I changed the oil and primed the pump with my drill, got oil to the liters and it was clean and water free. I pressure tested the coolant system and it hold pressure great.

[LPete]

Do you have another ground cable from the engine to the battery? I've never seen a cable hooked to the back of the starter -- not that that's necessarily a bad idea...

edit: On second thought, I'm not sure that hooking a ground cable there is such a good idea. I don't think that there's a great ground path from the ground brushes to the back cover. It certainly isn't designed that way, although I suppose that a starter brace would do about the same thing.

[usp55]

Battery gounded to block and fender. Firewall to block. Block to frame. frame to body. Yeah I agree but I waned to block down so I know I have good ground here but this gremlin in killin me! So I grounded it there too, only open bolt on the starter.

[LPete]

So is the problem now that it won't crank fast enough to start with the plugs in? Has this engine ever run?

We really need to know how much current the starter is drawing, but even then you can't tell the difference between a bad starter and an engine that's tight. If you disable the ignition does it still crank slowly with the plugs in?

Diagnosing this sort of problem involves testing battery voltage at the battery when cranking and then testing voltage at the starter while cranking. This tests the integrity of the battery cables and connections. You should have at least 10 volts or so at the starter when cranking, as long as the starter current draw isn't excessive. Too much current draw will drop the voltage, as will a bad (or discharged) battery or cable connections.

[LATECH]

Lpete is on to something here I think.
The ground side brushes ground through the starters center housing grounds through the front drive housing. If the center housing was bench painted and then the starter was assembled the ground to the brushes may be inadequate as they conduct at the center housing to the front.
Also look at the starter motor where the lug goes into the motor from the solenoid. If it is a single lug...that would be a light duty starter. If it has 2 lugsstaked one on the other then it is a heavy duty starter.
I had a light duty on mine and it wouldnt start when hot, and didnt do real well on my fresh 389 all together.
I found A HD (dual lug) starter and built it and that fixed it.

[BVR421]

Just in case this zombie thread gets looked at again by the OP,
First answer one simple question. For yourself at least. what is the voltage when you have the vom leads between the positive and the negative posts of the battery?
1st check with the battery cables off, then with cables attached. Should be the same.
If you dont have 12v available while the battery is in the car and hooked up then no other troubleshooting can take place. either the battery is charged up or its not.
If you have some wires mixed up and shorted out while the battery is connected to the car then it wont charge correctly if at all. charge the battery first with the cables off and check for `12v-13v

[paint guy]

If you check your battery and get 12.6 + volts, you are fully or nearly fully charged. If you get around 12 volts, your battery is less than half charged, anything below 12 volts and you're around 25% charged, if that.