Battery in trunk questions, please.

[1FATGMC]

Snip ...

Sumner, can you tell me more about the 'remote solenoid'; is this the Ford style wiring?  Do you need to modify the Chev starter?

It is the ford style remote a lot of people sell.  They include a strap that ties the solenoid on the top of the starter to the starter motor if I remember right.  Now the solenoid on the top of the starter engages at the same time the starter turns as they get juice from the remote solenoid via a large cable.  The solenoid on the starter no longer has to act like a switch diverting voltage to the motor it just has to kick in the gear.

Hope that makes sense.

c ya, Sum


c ya, Su

[1FATGMC]

Should I consider running the cables in some type of conduit for pretection, or can I just clamp them to the frame rail?

Oh, man. I'm getting so close to firing this thing up. I haven't heard the engine run in 4 years.

I would just clamp to the frame rail often.

c ya, Sum

[Pope Downunder]

Snip ...

Sumner, can you tell me more about the 'remote solenoid'; is this the Ford style wiring?  Do you need to modify the Chev starter?

It is the ford style remote a lot of people sell.  They include a strap that ties the solenoid on the top of the starter to the starter motor if I remember right.  Now the solenoid on the top of the starter engages at the same time the starter turns as they get juice from the remote solenoid via a large cable.  The solenoid on the starter no longer has to act like a switch diverting voltage to the motor it just has to kick in the gear.

Hope that makes sense.

c ya, Sum


c ya, Su

Sorta!
I had a look at a couple of kits, like this, and the 'Painless' one.
http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=esearch.asp&N=110&Ntk=KeywordSearch&Ntt=Remote+starter+solenoid&x=12&y=9

This appears to be just a Ford style starter relay.
What has got me confused is what solenoid to use on the starter itself.

[Fat Cat]

What has got me confused is what solenoid to use on the starter itself.

Just use the Stock GM solenoid and make a 10 or 12 gauge jumper wire to run from the big post on the solenoid to the start post on the solenoid.

[tomslik]

What has got me confused is what solenoid to use on the starter itself.

Just use the Stock GM solenoid and make a 10 or 12 gauge jumper wire to run from the big post on the solenoid to the start post on the solenoid.

while we're on the subject, HOW does it make a difference?
seems to me the stock soliniod STILL has to work as designed.


(yeah, i know ford did the same thing on 460's in the big cars and some trucks)

[Fat Cat]

What has got me confused is what solenoid to use on the starter itself.

Just use the Stock GM solenoid and make a 10 or 12 gauge jumper wire to run from the big post on the solenoid to the start post on the solenoid.

while we're on the subject, HOW does it make a difference?
seems to me the stock solinoid STILL has to work as designed.


(yeah, i know ford did the same thing on 460's in the big cars and some trucks)

It works on the principle that instead of the power to accuate the solenoid coming from a 7' long 14 or 16 gauge wire it is coming through a 2" long 10 or 12 gauge wire. You get a much lower amperage drop by using a larger wire of a shorter length. Less resistance.

[btrc]

Just want to throw in another opinion on the Optima Batteries.  I put one in my '37 as I was building it.  Everything worked great during final construction, then just when I got everything done the battery wouldn't hold a charge anymore.  It was about 1 year old.  I took it back to where I bought it and they held it for the Optima Rep (who is also the Interstate rep) to look at.  He told them that there was nothing wrong with the battery and it just needed charging.  I found out what he said and kind of blew up.  I  told my dealer to check it themselves. They would charge it and a day later it would be dead again.  The dealer came through and gave me a new battery (Optima) whcih has worked OK so far but the rep has never reimbursed them for it and they no longer will sell Optima Batteries.


Bob

[enjenjo]

It does still work as it did stock, but instead of getting power from a wire that goes from the starter, to the fuse box, to the ignition switch, to the neutral switch, back to the solinoid, it gets it directly from the battery terminal an inch away. You can also reroute the wire so the starter gets power directly from the Ford solenoid, and the solenoid just engages the drive. But I have never needed to do that.

[alchevy]

I bought the kit from Summit a few years ago to mount my battery in the trunk and it worked out fine. Mine is grounded at the battery (Walmart brand, availiable nation wide) and at the starter. We mounted the battery shut-off switch on the cowl post on the passenger side, made a good spot for it. I ran the battery wire (that came in the kit) down the frame rail ('40 Chevy frame rails are boxed all the way). Be carefull about how close the wire is to the fuel line if it is on the same side.
AL

[1FATGMC]

What has got me confused is what solenoid to use on the starter itself.

Just use the Stock GM solenoid and make a 10 or 12 gauge jumper wire to run from the big post on the solenoid to the start post on the solenoid.

while we're on the subject, HOW does it make a difference?
seems to me the stock soliniod STILL has to work as designed.


(yeah, i know ford did the same thing on 460's in the big cars and some trucks)

The stock solinoid has to perform two duties.  One is to push the starter gear into the flywheel/flex plate teeth and the other is to complete the circuit to the starter motor so that it gets 12 volts.  You have probably seen where they get all pitted inside on the contact surface for the high amp switching surface for the 12 volts to the motor.  With the remote solenoid you take the swithing duty away from the solenoid on the starter and now all it has to do is act like a solenoid and push the gear into the flywheel.  So if the contacts start to pit inside and the solenoid is not forcing the contacts with enough energy to make a good electrical contact then you will probably just get the "click", "click".  The same thing that happen when you have bad battery connections.

I think the added heat of headers makes all of this worst and the remote solenoid helps in that case.  I also think a heat shield on the starter in conjunction with the remote solenoid is the trick to making the starter very reliable with headers.

There is probably more to it than this so anyone else that can help explain this please jump in.

c ya, Sum

[flt-blk]

This has been great info, as I plan on setting up
my "A" with the battery in the trunk.

Has any one on here ever used or know anyone who has used the "dyna-
batt"? It is advertised in many magazines. It is only 7" x 3" x 6.5" high
and weighs 13.5 lbs.!  I know a rod builder using one for the first time in a
BBC car, but has yet to fire it up and put it to any use. If they are any
good I may have room up front for it.

I have a DynaBatt in my A pickup, it sits behind the seat and has worked
flawlessley.  3 years in Texas with 30k miles and not a single battery
problem.

I have a buddy who uses 2 - 6V Lawn Tractor batteries with no problems,
there small and readily avaliable.

[48builder]

I'd like to run my cable from the battery to a terminal that would be just like a side post terminal. That way, I can simply attach my stock cable to it, and I would have the cables that go to the starter, alternator, and power stud that feeds the car's internal harness.  The stock cable has those three wires on it, and it would save me some monkeying around. Any idea where I can get a terminal like that?

[model a vette]

The stock GM solenoid does two jobs.
1. It pulls the plunger to engage the starter drive.
2. It connects the battery terminal (at the top connector) to the starter motor (bottom connector).

The Ford solenoid is used to replace the #2 function. The little strap connects the upper connector to the lower connector. The Ford solenoid sends power to the upper connector and via the strap to the motor.

[enjenjo]

I'd like to run my cable from the battery to a terminal that would be just like a side post terminal. That way, I can simply attach my stock cable to it, and I would have the cables that go to the starter, alternator, and power stud that feeds the car's internal harness.  The stock cable has those three wires on it, and it would save me some monkeying around. Any idea where I can get a terminal like that?

www.waytekwire.com   stock number 47211 or 47213

[Pope Downunder]

Thanks guys.
So; I think I now understand!  The Ford remote 'solenoid' is in fact a heavy duty relay?  The Chev 'solenoid' must have the relay built in, and that is what you are bypassing by putting on a remote relay.