I hope someone can help.. Trying to figure out this starter problem.. Got a 69 olds with a 77 motor.. Took the starter down when I out new headers and exhaust on. Now I can't figure out the wiring.. The guys who had it before me have this thing so cobbled the wires aren't even the right colors.. So... I hooked the starter to the battery and then out a known ground on it... One of the wires coming from the firewall allows me to get the starter to turn when I touch that wire to the starter then do the old screwdriver to the solenoid test.... But when I hook the wire to the starter ABD turn the key.. Nothing... There's only 3 wires coming out if the firewall near the ignition but none of them are hot .. I HAVE NO CLUE.. Help

 

The large wire, of course, goes to the large post at the top.
The purple wire should go to the terminal marked "s".
The black wire goes to the "I" terminal
The large wire should be "hot" from the battery.
The purple wire should be hot when you twist the ignition to "start" (in park or neutral)
The black wire sends 12 volts directly to the coil when cranking.

 

There should be a wire from starter to the coil think it's go to the r terminal usually a purple wire going to the s terminal and the big batt wire going to the starter i think this is correct been awhile I will see if I got a pic

 

When you say "large wire" are you referring to the connection coming directly off the battery ? Unfirtunateky the wires are all red

 

Try this.
Connect all the wires to the large terminal that go there. Yes, that is the one from the battery.
Then have someone twist the key while you check the two smaller wires with a test lamp. The one that is "hot" is the one that goes to the "S" terminal on the solenoid.

 

Here is a simple view of what your looking at if your running a points ignition.

 

I had actually tried that before but none of the wires came up hot.. Looking at that diagram though it appears that there's a wire going from the battery to not only the starter but also the ignition switch.. Is that right?

 

There is also a neutral safety switch in line with the start switch, if the shifter is not in park or neutral there won't be any voltage to the starter.


I'm assuming that before you put your headers on it worked fine.

 

Yes it worked .. I should have marked the wires... So am I right about there being a wire running from the battery directly to the ignition switch ? It looks that way from the picture

 

The red wire at the ignition switch should come from the battery through the horn relay stud. I'm not sure if there is a fusible link on it or not.