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1965 Fastback wiring question.
I have a question about a single wire behind my instrument cluster that I can't fully figure out. It starts on the right side of the wire bundle that goes up and over the dash are and goes through the right square firewall connector. It starts out as a Red/Pink single wire inside of heavy elephant skin wire wrap. Goes through the firewall and ends up as a brown wire with a angle connector that looks like it connects to the Starter Solenoid.
I apologize for the blurry pictures. My digital camera was having a hard time focusing on what I wanted it to.
This is the start.
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This is where is goes through the firewall. RIght next to the windshield wiper motor.
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Electrically this is where the other end of the wire ends up. What the heck is this wire doing?
My wiring diagrams seem to indicate it is for the Tachometer. What the what?
Also the wire color is brown, but flash washed it out.
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This is a 1964 wiring diagram. I have to follow this because my 1965 is pre May 1965 so the wiring is closer to a 1964 1/2 than a 1965.
Also I previously indicated Starter Solenoid, this calls it a Starter Relay.
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The wire in question is the Infamous "Pink Wire". It's the original source from the ign. sw. to the coil. It's a resistor wire that drops the voltage to the coil from 12 to around 9V when the car is running. The original coil would fry with a steady diet of 12V
The wire goes through the F-wall connector and becomes the red/green wire going to the coil. The brown wire comes from the starter solenoid, where it picks up 12V during start only, and applys that voltage to the red/green....hence to the coil....when starting.
The diagram you have is for a 64 and I don't think the 65 is exactly the same.
Look at the back of the ign switch. There should be a short lead with a female bullet connector. The pink wire plugs in there.
It appears that you are installing a new wiring harness so I'll tall about the solenoid while I'm at it. The brown wire connects to the small "I" terminal (if marked, otherwise I think it's the rear small terminal), and the red/blue wire goes to the "S" or forward small terminnal. The other two wires attach to the front large lug along with the pos cable from the battery. The heavy cable to the starter is the only thing attached to the back big lug.
If the solenoid isn't marked as to the S and I terminals do this: Attach the red/blue to the forward small terminal and leave the brown wire loose. If the engine cranks with the key to Start, you can attach the brown wire to the rearmost terminal. If the enging does not crank, move the red/blue to the forward terminal and see if it now cranks.
Sorry for the long wind butt (TS&T), I can't 'splain this stuff any other way.
Well dang...I just re-read your post and now I see why the 64 diagram.
Just plug the pink wire into the wire from the Ign switch and bypass the tach.
BB
Last edited by Bullet Bob (9/12/2013 6:09 AM)
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On a 66 the red/green wire from the ign. sw. plugs into the pink resistance wire. It supplies the 9 volts(app.) to your coil. At the firewall connector it splits to include a brown wire that goes to the sol. In the run position the coil is supplied power thru the pink wire. In the start position the coil is supplied full battery voltage thru the brown wire from the sol. It looks like on models with a tach they run switched power to the tach and then the coil putting the tach in series with the run circuit. I guess without a tach the connectors at 99 would plug together.
If the car ran before with the pink wire disconnected then I'm totally wrong.
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Sorry if my post added confusion. I was typing (a very slow process) while BB was posting.
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And I was editing while you were posting, AT. Bet we got him really corn-fused now...LOL
BB
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Bullet Bob wrote:
And I was editing while you were posting, AT. Bet we got him really corn-fused now...LOL
BB
Hey BB..........tell'em the part where....if you are using a one wire/late model high torque starter.....you don't even use the brown wire on the solenoid!!
6sal6
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Yep, the resistor wire for the coil. If you don't have the tach then it just gets plugged into the red/green with bullet socket coming off the ignition switch 'C' terminal.
Don't think anyone mentioned that if you're running a modern coil designed to run at the full 12v (preferebbly with an electronic distributor - don't know for sure about the advisability of doing this with points & condenser) you want to bypass the pink resistor wire - so you have that red/green at the ig switch connected directly to the coil. I snuck a fresh red 14g wire through a small grommet near the firewall disconnect from the ig switch pigtail directly to the coil. A little well applied etape and it's hardly noticeable, will make a pretty significant difference in the way the car runs though if you've got that modern coil designed to operate at a continous 12v.
Is that a repop wire set? Looks like a nice one.
Last edited by McStang (9/12/2013 3:49 PM)
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The instrument wires are a repop. Very new and nothing chopped so it was cheap to replace the rest of the butchered mess.
I am running a new coil and modern distributor so this is good to know about it being a resistor wire. I do
have the empty socket at the ignition switch so that is good to know where it plugs into.
Excellent information from all. Thank you so much.
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If you have a 12 volt coil and are going to by pass the pink resistor wire, you don't need to hook up the brown wire on the solenoid. The brown wire supplies 12volts to the coil during start up, if you by pass the pink wire you already have 12 volts there. The reason to keep it disconnected is sometimes the solenoid sticks and you can't shut the car off with the key. This won't stop the solenoid from sticking but you can still shut the engine off.
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Two things you wanna use new from Ford if possible!!!! TURN SIGNAL SW and SOLONOID!!!!
Save yourself a lot of misery.
Howard
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@wsinsle- So do I still need to run a wire from the Ignition switch all the way to the solonoid? What tells the Solonoid to close contacts and apply voltage to the coil or to the Starter? Or am I getting the reason for the brown wire wrong.
@hmartin025- Good advice. I probably need a new Solonoid. I don't have holes drilled in my shock tower yet. I am trying to think of another area to locate it if possible. I may install the relays I am using to apply power to headlights in stame general area. So I need to think this through. I have to cry everytime I drill a hole in my car.
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The red/blue wire runs from the ign sw to the sol thru a neutral safety switch. You should have that in place already.
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Yes as AT stated, the red/blue will still be connected to the 'S' terminal on the solenoid. That is the wire which goes to the ignition switch, when the ignition switch is in the start position it picks up the solenoid to start the car. Only the brown wire is not needed if you by-pass the pink resistor wire.
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WIsh I could think of a good movie quote concerning the wrong colored wire on dismantling a bomb.
Words words words ........ DON"T CUT THE BLUE WIRE!!!!!!!! words words words.
Yep, that there was my movie quote.
Thank you again for all the help.
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Now that's funny I don't care who you are.
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