This tangled mess of wires at the solenoid has GOT TO GO!!!

What can I do to minimize all these wires?

Before I put it all back together, I am trying to clean up the clutter under the hood. I should be able to move or REmove some of this junk.

Any suggestions?

 

Some of that that goes to the battery side might could go to another + location.. Maybe longer wires and place/route them instead of bunching them? Yellow attracts also..

 

Some goes to the starter, some for other accessories, such as electric fan.

I sold the MSD box, so might be able to lose one or two from that.

You are right about the yellow, though...

 

What all was hooked up here stock?

 

http://1bad6t.com/Maverick/repair/pdf/74maverickwiring.pdf

 

here is a pic. of Earls car when we cleaned it up...

 

Thanks Frank! That looks MUCH better! Do you recall where you put all the other wires after you removed them from the solenoid?

 

I agree with you. Mine looks the same. I was looking the other day and it will all move to below the battery tray with very little trouble. It will be mostly out of sight

 

i would move the whole solenoid somewhere else. ive put them on the back side of the shock tower before, but you dont have that anymore. on my last car i put it on the inside of the fire wall right under the heater box, but i also had my battery in the trunk. i like the under the battery tray idea.

 

I can see that the solenoid became a hot lug source for add on's over the years causing the "mess" you hae to deal with now - my suggestion would be to either hide the solenoid, as suggested, or leave it in it's place but return it to complete stock configuration and then run only 1 extra cable to a remote positive lug or circuit box so the accessories can then still have their power source but somewhere that won't be seen so easily seen

 

OK...sounds like a deal. Probably won't even need all the original wires...Using an aftermarket starter with its own solenoid.

I may have to redo the entire mess...

 

I'm using a self contained high torque mini starter on my Cleveland so I have no plans to even have a remote solenoid - you should be able to delete yours too since it is only going to be used as a hot lug

 

I've seen enough voltage drop through the wiring and ign sw in some older vehicles that the starter mounted solenoids won't always activate(they draw more current than the orig)...

For mine I'm keeping the fender mounted solenoid that was stock with the '96 Ranger PMGR starter harness I'm using...

 

I also kept the original solenoid with the newer starter. Either a solenoid or a relay is necessary, I think.

Then there's the solenoid's secondary function of supplying 12V when cranking to the coil (not needed in my case) and/or to bypass a low oil pressure cut off for an elect fuel pump.

I put a collection of fuses and relays on a buss mounted on the apron beside the battery. That worked well and hid the mess.

 

I hve seen GM cars hve hot start problems w/ the intergral solenoid when they have long tube headers. I don't know if the A/M starters have the same issue. My brother had problems for yrs w/ his 350 Cheby engine in his 51 Buick w/ that issue. Last season he put some kind of harness frm Painless Performance that supposedly solved the problem. I got a lot of wires to my solenoid too, when/if I make a change it will be w/ a wire going to a isolated lug. I already hve the lug - just hve not been motivated to change the wiring.