Hey Guys! I have a 1971 Maverick V8 302. She isn't the prettiest but she's my baby. I bought it about 12 years ago when I was 16 and I actually bought a 1970 6 cyl with it (sold it after I took a couple of parts off of it), both for $1000! Short and sweet to the 2 questions (I have been using search to find the answer and can't seem to find the answers) 1. Can I wire my hei distributor/ coil wire to the I terminal on my solenoid? I believe it has a short/it's chewed because I don't get any power with the ignition in start. 2. There is a hard line vaccum (I believe) that comes from underneath the evap canister and heads towards the back left of the carburetor, what is that for? (Attached picture) Also directly behind the carburetor you can see in the picture that there's a connection that has two nipples without vaccum lines on it, where would these go? Long story: So when I first bought the car it started, but I didn't have the money to put into restoring it. The frame is good, the body is good, very minimal rust, but over the years some mice decided to chew a bunch of the electric and the gas cap was stollen so my fuel tank was trashed so I started by addressing what needed to get her to start again. I replaced battery & battery wires, solenoid, new mini starter (old starter was a pain to get out and was smoking and getting hot so it was time to upgrade) and fresh wires for starter, new fuel tank and lines w/ electric pump, hei distributor because coil was bad and points were rusty because there was a crack in the cap. I did a bunch of other small things including finding top dead center, surprisingly after I cleaned the hb I found the timing marks to be off by only a couple degrees. My goal is to move the car from storage to my house, but I need it to start first and then I will finish wiring all new electrical and new fuse box because the current one is covered in gross gunk, along with finishing paint and getting her road worthy by spring! So the primary question is can I wire from the hei distributor/coil wire straight to the I terminal on my solenoid or do I have to go through the firewall and straight to my ignition switch? Also, there is a hard line vaccum (I believe) just to the rear left of my carburetor, what is this for? Also directly behind the carburetor you can see in the picture that there's a connection that has two nipples without vaccum lines on it, where would these go? Thanks for any answers! -Tony
Also I have attached a few pictures from before I started sanding and priming and what it looked like the last time I moved it a couple of years ago, definitely a work in progress!
The line from the evap can goes to the nipple under the top of the carburetor, they are about 4 inches apart. There is a metal line on the back of the engine that provides vacuum to the trans modulator, that will hook up to the manifold fitting on the left side. Guessing the open port on the right goes to the distributor.
Welcome! If you're using one of those GM-style distributors with a coil in the distributor cap this should help. It says Jeep, but it uses a Ford-style starter solenoid. https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=3179753&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1484576134
Welcome! In run, voltage on I terminal is exact same supply that feeds coil, voltage feeds to solenoid terminal, not from it. This voltage is routed from ign switch, through dropping resistor in dash harness. In start, the solenoid supplies full battery voltage to I terminal during cranking, effectively jumping out the harness resistor. There is no voltage during run supplied by solenoid. The vac line appears to be choke fresh air supply. Air is heated by exhaust manifold, then returns to bi-metal choke element on carb. Most tend to disable but when in good cond, does a fairly reliable job.
Thanks for the information Tom! I didn't realize that the solenoid isn't supplying the ignition the whole time. I am still learning when it comes to cars and vehicles in general. I have more experience in working on motorcycles but now it's time to start working more on cars! I will run a new wire to the coil in the morning then from the ignition.
Thanks for the information Bob on the vacuum lines that makes a lot more sense. I bought the shop manual for 1971 ford vehicles but I can't find anything for vacuum diagrams, I also had to find a separate source for the electric. However do you know where I might find vacuum diagrams? I found a post in the forums that had a link to a very simple diagram but I was hoping to find something more concise.
The reason for that is that points will burn up if you run them constantly at 12 volts, but they need 12v to start reliably. As a result the points are supplied with full battery voltage when the key is in the start position. When the key returns to the run position the points are supplied through a ballast resistor which drops the voltage to 7-8 volts. There are exceptions, but most electronic ignition systems including HEI run constantly on 12v.
You need to give it to me so I can give it a good home out here in Fallon. I'll even come and get it. If you need help, email me, dacofa@hotmail.com
You're welcome... If you are not feeding coil with the supply, unloaded(no coil) it supplies enough current to trigger a relay. Voltage drop through a resistor depends on amount of current, a relay coil will only drop voltage .2-.4v. I use the orig coil supply on my Comet to trigger coil that powers the Painless Wiring fuse box I added. On Cobra it triggers a Pertronix/Crane Hi-6 combo, plus relay for choke heater.
Alright, so I just wanted to update. I looked at the old resistant wire and was able to find a cut in the insulation of it, so I spliced a new wire after cutting back the bad and now I have power at the coil. I also was able to set up my fuel lines and pump to get fuel to it properly. Next, I checked all of my wiring to my new mini starter as well as the battery cables. I finally tried to start her up but I found that it's just turning over and my coil won't get ignition now. However, I also found out that sometimes it would keep turning the starter even if I took the key out. So I replaced the ignition cylinder and tried again to no avail, therefore I believe I have a faulty switch. I ended up killing the battery so I called it quits and went home but tomorrow I will try to clean up the switch or maybe just replace it because Summit should have one. Hopefully this works and I can get her started again!
Probably 99% of the time, continual cranking is fault of stuck solenoid. Remove both of the small wires from solenoid, if engine continues to crank, solenoid is stuck..
Welcome from 50 miles south. I agree with krazy Comet if you haven't changed the solenoid. Otherwise the ignition switch getting stuck in the start position could be the problem. Had that happen on my truck. Make sure that the 12+ wire going to the distributer has power while cranking. Once again that could be the switch. PM me if you need help. Mike