MAD ELectronics and Midyears

[Viet Nam Vett]

If you run the switch wire to the neutral safety switch connector on the harness above the wiper motor, you don't need to cut the wiring and the switch can be disabled by restoring the default plug connection.I forgot about people who leave their manual transmission cars in gear.

You guys are right, this is a fender saving option.


PS: Sure is boring having to put line breaks in these posts to get blank lines inserted.

"Danger Will Robinson.." If you do extend wires from your neutral saftey switch at the fire wall ...you must be careful. I tried this once thinking I would install a kill switch and locate it some where under the dash area on the driver side.

I used 12 Gauge wire. When I hit the key to start.. the wires started to get warm and the motor would not turn over. REASON...to much resistance for that wire length run. I would have probably had to use 10 gauge or 8 gauge as it was about a six foot run ...3 ft down one wire and 3 feet back up the other wire.

Not sure of the wire length from the connector at the fire wall to the switch on the auto tranny and or the gauge wire used in the stock set up.

Anyone care to comment??...

 

[JohnZ]

'69-up Camaro, Nova, etc. use a clutch pedal-activated switch mounted on the outboard side of the pedal support inserted in the 12-ga. purple wire from the ignition switch "start" terminal to the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid; I've never had a problem with any of mine.(still can't get smilies to work)

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

'69-up Camaro, Nova, etc. use a clutch pedal-activated switch mounted on the outboard side of the pedal support inserted in the 12-ga. purple wire from the ignition switch "start" terminal to the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid; I've never had a problem with any of mine.(still can't get smilies to work)

That's cool a factory design.....But as you state a "12 Gauge wire..!!..Lot's a Current their....

My Smilelys a workren...

 

[stepinwolf]

That's cool a factory design.....But as you state a "12 Gauge wire..!!..Lot's a Current their....

My Smilelys a workren...

So do mine, but the "right click " no longer brings up my spell-checker.

Anyone can tell me why most people tend to fix things, that are not broken. I'm thinking along the line of " leave well enough alone " thingy


Stepinwolf

:confused

 

[magicv8]

That's cool a factory design.....But as you state a "12 Gauge wire..!!..Lot's a Current there...quote]

The 66 factory wiring diagram identifies the PPL wire as 14 gauge. If that's correct, most tables indicate the factory was expecting 10 amps or less with 3% max voltage drop. I would think that the factory 12 gauge switch wires would handle the extra distance, but I have been wrong before.

Are you sure you have a factory solenoid in good shape?

Maybe someone with a 69-up Camaro/Nova diagram will tell us what gauge the solenoid wire is in that harness.

Here is what www.aeroelectric.com/articles/strtctr.pdf has to say about starter solenoids: they draw about 10 amps to hold the solenoid extended, but require about 25 amps for a split second to get the starter gear to engage.

To overcome the 35amp instantaneous draw, I can see two ways to add a 40-up amp 4 terminal relay between the neutral safety switch connectors in the existing harness. The 4 prong relay has 2 output (switched) and two input prongs that require 3 or less amps to throw the switch.

First case: connect the supply (LH) connector to one of the output terminals and one of the input terminals on the relay. Connect the other output to the RH connector, which is connected to the starter solenoid. Connect the last relay terminal to the pedal switch supply line. Ground the other pedal switch line. When the key energizes the LH neutral connector wire, the relay gets power, but cannot pass it on until the pedal switch grounds the unenergized relay coil/input terminal - which will complete the circuit between the neutral safety switch connectors. This case requires only one small wire to pass through the bulkhead to the pedal switch.

Second case: Connect a separate 10/12/14 gauge wire with a 40amp inline fuse from the battery to the relay at the neutral safety switch connectors - in order to relieve the load on the keyswitch and the bulkhead connectors. connect the LH neutral switch supply wire (that carries current from the key switch to only one of the input relay terminals. The other two connections are as above: RH neutral switch connector to second relay output wire and second relay coil/input to a pedal switch wire. As above, only one small wire enters the passenger compartment. The key switch now only energizes the relay input coil and the added fused battery wire supplies the solenoid.

Have fun.

IMO the only thing nearly as much fun as driving a Corvette is working on one.

 

[Viet Nam Vett]

That's cool a factory design.....But as you state a "12 Gauge wire..!!..Lot's a Current there...quote]

The 66 factory wiring diagram identifies the PPL wire as 14 gauge. If that's correct, most tables indicate the factory was expecting 10 amps or less with 3% max voltage drop. I would think that the factory 12 gauge switch wires would handle the extra distance, but I have been wrong before.

Are you sure you have a factory solenoid in good shape?


I will try to find out what the normally expected solenoid load is, and maybe someone with a 69-up Camaro/Nova diagram will tell us what gauge the solenoid wire is in that harness.

This was on my 65 Vette Cp when it had a SB . The Starter had been rebuilt 2 years before and I had no problems starting it.

 

[magicv8]

It wasn't the starter that I was asking about. It seems the solenoid has 2 windings, one to instantaneously pull the starter gear into the flywheel teeth and another to hold it there. If the 25amp pull winding cross connects to the 10 amp hold winding, the solenoid will load 35 amps on the 14ga wire for the duration of the engine cranking sequence. That might explain the high load - or maybe not.

PS Here's a sketch of the first case relay (mentioned above)

 

[JohnZ]

Maybe someone with a 69-up Camaro/Nova diagram will tell us what gauge the solenoid wire is in that harness.
The factory '69-up Camaro/Nova purple solenoid wire is 12-gauge.