I recently installed a new engine and dash harness in my 67 BB. Prior to that I had been having problems with the stock starter getting heat soaked and quitting every time I drove the car. It was recommended to me that a gear reduction starter would cure that problem for good if I wasn't having the car judged. I noted that the new starter did not have the same number of connections that the original did,but the shop said they make provisions for that,and that they had installed many with no problems. After installation the car started and ran fine for several minutes,when the smell of burnt wiring was noted. The new engine harness was fried at the starter. They replaced the harness at no charge and put back a new stock starter. Upon further investigation it was noted that every installation prior had been in a TI car,and not those with standard ignition. I am interested in a similar experiences or feedback from other members. Thanks
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Re: C2-Problems related to gear reduction starter
Rob - this sounds suspicious of the ballast resistor on the firewall, not in TI cars but in in standard ign cars. This is used to drop the voltage to the coil during run, but allow the full 12V to the coil on start. There are terminals on the starter solenoid for this, and I don't know much about the solenoids on the gear reduction starters, but it sounds like heavy current was the cause due to some miswiring related the the resistor feed...Craig -
Re: C2-Problems related to gear reduction starter
I had a similar problem due to heat with a rebuilt OEM type starter. I bought a GM Performance mini-starter. The GM unit did not have any connection for the coil even though it was described as being applicable to 1958-1984 Chevrolet V8's. When I tried to return it to GM Parts Direct they refused to take it back and were reluctant to advise how to make work. I tried to get wiring information from GM Performance Parts, but found they either didn't know or didn't care. They would not respond to my question, except with a generic type answer, that didn't help.
My solution was to purchase a remote solenoid from Summit Racing. The unit came with a wiring diagram. The supplied jumper to go on the starter didn't work with the mini-starter, but it was easy to make one that did work. After shimming the starter for the proper clearances, it works with no problems. This solution would probably have worked to solve the heat problem on an OEM type starter. I've got an aftermarket A/C in my 65 coupe that left a clean firewall, so it had surface area to install the solenoid. I made a bracket to attach to two existing bolts. The original wiring harness was connected directly to the remote solenoid and could be removed and connected to a OEM starter easily. I may move it to a more hidden location later, but since my car is a driver, I can live with it where it's located.
I posed a question of how to wire directly to the mini-starter without the coil wire on one of the other forums and got varied responses. I was reluctant to take a chance with the suggestions.Comment
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Re: C2-Problems related to gear reduction starter
you need to wire a normally open relay that is activated by the starter when cranking,between the 12 volt battery terminal on the starter and the ignition coil resistor bypass wire. this is what the GM starter solinoid doesComment
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Re: C2-Problems related to gear reduction starter
That makes total sense when I think about the internals of the solenoid. Maybe Rob's bypass had 12V all the time. Would this carry enought current to fry the wiring harnass, seems like aftermarket coils always have 12V on them...CraigComment
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Re: C2-Problems related to gear reduction starter
The remote solenoid has a connection for the coil. Just as the OEM GM starter solenoid has an internal relay, the remote solenoid has this internal relay. The remote solenoid can be located close enough to the starter so that all the original wiring can connect. You just have to run a single wire to starter and connect the ground to it.Comment
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