Mini starter install

[87gtVIC]

Once mine goes i will want to upgrade to this but am a little confused.

Scott told me too: run a 12 ga wire from the switched side of the solenoid to the starter solenoid, and move the starter cable to the hot side of the solenoid.

Ok that all sounds good but can someone make up a wiring diagram of the original starter and the new starter?

[85crownHPP]

You've already got a great diagram for the original style starter - that 87 vic parked out in your driveway its just one wire... it should be easier to visualize the changes described while you ate looking at it.

[351m]

I just put the stock cable back on the hot side, along with a jumper from the hot side of the mini starter to the sol. terminal on it. No changes up on the fender at all.

[87gtVIC]

I will take a look at me car.

[King_V]

Honestly, i'd love to have the old school Mopar whiney starter. Those sound cool

Yes, and you get the fun job of replacing them every couple of years or so! :p

Nuh-uh! They work just fine! At least mine did - all I had to do the time it failed was remove it and reinstall it. Didn't actually put a new one in, just took out the old one and stuck it right back in.

Er, make that twice.


On the other hand, my buddy's 74 Coronet with some sort of modern starter on it just sounded so . . unnatural . . missing that typical Mopar whine. It was unnerving, to the point that I thought I might have nightmares.

[351m]

Nuh-uh! They work just fine! At least mine did - all I had to do the time it failed was remove it and reinstall it. Didn't actually put a new one in, just took out the old one and stuck it right back in.

Er, make that twice.


On the other hand, my buddy's 74 Coronet with some sort of modern starter on it just sounded so . . unnatural . . missing that typical Mopar whine. It was unnerving, to the point that I thought I might have nightmares.

The only thing that ever dies on the mopar starters is the drive and the contacts in the solenoid. Rebuildable in just under 45min.

[Glen]

It may be easy to visualize the changes, but a few pics of the old and new install or a diagram would make it a lot easier.

[Pirate]

And since I'm being a pic whore tonight........

Favorite way of getting the car up in the air to work on. (wish I had a lift tho)

I hate ramps.

[Pirate]

Once mine goes i will want to upgrade to this but am a little confused.

Scott told me too: run a 12 ga wire from the switched side of the solenoid to the starter solenoid, and move the starter cable to the hot side of the solenoid.

Ok that all sounds good but can someone make up a wiring diagram of the original starter and the new starter?

Essentially, with installing a new-style starter, all you are doing is putting both big battery cables on the side of the original old-style solenoid closest to the battery, and simply unplugging the small 'S' wire from the solenoid (it should be marked), extending it, and hooking it up to the 'S' on the new starter.

I've done this over a couple of dozen times with customer vehicles and my own cars over the last decade and a half or so, after mistakenly discovering that the 91-up cars had the small starters....and they worked pretty well with higher-compression engines. I refuse to install an old-style starter, unless the customer is insistent on keeping the old-style in there, as the new-style is simply a better unit.

[85crownHPP]

Ive heard some folks had trouble if they extend the small solenoid activation wire and hook it into the new starter... the way I and scott described it the way it is from the factory in boxes that have them.

[gadget73]

Honestly it ought to work either way. the solenoid on the little starter shouldn't pull any more current than the relay on the fender. I suspect it was left the way it was so that Ford didn't have to re-engineer the wiring harness for one year on a model that was being phased out.

[351m]

It was done as 85crown and Scott described, It was also done that way on the diesel pickups. It will also work extending the sol. trigger wire or as I said, just swap it and add a jumper on the stater itself.

I can get a pic of the setup I used in the car or, if you like, I can grab a pic of the sol. on a 7.3L pickup.

[Pirate]

Honestly it ought to work either way. the solenoid on the little starter shouldn't pull any more current than the relay on the fender. I suspect it was left the way it was so that Ford didn't have to re-engineer the wiring harness for one year on a model that was being phased out.

Ditto....I've extended the regular trigger wire on every one of these starters that I've retrofitted....I've yet to have a problem.

[87gtVIC]

Just to bring this full circle...So originally there is a sensor wire on the starter solenoid which is triggered to give power to the stater cable to turn the starter to start the car.

With this new setup the sensor wire triggers another sensor on the new starter to use the power from the constant hot side of the starter solenoid to then start the car. Right?


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[gadget73]

yes. its not a sensor, but you've got the idea right.