Starter wires - please confirm my install

[architect]

I’m finally getting around to installing Vick’s gear reduction starter. Wow what a difference in size and weight! So much easier to install. I manage to replace the starter without crawing under the car on stands... and mind you, my cars lowered about 3”.

Please confirm my wiring. It’s been a while and I cannot find my notes for the life of me!

Bolt connection on starter= (1) Big green battery wire and (2) white / brown wires? Looks like on of the white / brown wires comes off the alternator wire harness, tire to the red wire.

Red wire = to spade connection.

[DRUMMOND]

Hi Architect

What I see on the 78 wiring diagram is:

Big green wire to battery
Red wire to Ign switch 50
Black wire to Alternator
Brown wire to Ign Switch 30

[zachmac]

You've described it correctly. Red to solenoid, everything else to main post.

[architect]

You've described it correctly. Red to solenoid, everything else to main post.

Thanks! I finally got a chance to get back under the hood.

The two brown wires in question are somewhat heavy in gauge and have a white stripe.

One of the brown / white wire comes from the alternator, with the red wire..

And the other brown / white is linked to a wiring harness via plastic white clip. It shares this clip with a red / white heavy wire

[spider2081]

The two brown wires in question are somewhat heavy in gauge and have a white stripe.

On Most Spiders the original wires at the starter solenoids battery terminal were: The battery positive cable, A black 8 gauge wire going to the the alternator output terminal and a Brown 8 gauge wire that goes to terminal 30 of the ignition switch.

You are stated your car has brown wires with a white stripe Do they look like original Fiat wires or do they look like they might be part of a repair by a previous owner? Some Fiat cars do sometimes have wires not the correct colors per the wire diagram. In your case the wire between the alternator and the starter is a common failure and many cars have had this wire replaced to complete the repair. This wire should be 8 gauge or larger. I think the brown wire that goes to terminal 30 of the ignition switch passes through a connector near the carbon canister on the drivers fender well. The connector is not shown in the wire diagram. it has 3 cavities with just 2 used there would be a brown wire in one cavity and a red wire in the other,

[zachmac]

My car (a 78) also uses brown wires with a stripe (as well as black with a stripe) in the engine compartment. In the transition between there and the fire wall these become the brown (no stripe) wire to post #30 on the ignition switch and the black (no stripe) wire to the un-switched fuse box circuit and the feed to the #30/1 post on the ignition switch.

BTW, getting ready to post what i consider a major update on using the newer LADA ignition switches. I believe the vendors are telling everyone to wire then in a way that is causing their reported short life span and there is a better way to do it. But that is a long explanation so I'll post it separately.

[spider2081]

In the transition between there and the fire wall these become the brown (no stripe) wire to post #30 on the ignition switch and the black (no stripe) wire to the un-switched fuse box circuit and the feed to the #30/1 post on the ignition switch.

I
Interesting: How does your alternator out put connect to your battery? Often there are 3 ring terminals on the starter solenoids battery stud. The batteries green positive cable, the black wire connecting the alternator to the battery and the brown wire connecting the battery to terminal 30 of the ignition switch. The black wire attached to terminal 30/1 of the ignition switch usually originates at the alternator output post feeds fuses 9&10 and terminal 30/1. Electrically it is the same point as the starter solenoid battery terminal just physically a different location.

[zachmac]

Interesting: How does your alternator out put connect to your battery? Often there are 3 ring terminals on the starter solenoids battery stud. The batteries green positive cable, the black wire connecting the alternator to the battery and the brown wire connecting the battery to terminal 30 of the ignition switch. The black wire attached to terminal 30/1 of the ignition switch usually originates at the alternator output post feeds fuses 9&10 and terminal 30/1. Electrically it is the same point as the starter solenoid battery terminal just physically a different location.

I guess I wasn't very precise / clear. What I was trying to describe was exactly what you describe electrically. Phsically the wiring in the engine bay is as follows:
1. Very large gauge green wire from battery to main starter post
2. Large gauge black wire from main stater post to alternator
3. Two wire harness with a medium (relative to the first two) gauge brown/wht and red/wht wires (main starter post and solenoid wires respectively) that use a two wire connector on the fender to connect to the same color wires leading into the main harness.
4. Same gauge as #3. wires blk/wht from alternator hot post leading into main harness.

It's been a while since I had that all unwrapped and had the dash off so all the wiring under there was easily traced but some where between the three medium gauge blk/wht, red/wht and brown/wht wires going into the main harness and the connection points under the dash they become brown, red and black wires without the tracing.

Electrically the brown/wht becomes the brown to post #30, the red/wht becomes the red to post #50 and the blk/wht becomes the black to the unswitched fuses and post #30/1.

It is interesting that the wiring diagrams don't show the engine bay wires as two color traced or a transition connector but in reality I know this is how it is and this is definitely factory wiring, not some POs hack. I am working under the dash right now installing a new ignition switch so I'll try to see / remember how / where the wires make the traced to non traced transition.

[zachmac]

Update: the wiring I described in my last post in the engine bay (the brown, red and black heavy gauge wires with white trace) do NOT change before they get to the next connection point. The black/wht continues to where it connects to the fuse box and the brown/wht and red/wht remain same gauge and wire colors to the connector for the ignition switch. The ignition switch side of that connector is where they change to brown and red with no white trace.