I am just starting on a 1966 stock Skylark for my 13 year old daughter, she's working right along side of me, and I am having a problem with the wiring for the starter. Is there anyone who might be able to help us out here? Scott
GM starters have 3 main connections to the starter solenoid. On the large post goes the + battery cable, and two heavy wires with fusible links. The other connections are the "S" and "R" terminals. These are much smaller. The purple wire goes to the "S" terminal, and the yellow wire goes to the "R" terminal. The purple wire has 12 volts with the ignition switch in the crank position. The "R" terminal supplies 12 volts to the coil(in the crank position) through the yellow wire. You can leave the yellow wire off if you are running an HEI or most electronic ignitions. Hope that helps.
Larry, is this exactly what you meant? I read it to say that the S term with the purple wire supplies 12V when cranking and the R term does the same thing. That isn't what you mean, is it? Please correct me. Frank
When you turn the key to crank the engine, 12 volts is applied to the "S" terminal, which energizes the starter. At the same time, 12 volts flows FROM the "R" terminal to the + side of the coil, bypassing the resistance section of wiring. This way the coil recieves 12 volts when you are cranking the engine to start it. When you release the key, to the run position, 12 volts is no longer applied to the "S" terminal, and 12 volts no longer flows to the coil. The coil is then supplied from the firewall connector, through the resistance wire, which cuts the voltage down, for maximum points life.
