docmirror

After having an unexpected starter engagement, I decided to replace the solenoid wire from the CE panel down to the starter. The job is necessary on cars due to the breakdown of the insulation on the solenoid wire, and the B+ line that serves the alternator to battery. This car uses the large starter lug as a collection point for the alt charge line, and the voltage sense. If I were designing it, I would put both the voltmeter pick and the B+ charge wire from the alt right to the battery. However, we work with what we have. At a later time, I will replace the B+ line from the alt, and connect it directly to the battery terminal, but for now this is to resolve the fault found below.

The process is straightforward, and requires no unusual skills. We will be cutting and handling large current wires so it's imperative that you disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before working on this area. Failure to do so will likely result in arcing, heating, welding and possible electrical fire from the starter area.

Materials: 10Ga wire, approx 6 feet. yellow(10Ga) large ring terminal. Yellow(10Ga) butt splice.

Tools: Trolley jack, jack stands, or ramps, 10, 13, 19mm wrenches, 19mm socket and ratchet, large phillips, flash/worklight, wire cutter, wire stripper, wire crimp tool, drill with 1/8" bit is nice, but not required. I recommend a soldering iron and solder, but the job can be done without it.

Procedure: Securely jack and support the car at the front, or run it up on ramps. Remove the negative terminal at the battery. From under the car, use the 19mm socket and wrench and remove the bolts from the starter. Withdraw the starter straight back from the bellhousing and let it hang down. Inspect the wires attached to the rear. One large lug will go into the starter, one large lug will have several red wires on it, and the small lug will have a single red with black trace attached. This is the solenoid start wire we will be replacing.

See image, and note the failed insulation in the light.

docmirror

Now that you have the starter out and on the ground, you can disconnect the solenoid wire from terminal 50 of the starter(small one by itself) using the 10mm wrench. I don't recommend doing this while the starter is in the car as the wires will need to be cleaned up anyway.

Next, go ahead and cut the wire way back where it enters the big black insulated loom. You won't be using this wire, and you don't want the rest of it hanging down so that it may short on anything later. Discard that pigtail. Clean the black heavy loom, and put some insulation on the exposed red wire in the harness. This can be done with a good split wire loom material.

Now, we'll prepare the new wire. Strip back about 1/4" of insulation from the new wire. I strongly advise not touching the bare copper strand, as this will leave oil and residue from your fingers. We want a good clean connection here because it will be exposed to the elements and your fingers will leave salt and oil that will corrode over time. Using the large ring terminal, slide it over the wire until a small bit of copper extends through the hole. Now, use the crimp tool and crimp the insulated terminal to the wire. If you have a soldering iron, now is the time to use some solder on the wire and terminal to affect a heat/chemical bond as well as the mechanical bond. Do not put the butt splice end on just yet.

Now from above, feed the terminal and wire down the center/left section of the firewall, near the original loom. You will notice two bridles that hold the loom in place, and you can feed the wire through that if you like. I didn't because I'm going to add a larger heat loom later. After you feed the terminal and wire down, connect it to the small lug of the starter using the 10mm wrench. The terminal should be pointing somewhat upwards when you tighten the nut.

After cleaning and dressing the old wire loom, you can now put the starter back in the bellhousing, and tighten the two 19mm bolts with the wrench, socket and ratchet.

dougs968

Doc, that is exactly where mine went bad.

Doug

docmirror

This completes the work under the car. You can clean up and we'll finish on the top. At this point, you should have the red wire sticking up from the firewall area to the left of the center, near the brake booster.

The next part of the service requires that you access the bottom of the CE panel. This should not worry you, but you do need to take care that you don't damage anything on the CE panel or underneath. Follow these instructions carefully to put the CE panel in the service position. You will want to work in good light, and don't force anything.

Remove the inner rear relay. Wiggle it a bit, and it will pull right up. You'll see the two black knurled ***** in the corners of the CE panel that hold it down to the chassis. The ***** have a phillips inset in the ****. Use the screwdriver or your fingers and loosen those two screw *****. The screws are captive and will not come out of the CE panel, but they will come loose from the chassis.

Now that the screw ***** are loose, perform the following slowly: Standing over the CE panel on the left side of the car, grasp the knurled **** on the upper right with your LEFT hand. Grasp the lower left knurled **** with your RIGHT hand underneath your left. Got that? Left over, right under. Now, begin to lift the CE panel with both hands evenly, and as you lift gently rotate the CE panel anti-clockwise 180 degrees. Your left had should move left, and the right should move right. The CE panel will 'unscrew' from the chassis as you lift it up. This is done when the unit is assembled to allow for service access and still maintain modest tension on the wiring looms under the CE panel. If you've done this correctly, the fuses should now be toward the inner part of the car.

Once you have it up out of the chassis, dip your right hand down, and dip the right side of the CE panel down into the well it came out of, while you have the left side tipped up to access the wires. In the picture, the CE panel has been rotated and dipped in the back so that the wires are accessible.

docmirror

The wire we are going for is coming off of terminal E, position 2-5. Although it is written as 'E25' the pins are not numbers 1-25, they are located by row and column, so it's connector E, row 2, column 5. The E connector is on the inside now, and there is a latch board with the letter designators impressed on the side. So, at a minimum, you need to identify connector E. It's about the middle of the group, and is black. Once you locate connector E, you will need to locate the large red with black trace wire. In the picture above, I've located the wire and isolated it out the far left. You can just barely see a small bit of the black trace up near the connector.

Once you've located the wire, we're going to cut it. Cut the wire about 3-4" down from the terminal block. This is the wire we're going to splice to the new wire from the starter solenoid. Once you cut the wire, you can put a dab of silicone on the wire going down into the loom. On the wire coming from the terminal, use your wire stripper and strip back 1/4" of insulation. Once again, don't touch the bare wire. Install and crimp the butt splice on this wire that leads up into the connector.

odurandina

good stuff Doc.

docmirror

The last job, is to get the new wire though the firewall and chassis housing and into the well of the CE panel. Luckily, there is an access between the two that is plugged with a rubber bushing that has a vacuum line running through it. IN the picture below, locate the bushing that has been pushed out of the firewall and the black vacuum line that runs through it. You can see where I've drilled a hole in the bushing already for the red wire to pass through.

You can reach your right hand down in the CE panel well, and push the insulation aside, then push the bushing out forward. A gobbet of spit on the vacuum line will make the bushing slide on it. Drill or cut a hole in the bushing. Now guide the red wire through the bushing, and also through the hole in the firewall the bushing fits back into. This will put the end of the red wire sticking into the well of the CE panel. Pull about 5" of wire up so you can work with it. Using your wire stripper, strip back about 1/4" of insulation, do not touch the copper wire, and then crimp it to the existing butt splice from pin E25. Test your splice by pulling on the wires to insure you have a good connection.

Now we'll put things back together and test. Insure the wire you've spliced has some free length so that when you put the CE panel back, it will not be taut. Fight the rubber bushing back into the firewall so that you have a good water and air tight seal. Careful not to bend/kink the vacuum line.

Installing the CE panel is the reverse of the service procedure. This time, left hand on the upper right ****, and right hand over the top holding the lower left ****. Keep it just above the chassis bezel for the CE panel, and 'screw' it clockwise 180 deg down into the bezel housing. Keep it level so that both corners contact the housing at the same time. Hold the CE panel down with one palm while starting the knurled ***** into the housing threaded inserts.

Once you get the CE panel secured, put the relay back in the right rear position. Recheck your work, the CE panel is down, the wire is secured to the loom, and the starter is back in. Now you are ready to reconnect the negative cable to the battery. A word of caution here. When you first touch the terminal lug to the battery post, you should expect a very small spark. If you see a large arc, feel any heat, or the starter engages, disconnect it immediately and investigate where you have gone wrong. You may have power going to the solenoid still, and need to find out where it's coming from. If you get the little spark, and the alarm goes off, don't be concerned.

Close the hood, doors, and hatch, lock the doors with the key, and then wait 2 seconds and unlock the doors. The alarm will go off. Now try to start the car. If it doesn't start, you may have cut the wrong wire, or your butt splice may be intermittent. Later on you can go back and add insulation to the red wire. It should be ok for a quite a while, but since it goes down under the car, more insulation is always good.

tamathumper

Great job with the pics and instructions. I just replaced my cables too, as my starter-to-alternator cable was BARE. There was no insulation left on it, and the smaller ignition-to-solenoid cable was fractured in many places as well, so it was only a matter of time.

Looking down behind the alternator, I could see 4-6 inches of bare, green copper! I consider myself lucky that I didn't wake up to find my car on the other side of the garage one morning, or come out of work to find it in a ravine.

pmason

I just replaced the that one harness, connector behind the brake booster, goes to the alternator.
Now I had a second harness from the car I stripped down. Mine looked like it shorted behind the brake booster.

docmirror

Gaaaahh! I looked at my charge line from the Alternator too and it's crumbling. Shyte, more electrical work. I'm gonna run the big charge line from the Alt directly to the + of the batt. I don't like it going down there to the starter lug.

tamathumper

I ordered the full kit of replacement cables from Robby, and they're top notch. I feel way better having them installed vs. the old rotted cables.