Please do replay unless you know for sure. How many volts should be at the s terminal on the solenoid when the key is on all the way to the start position. I have 6.5 volts. Gary
While cranking, should be approx same as battery voltage but no doubt slightly less... Voltage cranking can vary widely dependent on charge/condition of battery, plus the current draw of starter... With everything in A1 condition 8-10v, so yours is low...
I have a degree in auto mechanics but this has really got me stumped. I have replaced the starter switch, coil, solenoid, points and condenser. I have no resister it is built in the wiring. I was thinking minimum 8 volts too. I checked primary ignition voltage test and it was high 8.2 . normal being 4.6 to 7.4. what do you think it could be? would these stats cause a week spark? If I hot wire it starts right up. If you could help me I would really appreciate it or if you are out of answers like me can you forword this to someone else in the forum? Thanks Gary
I wouldn't worry about the primary ign being high by a few tenths, that voltage is divided between resistance wire and coil primary(basically it's telling you the primary coil resistance is a little higher than Ford's spec)... Is the wire in place on I terminal? It jumps out resistance wire while cranking....
I have a wire that goes to the I terminal that is not connected. It has a small amount of voltage. Is it supposed to be connected on my model. It has been off for years and it ran ok. I am not sure any more. Some one else asked me about the I wire to. thanks so much.
So are you chasing the cranking issue still? The S terminal should be at or near battery voltage like KC said. My question to you would be how much voltage is present with the key in the run position? Could your wire be backwards? Reason I ask is there should be a resistor wire between the ignition switch and the coil that drops the voltage to 6-7 volts. This is on cars originally equipped with points, those cars also have a wire that comes from the solenoid that gives the coil a full 12 volts during start up only (all to keep the points from frying). If you have them backwards, the wire from the coil would back feed 6-7 volts to the solenoid while in the run position. If you were already aware of this I apologize, I know it probably isn't part of the curriculum in present day auto tech. Good luck, hope you chase that gremlin off!
Without exception the the red/green wire should be connected from I terminal back to positive side of coil... Bypasses the resistance wire to coil while cranking... Yes I've seen them operate fine without it connected, but cranking spark will be greatly improved with it connected... If wires are reversed on solenoid it will likely start cranking as soon as ign is on... If it doesn't will surely cause solenoid to stay energized once engine is running...
KC is right on the money. When cranking the battery terminal, starter terminal, and S terminal are all shorted together. I'd check your battery while cranking and see what it is putting out. Could be a bad battery.
