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I had a problem on one of mine, and I was powering the ignition/injectors from the battery connection at the starter. During crank the starter would draw so much that the voltage there dropped to less than 9V. Hooking a wire direct to the + battery terminal to feed my "Ignition" source fixed the problem for me. If your Ignition Switch has a dedicated "IGN" position that's your spot because the "BAT" feed to the ignition switch is direct.

Originally Posted by HOSS429

another long time no see post .. every since i built my V6 4,3 chevy pinto 20 years ago it has suffered from cold start issues .. even in warm weather .. i have electronic ignition and have wired it from the stock pinto HOT wire from the beginning .. i have recently found that if i hook a hot wire from the + battery to the + on the coil it will fire off immediately regardless if warm or not .. then i simply unhook the hot jumper and can go all day with normal ignition .. can i hook my + ignition to a post on the solenoid and solve this low voltage initial start up issue .. i understand electronic ignition needs 12 volts to operate but i dont know where to get 12 volts on my old points style wiring system . i dont want to go MSD as they have gotten too pricy ..

Early Chevy distributors used a ballast resistor to drop the voltage to the points after start up. That changed later, I don't remember when, to a resistance wire and both were connected to the "R" terminal on the solenoid. Run a wire, preferably 14 or 16 gauge, to the coil from the "R" post and that should solve your problem.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Early Chevy distributors used a ballast resistor to drop the voltage to the points after start up. That changed later, I don't remember when, to a resistance wire and both were connected to the "R" terminal on the solenoid. Run a wire, preferably 14 or 16 gauge, to the coil from the "R" post and that should solve your problem.

Ken,
The "R" terminal is only hot during crank, dead with the key "ON", and most of the newer Chevy starters no longer have the "R" terminal. Wiring instructions for non-point ignition tell us that the "R" terminal, if it's there, is not used. The instructions from Summit on replacement starters addresses the issues if you 1) have HEI/electronic ignition and an old starter or 2) are replacing an old starter on a points style distributor and need to keep that wire active - https://static.summitracing.com/glob...um-829100a.pdf

Hoss, it sounds like you may be cranking with no voltage to your coil, then as you release the key to "RUN/ON" your ignition goes "HOT" and it lights off as it's coasting off the starter. You could check by disconnecting the Battery connection at the starter, putting a volt meter on your +coil feed and putting the key to "START". If you happen to have the old "R" terminal starter then a second wire to your coil + should fix your starting problem, but you need to check the voltage on that "stock Pinto HOT wire" to be sure it's not reduced voltage for the old points system. No "R" terminal? How about Summit's relay fix, plus verifying your stock Pinto HOT wire voltage?

Originally Posted by rspears

Ken,
The "R" terminal is only hot during crank, dead with the key "ON", and most of the newer Chevy starters no longer have the "R" terminal. Wiring instructions for non-point ignition tell us that the "R" terminal, if it's there, is not used. The instructions from Summit on replacement starters addresses the issues if you 1) have HEI/electronic ignition and an old starter or 2) are replacing an old starter on a points style distributor and need to keep that wire active - https://static.summitracing.com/glob...um-829100a.pdf

Hoss, it sounds like you may be cranking with no voltage to your coil, then as you release the key to "RUN/ON" your ignition goes "HOT" and it lights off as it's coasting off the starter. You could check by disconnecting the Battery connection at the starter, putting a volt meter on your +coil feed and putting the key to "START". If you happen to have the old "R" terminal starter then a second wire to your coil + should fix your starting problem, but you need to check the voltage on that "stock Pinto HOT wire" to be sure it's not reduced voltage for the old points system. No "R" terminal? How about Summit's relay fix, plus verifying your stock Pinto HOT wire voltage?

yes .. it seems to do that ..

Originally Posted by rspears

Ken,
The "R" terminal is only hot during crank, dead with the key "ON", and most of the newer Chevy starters no longer have the "R" terminal. Wiring instructions for non-point ignition tell us that the "R" terminal, if it's there, is not used.

You're right, I don't know what I was thinking, must have been a senior moment.
If I'm not mistaken, I believe you can run a wire from the "S" terminal to the coil since it will be hot when the ignition switch is in the "run" position.

having never worked on anything newer than a 1973 pinto i have never seen the need to know if a wire has 9 volts or 12 volts or 10.27 volts .. i understand cars now days are do require infinite voltage readings as a single percentage point drop in voltage can give an issue ..

no .. i dropped the steering column and found 2 wires that are hot when the switch is on .. i have not found the fuse wire yet .. i dont have a volt meter all i have is a hot idiot check test lite .. i drive it once a month or so i`m in no hurry .. i am in the market for a project car .. i want a 55 ford fairlane .. my birth year but i have not looked real hard .. i have had 2 over the last 40 years but did not keep them .. i have been helping the fellow who bought my mustang get it going .. the MSD system is giving us fits .. i told him to get an old style points dizzy and live with it ...in fact he just pulled up in my yard .. he cant get the points dizzy to fire either .. guess i`ll go over there for a while .. he is a fellow who just likes to own stuff .. he has a dozen cars that just sit around going to pot .. they all have dead batteries ,stinky gas in the tanks , they all sit outside in the weather and stay filthy .. i just in a moment of temporary insanity sold him all my stuff a few years ago .. he let me have the pinto back after he broke the rear end ..

Originally Posted by HOSS429

... i dont have a volt meter all i have is a hot idiot check test lite ..

A test light can tell you a lot, but I don't understand how anyone can mess with cars much without a basic Volt/Ohm meter. You can buy a good, basic multi-meter on Amazon or evilBay for less than $20!! I worked for years with a little RadioShack meter that I think I paid less than $10 and Harbor Freight often gives them away with any purchase! Seriously? Best of luck with your trouble shooting. I hope you and your test light figure out your problems.

late 75 i was working at the junkyard and 2 69 mustangs came in the same day .. one was a green 351 windsor with a 3 speed and hit hard in the right rear quarter panel .. the other was a blue R code lightly wrecked in the front .. needed a 3/4 front clip . i did not have the ability to do a quarter panel so i bought the R code .. i could swap out sheet metal .. i found a fender and hood of the same color at the yard ,, again i gave 250 $ for the car ..i decided the engine needed rebuilding so with the help of a friend i did that ,, put about 700 $ in the rebuild and drove the car a few months .. got outrun by a friend in a 70 440 challenger .. sold the car for 700 $ to another friend who immediately took the 428 SCJ motor and 4 speed trans out and swapped in a 6 banger .. did not make sense to me ,, another guy i knew wound up with the motor and trans for a brief period and slammed it into a 71 maverick .. i watched him race a few cars with my motor .. the car fell apart shortly afterwards and i got the engine and trans back ,, i dont remember what became of the trans but the engine i sold to a son of the fellow i was working for .. i got 100 $ for it ..40 years later for a minute i had 2 454 chevy engines in my shop and this same fellow who bought my 428 told me he still had the 428 and would swap me it for a 454 .. he was a week too late as i had sold both engines for peanuts .. i`m not a chevy guy ..after a brief stint with a comet in 76 i by my first of many pintos .

74 has come and gone .. in 75 i actually have a job for a moment laying carpet .. i think i work a month or two .. it was this year that i bought the first car i ever paid for with my own money .. a 1963 fairlane sports coupe i bought from a friend of one of my older brothers .. i knew the car well as it came and went from our house regularly .. i gave 75 bucks for it without a motor or trans .. i had a skeeter that i got from another friend for trading him a good battery .. it had a 289 with a 4 speed .. i put it in the fairlane and drove it for a few months then sold it for 150 bucks ,, doubled my money HA !! ..i had friends who worked at the junkyard so i hung out there from time to time ,, a 69 440 six pac super bee was sitting in the yard one day when i came by .. it had been damaged in the tornado outbreak of 74 .. i bought it for 250 bucks .. every car that the junkyard bought from the insurance company cost him 250 bucks regardless of condition .. he was on a contract ,, sometimes he had to buy burned to nothing junk and sometimes he bought barely hurt stuff like hot rods nobody wanted anymore .. the super bee needed a front fender and a passenger door .. i got them with the purchase . i drove it for 6 months or so and broke the 4 speed trans and gave the car back to the junkyard ,, i still had my 69 Xl .. later in 75 i was working at the junkyard

You've certainly been missed. I for one always made a point of reading your posts.

Double post.

Please, tech, bring your wisdom and spirit back. Back under any name is better than gone.

Originally Posted by 36 sedan

Please, tech, bring your wisdom and spirit back. Back under any name is better than gone.

I'm working on that. Once I get his computer up and running I think he'll come back with a variation of techinspector1

Good guy .................