So your Chevy is experiencing hot start problems. You’ve ruled out the starter as the culprit, or replaced it entirely, you’ve checked all the connections but you still experience those no start conditions. What to do next? Add a Ford Starter Solenoid to your Chevy of course!
It worked for Chevy, it can work for you. Chevrolet offered a remote solenoid for their motorhomes for the very same reason.
Why? Because when wire gets warmer, its resitance goes up. Which means, when things are toasty warm your starter is not getting enough juice to activate the (on starter) solenoid from the original “start” wire. The wire is essentially acting like a ballast resistor. As well, the starter heat soak creates its own set of unique problems. Wiring in a Ford Solenoid will alleviate the wire voltage drop problem by giving the starter mounted solenoid full battery potential when you turn the key.
What you need to do:
- Get a Ford starter solenoid, of course.
- These units ground through the bracket. For fool-proof grounding, run a well grounded wire to one of the screws you use to secure the solenoid to the firewall.
- If you are adamant about not having any Ford parts on your General Motors product, simply visit your favorite AC Delco parts house and purchase p/n U939.
- You can use just about any Ford starter solenoid, later model cars came with a stubby unit with all the terminals opposite the mounting flange, such as found on 1987 and newer Ford Crown Vics and Mercury Grand Marquis. (until 1996 or so when Ford went to the starter mounted solenoid like the Chevy your converting. Go figure.)
- Relocate ALL the wires that are currently connected to the BAT terminal on your starter (the large terminal) to the ‘hot’ side of the Ford solenoid (that’s the side connected to the battery, typically the large post to the left on the ford solenoid)
- This will allow you to relocate the wires away from the headers and hot engine block. You will only have a SINGLE cable running to the starter, not a bunch of wires.
- Relocate the ‘start’ wire on the starter solenoid (small terminal closest to the engine) to the ‘S’ terminal on the ford solenoid.
- Run a new heavy guage wire (battery cable) from the right side (non-hot) of the ford solenoid to the BAT terminal on the starter (the large terminal).
- Run a wire or short the “S” terminal to the “BAT” on the stock GM solenoid. This way, the solenoid is getting FULL battery voltage to the solenoid.
Thats about all there is to adding a remote solenoid to your GM. A couple advantages to having the Ford solenoid:
-It’s a lot easier to “start the car with a screwdriver” since all the terminals are up on the firewall.
-Convenient to connect a “bump-starter switch” to set valve lash.
-Only wire wire running to starter. Which means much easier to install or remove starter, and less likely that a group of wires will be touching headers or exhaust manifolds.
