Tech Tip: Wiring a Racing Starter for faster RPM Starts

Tech Tip: Wiring a racing starter for faster RPM Starts shows you how to wire a racing starter.
This video demonstrates a significantly improved method to maximize RPMs from your racing starter. Importantly, this approach aligns with the recommendations of leading starter manufacturers for optimal performance and longevity.
Key Notes:
This video focuses solely on the major differences between the jumper wire method and the non-jumper wire method for the hot wire power feed.
It does not cover necessary grounds or protective circuit safeguards, which are critical for safety and performance. These topics will be addressed in future videos.
About My Setup:
I ensure all my race cars are equipped with clean grounds and dirty grounds for reliable performance. My primary ground includes a dedicated 1/0 ground wire running directly from the battery negative terminal to the engine block.
For safety, all my main power is routed through a high-quality, high-current on/off kill switch. While this video doesn't focus on kill switches or fuses, racers should customize their setups with appropriate safety measures for their needs.
Results:
Removing the jumper wire and eliminating any current-limiting solenoid between the battery and the starter's main post dramatically improved performance. You can clearly hear the difference as my roots-blown SBC cranks with 10.5:1 static compression, spinning an 8-71 blower, mechanical fuel pump, and alternator with ease.
Protecting Your Setup:
I use the solenoid to feed power to the starter solenoid's "start" spade terminal. This prevents the high initial current surge from hitting my power switch panel, which is critical for managing my car's various power functions. The last thing I, or any racer needs, is to have a surge damage their power switch panel!
Stay tuned for a future video where I'll dive deeper into the importance of clean and dirty grounds for race car electrical systems.
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[@KevinWilsonSBC]

This video demonstrates a significantly improved method to maximize RPMs from your racing starter. Importantly, this approach aligns with the recommendations of leading starter manufacturers for optimal performance and longevity. Key Notes: - This video focuses solely on the major differences between the jumper wire method and the non-jumper wire method for the hot wire power feed. - It does not cover necessary grounds or protective circuit safeguards, which are critical for safety and performance. These topics will be addressed in future videos. About My Setup: I ensure all my race cars are equipped with clean grounds and dirty grounds for reliable performance. My primary ground includes a dedicated 1/0 ground wire running directly from the battery negative terminal to the engine block. For safety, all my main power is routed through a high-quality, high-current on/off kill switch. While this video doesn't focus on kill switches or fuses, racers should customize their setups with appropriate safety measures for their needs. Results: Removing the jumper wire and eliminating any current-limiting solenoid between the battery and the starter's main post dramatically improved performance. You can clearly hear the difference as my roots-blown SBC cranks with 10.5:1 static compression, spinning an 8-71 blower, mechanical fuel pump, and alternator with ease. Protecting Your Setup: I use the solenoid to feed power to the starter solenoid's "start" spade terminal. This prevents the high initial current surge from hitting my power switch panel, which is critical for managing my car's various power functions. The last thing I, or any racer needs, is to have a surge damage their power switch panel! Stay tuned for a future video where I'll dive deeper into the importance of clean and dirty grounds for race car electrical systems. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!

[@dukecraig2402]

There's been plenty of vehicles set up like this from the factory, if memory serves correct GM vehicles all through the 70's had their starters wired this way, Fords had the heavy relay set up the way you're eliminating it in this video throughout the 70's, but GM's had the battery cable that went directly from the battery to the starter (solenoid), and had a small relay used to power up the windings in the solenoid so the contacts would close and power the starter.

[@toralfcross3819]

It's interesting that people ever started using the method in question in this video. One solenoid of correct current is all that is ever needed.

[@sbcmike2765]

I thought they did it only to eliminate having constant 12v from the trunk all the way to the starter with no fuse. This way that long wire is only powered during crank if the second solenoid is in the trunk next to the battery.

[@toralfcross3819]

@sbcmike2765 that would make sense with a battery in the trunk and several feet of battery cable that could short to ground.

[@sbcmike2765]

@@toralfcross3819 David Frieburger did a video about it with one of his cars. That was the reason he gave for it. I always frowned upon rear batterys just because of that hot wire until I saw his video.

[@toralfcross3819]

@@sbcmike2765 the 200 Amp relay that David Freiburger used in the video I saw is very similar to what I find in electric forklifts that I work on. They usually have a high current contactor very close to the battery leads and often times they do not have chassis ground.

[@toralfcross3819]

​@@sbcmike2765yes I think using a relay or contactor right next to the battery would be the safest thing to do.

[@ChrisS-oo6fl]

In dirt track racing, All of our extremely high end, expensive, light weight, mini, reverse/bell housing -mount starts come with a pre wired jumper. We still do it this way for multiple reasons. It really hurts nothing and the remote solenoids are plenty capable of moving the 18v current and the necessary amperage required. We actually have instances where we start the car in gear rolling it with the starter like a push start with zero problems. When we start our 950+ Hp high compression engines they fire near instantly not like displayed in this video. The remote solenoids are fairly in expensive and can be swapped out instantly rather then the entire starter which is what fails even wired with out a jumper. In fact, they fail more that way. The solenoids rarely fail and to our team, we treat them a consumable that we change every few seasons just to be certain we have no issues. Our environment is far more harsh then anything others put their starters through. We do have starter failures and testing had proved that wiring them either way made absolutely no difference. The failures where not a result of s supply issue and was a result of pushing the motor sizes smaller and smaller along with the quality of windings, etc. it’s really a moot point and either way works fine except a $15 remote solenoid is a better failure limit then an extremely costly starter. You also cannot tell the delta in starter engine speeds by ear and comparison and would require a simple dyno to test the insignificant difference resulting from different wiring styles. What people are overlooking isn’t starter wiring. It’s appropriate running of electrical, wire gauges and grounding techniques. They over look the need for a clean bus, dirty bus and direct power/ grounds. They also overlook EMI/EMF and fail to use appropriate dual shielded wire with a drain wire for ignition/ crank trigger wires. They often create ground loops with spaghetti grounds and fail to run ignition wires directly to the battery. They think a chassis ground is a catch all for every ground and it’s just that a chassis ground and only a chassis ground. All other devices are on a clean or dirty ground bus. Solenoids, starter, relays, etc are all on a dirty bus. You don’t run anything under 2/0 gauge for the primary feed. You also run diodes on all your accessories such as solenoids, helmet blowers and relays because they cause massive voltage spikes. These are things that matter and are overlooked.

[@912ruckus2]

A drag racer explained to me that in a crash you might not be able to access a cut off and it may be a moment before somebody that knows where it is comes on scene. A way to get more amps is use 2 relays and bus bar them. 3 if needed.

[@Videoswithsoarin]

for what purpose

[@CarothersSecurity]

@@Videoswithsoarin So your starter wire is not constantly hot like the guy in the video wants it wired. Which is not the correct or safe way to wire it.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

At 2:36 thats basically how I set up a relocated battery. I'll have the solenoid close to the battery, and that way the + cable running to the front is only hot during cranking.

[@RyTrapp0]

@@CarothersSecurity Meanwhile, there's who knows how many cars that instead have that big hot wire going to the remote solenoid that they've chosen to mount on the inner fender or firewall instead of to the starter, making no difference at all😂 "Not correct or safe" - yet it's common in OEM cars

[@Cantthinkofahandle117]

In the late 60's/early 70's, my dad had a '55 Pontiac gasser with a 365 Cadillac motor with 260 psi of compression. You couldn't just order a high torque starter then so he and may grandfather wired 2 batteries in series for 24v. He said it would light off immediately so nothing got too hot.

[@stevesmith9254]

That motor sounds nice!

[@Bobbyc5045]

Big advantage here. One can quickly change starter without disconnecting battery, if it needed to be changed in a hurry. No power to starter if working in the area like removing headers. Less chance of arc or fire in the area . We always wire the Chrysler Hemi drag cars that way. Another advantage is solenoid is on fire wall easy to attach jumper starter switch to spin motor over if needed. Try it lots of advantages.

[@mikeg4163]

Just a note… the main reason to wire with the jumper was to prevent a 1/0 battery cable from being a fire hazard. That heavy main cable being hot all the time is asking to burn the car down if shorted in any way. To your point,wiring as you suggest is accurate IF you include some type of mega-fuse right off the battery. Can also use a fusible link, but that is messy if it needs to “blow”.

[@javymcdeez3958]

On off switch on main cable manually operational don't need battery during storage or when driving, only for starting. Anti theft capable.

[@javymcdeez3958]

Thanks for video. Instantly makes logical sense. My fix for my starters is factory mini style Ford units I never did jump solonoid at starter always push button but I would buy 2/0 cable used to solonoid and then to battery and that has been working good. Cannot wait to try this over at the dyno tomorrow 😁 gotta 440 Chrysler blow thru cobb webb to spin over🤡

[@thechillhacker]

@@javymcdeez3958 The whole problem is that hot wire vibrating and shorting against the chassis or some articulation point, or touching against your headers while the car is running, not so much in storage. That is why I use a ford style solenoid and a jumper on even my GMs. They start perfectly adequately, I already keep solenoids around for the rest of my fleet and repairs, and It is just a bit of mental insurance not to always have a huge unfused live cable snaking off the battery to the depths of the reactor pit. Just my 2 strips. That being said, ot all solenoids are created equal, and it is definitely worthwhile to get the best ones you can, and overspec things as much as possible. and don't forget to clean the metal for a good ground! This is VITAL!

[@thechillhacker]

@@javymcdeez3958 disabling the battery while doing a pull on a dedicated drag car, perhaps with no nonessential electronics like lights may be viable, but no street car is going to be happy if you detach the battery while it is running and try to do anything but run the motor, if they even allow that. I imagine most vregs would just go nuts with nothing to bias or essentially use as a capacitance tank for the regulation circuit

[@jdubcbr600]

@@mikeg4163 I wonder why the engineers at the big three never thought of and utilized "the jumper"

[@gordongrimes2797]

I rewired this way, it makes no deferance in how fast the engine turns over. Meziere claims the starter will live longer there way, I had 1-0 all the way to the solenoid to the starter to begain with. thanks for the video it will help racers understand the correct wiring method.

[@flinch622]

Yes sir. An underrated solenoid *will* drop voltage. Price? Underspeed. Measure amps pulled by the bendix coil, and size wire appropriately. 40A? Use 8awg. Also, return wire size to the battery should match supply to the motor.

[@aidaneckart5054]

People often overlook the simple things. A great video Kevin! Awesome burnout at the end too!!

[@AZdirtdog]

I do this with a simple 30a relay running 10ga wire, we have always called it a hard start if the starter doesn’t kick over well with the regular 12ga key switch. You can put it right next to the starter and just run a few inches of 10ga. And still use the keyed power to activate the cube relay.

[@akira5982]

The Meziere Ts400 starter is a 3hp 2.238kw motor, current @ 12v is 186.5Amps at Normal load, which can multiply depending on the motors load, TS400 solenoid max current is 40amps, dont have to use the solenoid its just safer as it handles higher current, if using a jumper make sure the wire is rated for max current (40amps) but remember a jumper wire is unprotected, always safer to fuse & over size ur wire a little just in case 😉 plenty ways this can be done, i use a solid state relay.

[@robertford8371]

Main purpose of Ford solenoid is to prevent having a live heavy wire next to headers at all times. Many cars have had bad electrical fires from starter wires shorting out on headers, only way to kill it is with turning off battery switch. If you are going down the track at the time then there is a lot of damage done by the time you get stopped and kill the power. It is a safety thing, not a starting thing.

[@billbirmingham]

any moron that lets the starter wire hit the headers shouldn't be wiring anything to begin with.

[@blow0me]

It's dumbass. If your wires are too close to headers, fix that problem, not something else that doesn't need fixed

[@sanger440]

All my starting/starter related problems went away once going coil near plug with EFI. Cranking a 15:1 compression BBC at 15 degrees of timing (vs locked 30 degrees of timing) doesn’t need 16 volts and certainly doesn’t need a meziere starter that burns up solenoids every season.

[@shovel5180]

Spin it up, hit ignition. Problem solved. You're welcome. 👍

[@anthonyking4387]

😂😂😂😂😂! These comments really let a person know how many bought race cars is out there!

[@johne189]

FWIW, Ford (and others, especially "heavy" stuff) factory wired with both schemes when using "plunger" solenoid starters. Some Ford examples: Beginning circa 1970, 429/460 with "plunger" starter were factory wired with a jumper at the starter solenoid. The fender-mounted relay would pass high current via a single cable to the starter In the "Modular" era, Ford used its old standby fender-mounted relay to low-current energize the starter's "plunger" solenoid. A direct-to-battery cable provided the high current.

[@briankennedy5578]

The early ones didn't have a jumper wire .there wasn't a solenoid on the starter, only on inner fender.

[@pauljanssen7594]

Basically boils down to this you are a starter like a Ford starter order old fashioned Chevy starter. It's called one wire starter or two wire starter

[@joshuacox1046]

The reason we use the older design is for hot start failure, if the solenoid goes from 0 volts/amps to full battery volts/amps. It will hit when it's hot. Like just stopping to get gas hot. With the constant hook up the solenoid will not pop.

[@Biokemist-o3k]

New subscriber here...Really great information...thank you-John

[@Scurvyraceworxs]

I had never ran into wiring like this. But our local track opened back up this past summer and I tried figuring out who the person was that started that trend

[@johne189]

There may be some "Ford" look-alike starter relays with an ampacity of only 200 amps. However, the majority of the OE relays will easily handle full battery current for longer than the duration of typical cranking time. The big upgrade here is 1/0 cable and raised voltage. Either wiring scheme is workable - with adequate components, of course. With some installations there is an advantage to having the hot crowded starter area "dead" when not cranking. Wide-open straight six? Route the starter cable directly to the starter. Crowded big-block starter with headers? It could be worth considering having the starter cable "dead" when not cranking.

[@2DE808]

I have seen the first way as a cure for hot start problem.

[@StlNovas]

It would be nice to see side by side test results of it one way and then the other ways using the same vehicle, the same engine setup, the same weather temperatures, the same starter, the same battery, using the same solenoids called out and so on with JUST the wiring and different parts being used in the different configurations.

[@oby-1607]

The car. Very nice in the idle and throttle response.

[@EricErnst]

I do it without the extra solenoid.. pushbutton activates the starter solenoid directly. Heavy positive cable straight to big starter terminal. Activating the solenoid takes very little current. A 30A push button is more than capable.

[@AndyET]

I'm so confused as to why this guy thinks you need to have two solenoids in series?!

[@billbirmingham]

so, you're admitting to not having a neutral safety switch... Never seen a neutral safety switch that would carry more than an amp or two.

[@vrm86gt]

That is a fast starter!

[@MrsSunshine75]

Sure was, prob 16v or even 24v!

[@narmale]

@@MrsSunshine75 he said it was 16v, thats why

[@patrickm.8425]

Thanks Kevin, great tip!! I'll remember this when we start wiring our ride up this spring. 👍

[@MrTheHillfolk]

2:36 thats how ill set up a battery moved to the trunk, and have the solenoid back there. That way, the big ol + battery cable running to the front is only "hot" during cranking. Live your life how you want ,i prefer to not have that cable hot all of the time in case of an accident.

[@davidreed6070]

What is the purpose for the remote switch. Why not just go to the starter with both wires?

[@cramstick]

seems there might be more load on a high performance starter than the starter button can handle. An oem setup should be fine as that's how I've done it.

[@hotrodray6802]

We have had several Ford type solenoids on stock Ford starters weld solid internally and continue cranking. Multiple bad ones from Oreillys. Solution was to get a different part number for a tractor or F600 truck.

[@JohnDoesItAll]

Thank you for making this video. I was reluctant to do the Jumper wire deal. This makes much more sense.

[@freshkryp69]

Kilovac & Gigavac, Omron, TE tyco all make 500a and up solenoid's. They are pricey.

[@seetheforest]

I'm having to replace the solenoid on my lawn mower.. ..this is a DUAL solenoid system. On a normal Chevy style starter the battery does hook directly to the starter solenoid on the starter. Removing the connector (jumper) to the starter from the solenoid is an incomplete circuit, the brushes and starter motor has no connection to power. The remote Ford style solenoid to engage the other solenoid doesn't connect power without the "jumper" to the starter from the second solenoid.. I can wire it up like this but I don't think the extra amps to the solenoid will change the amps without a jumper main lug to the starter windings.

[@StlNovas]

Electrical systems too need to have in place protection devices in the proper spots to where if a short occurs a fuse, fusible link, or circuit breaker automatically opens to stop the flow of power.

[@chuckles3265]

So the starter itself has another path to the negative terminal, like through the block?

[@mcraceworks]

That leaves a very high current unfused cable running down the car. In an accident could spark creating a fire. Before safety crew shows up to turn batt switch off.

[@KevinWilsonSBC]

How is that not true already for the main power cable on the live side of the cut off switch? Take a closer look at the official Meziere drawing included in the video. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!

[@mcraceworks]

When wired the "wrong" way the 1/0 cable only has power when power is applied with start switch. Other than that it is dead.

[@carlpreston1680]

Almost everything with an engine starter ever made has a hot cable going to the starter unless there's a remote solenoid involved or the old time non-solenoid starters that had a heavy duty push button switch that interrupted the power flow . Besides there's nothing wrong with putting the battery disconnect on the ground side also , like most equipment comes with I have a ground disconnect on my truck and I never had any issues .

[@mikeg4163]

Battery disconnect on ground side is fine, but if used to shut the car off will cause damage to alternator if so equipped. If not running it’s fine.

[@blow0me]

And that's why you fit a battery cutout switch. Duh. And such cables are only at risk if a dumbass has wired the car and placed them at risk

[@eflanagan1921]

Very cool ,smart is fast !

[@joebass2458]

Thank you for this information makes total sense Kevin. I’ll be making this update this off season.

[@427_FE]

I learned something today! Thanks!

[@jeromebishsr.1394]

How do you have all positive wiring and no ground

[@blow0me]

the vehicle, engine, everything is the ground. Everyone knows this hence it does not need shown

[@billbirmingham]

because, durka durka, the ground is through the block that the starter attaches to.

[@bobqzzi]

Good video. I had no idea anyone would wire a starter the first way. As for the 2nd way, that's how most oem starters are wired except they don't use that massive Ford type solenoid, they just use a Bosch type or similar. That Ford relay is heavy and not too reliable

[@nickhale117]

I, too, have never seen a starter wired up the first way... I've never even heard of people doing that, nor would I have even considered it. Seems kind of asinine to me.

[@yurimodin7333]

@@nickhale117 probobly comes from guys swapping GM motors into Ford cars.

[@fastone371]

@@nickhale117 The reason for using a Ford solenoid and the jumper wire on a GM is so you don't have that big, unfused positive battery cable running right along side of your headers. That is a fire hazard, one you never need to worry about using the Ford solenoid. Wired with a remote solenoid and the jumper wire you can change the starter without disconnecting the battery, the only time there is power to the starter is when cranking. Every Ford used to come that way right out of Detroit, it has worked just fine for decades. The problem is Chinese remote solenoids, not the wiring method. I wire every GM car like this for the last 35 years without an issue. I use quality solenoids, not the cheap China junk you get from the interweb. I know I don't suffer any voltage loss because I have performed voltage drop tests on cars wired this way. I will continue to wire my customer cars with remote solenoids especially when my customers appreciate the added level of safety. People who run battery voltage straight to the starter simply don't understand 12 volt systems and have not had the unfortunate luck of a GM starter solenoid sticking yet, the added level of security is a nice piece of mind, fire is a very real hazard. But you do you.

[@daviddroescher]

It used to be The Way to wire a SBC on the dirt track back before the gear reductionstarters became prevalent. It was also a technical bulletin tor 1ton Toyota uhauls with over 190k mi, due to wire gage being too small and building ristance with time and heat from exhaust . This voltage drop to caused repetitive silonoid failure. Jump it as shown and get all 500k mi out of the starter. . I did this to a boat I worked on to simplify the wiring in the under deck motor sump. It is a pain inthe ... to jump a starter on the bottom of the motor covered in buldge scum ( potential explosion/fire hazard) . I mounted a plate with the silonoid and a button to the bulkhead with a hot on start only single wire. This solved a problem the company had hadfor 25years with this boat burning up starters 1-2× a month for there 6month season. I not knowing was informed had solved this issue of voltage drop from 180' of wire from the battery in the symptoms the key and back to the motor in the sump. Adding a battery in the helmet only cut the wire to 90' and limited help bumped the signal to 9.75v

[@briankennedy5578]

​@@fastone371Yes. The worse thing with the Fords was the junk terminal end they used to connect the actuation wire to the starter. You'd be lucky to find one that hasn't been replaced. I'd like to have a dollar for each one of those I replaced.

[@DarRantz-kn6ew]

I'm curious does the starter manufacture call for the stand alone solenoid? I would have never guessed a starter solenoid would draw 60-70 amps

[@2Truth4Liberty]

4:47 What is the point of the remote solenoid in this setup? Why not run the push button to starter solenoid insteadoif the remote solenoid?

[@blow0me]

The remote solenoid serves no purpose at all and is completely pointless.

[@hladick]

The jumper wire styel would start spinning the starter before the bendix is engaged into the flywheel.

[@akira5982]

Modern starters dont use old school bendix springs, they use a solenoid to push a plunger 😉

[@thecontrarian9933]

If you're going to wire it this way isn't the extra Ford style solenoid unnecessary?

[@johndollarhite]

Why use 2 solenoids and just 1 with no jumper wire ?

[@arturozarate1752]

I approve this message. I've never been satisfied with the way that Power Master has said to wire their starters. I'm a Senior Master Automotive and Diesel Technician for Ford and this is the most OEM way to wire a starter. Good video!

[@briankennedy5578]

Most OEM way for a Ford anyway.

[@tomb8847]

In doing this for years

[@sbcmike2765]

I thought the whole point of a second solenoid was so that yoy didnt have a constant hot wire from the trunk all the way to the starter. If you are just trying to save the actual ignition switch i would just use a relay to the solenoid switch.

[@jackhanon2294]

Kevin, I hope I can get to you through this. I tried to email and it won’t work for me. My name is Jack and I have a 65 El Camino. You did a video and talked about a fellow making a mounting system for the top bars on a G body, and was hoping he would make one for the Malibu’s. I was wondering if you did and if you could put me in contact with him thank you so much for the videos you put out been awful good for me. I did buy tin soldier system, but feel there’s not enough adjustment with the mounting for the upper bars.

[@heffedirte6243]

You do not need that extra solenoid. The solenoid is on the starter. If you took that extra solenoid out, you almost are wiring it right. The spade connector can be powered by something much smaller.

[@TEAMWRIGHTEOUS]

If you want your starter to spin faster, just 24v start it and voila. 😁💪

[@tahotoy]

It's almost like ford designed some redundancy to avoid what an owner is willing to do to stop a runaway starter.

[@jimhailmann7052]

Too dangerous on a circle track car to have battery cable direct to the starter, thats why we use a jumper wire

[@timleonard86]

Guess GM and Painless wiring been doing it wrong all these years ive only been using one starter solenoid

[@alangurley4152]

HEY FRIEND, COULD YOU PLEASE DO AN UPDATE ON THIS INTERESTING VIDEO SHOWI G THE NEGATIVE OR GROUND SIDE OF THE CIRCUIT IN YOUR DIAGRAM? I FIND IT VERY CONFUSING ONLY SEEING THE POSITIVE SIDE. THE FACTORY DOCUMENT ALTHOUGH COMPLETE, IS SO DIFFERENT THAN YOUR AND BEING SHOWN ONLY MOMENTARILY, IT IS NOT THAT ENLIGHTENING. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, ALL THE BEST!

[@mikematty5104]

I still see self proclaimed pros wire starters the first way. The voltage drop across the external solenoid will only get greater with every cycle.

[@fastone371]

The reason for using a Ford solenoid and the jumper wire on a GM is so you don't have that big, unfused positive battery cable running right along side of your headers. That is a fire hazard, one you never need to worry about using the Ford solenoid. Wired with a remote solenoid and the jumper wire you can change the starter without disconnecting the battery, the only time there is power to the starter is when cranking. Every Ford used to come that way right out of Detroit, it has worked just fine for decades. The problem is Chinese remote solenoids, not the wiring method. I wire every GM car like this for the last 35 years without an issue. I use quality solenoids, not the cheap China junk you get from the interweb. I know I don't suffer any voltage loss because I have performed voltage drop tests on cars wired this way. I will continue to wire my customer cars with remote solenoids especially when my customers appreciate the added level of safety. People who run battery voltage straight to the starter simply don't understand 12 volt systems and have not had the unfortunate luck of a GM starter solenoid sticking yet, the added level of security is a nice piece of mind, fire is a very real hazard.

[@jdjd0711]

Why use 2 solenoid s? Just wire your button to the switch wire on the starter solenoid...

[@tonyalto1014]

The starter mounted solenoid draws too much current for a switch. You need a relay in the circuit. We don’t used the old fashioned solenoids as pictured. We used the little cube relays. They will handle 30 or 40 amps and only draw a couple hundred ma from the switch.

[@backyardbuilttrucks1]

We do just that and never had an issue is 20 years starter spins just as fast as the other way without a second solenoid .

[@seetheforest]

If anything use a bigger cable and two ground wires back to the battery and frame. Power is nothing without ground.

[@Foxtrot1967]

Love the outro

[@anotherbluenova6358]

Well I'll be damed. I'll have to switch mine around this winter.

[@nova467spanker]

KevinWilsonSBC so im not disagreeing with you but wouldn't you want to fuse the wire from the battery to the starter or put a breaker or something? 600-1000 cranking amps without protection doesn't seem like a good thing.

[@billbirmingham]

It's how every car has been wired since the 50s. Ive never seen a 1000A fuse in a car.

[@nova467spanker]

nope, my 70 Cougar was wired like the first diagram in his video from factory. Why would a car manufacture build cars to drive around with an all time hot wire direct from the battery all the way to the starter - they dont. Like Kevin said, this is only for HIGH PERFORMANCE starters. So again my question is, how should one put a safty inline on the hot cable from battery to starter?

[@billbirmingham]

@@nova467spanker your cougar has a 1000A fuse between battery and starter, or starter relay? Yeah, ok. Tell me another one.

[@nova467spanker]

@@billbirmingham i never said it did lol. Maybe you should look at the first diagram again. The factory cable going from the solenoid to the starter is only hot momentary during STARTING. The way Kevin showed, the cable to the starter is hot ALL THE TIME. Now with that said, look at the danger of having the cable HOT ALL THE TIME being routed by the exhaust and possibly laying on the frame and how that can potentially short out Humm lets see, my RED TOP OPTIMA shorting out would be real fun.

[@Drunken_Hamster]

Is this even necessary on smaller engines IE under 400 (or even 300) cubic inches and/or under 12:1 compression?

[@joshgorham750]

Buddy of mine with a built 440 is under 12:1 and is having issue with power to the starter causing very slow crank.

[@briankrieg5801]

I don't understand why you would use a solenoid to operate a solenoid. I've been going from a high amperage start switch to the start terminal on the starter for decades and never had an issue. There's less wires and parts to go bad that way.

[@richardbeals1403]

Why even use a ford style starter solenoid in your suggested wiring format there is no need for it. The starter itself has a built in low amperage solenoid to activate it. There is no problem with wiring a starter with a jumper wire as long as you use a remote solenoid designed to carry the load of the starter. I consider it a safety feature as with a remote solenoid you dont have a risk of shorting out a long run of battery cable that is hot all the time, it will only be energized when the starter is engaged.

[@hedgepethracing9590]

Makes 100% sense.

[@antoniobarrientos1230]

Thanks for that tip 👍 God bless you

[@patrickwendling6759]

Thank you for your knowledge and videos USA

[@charlieradnetter3705]

Very Helpfull, can't wait to change because my hi dollar starter is not spinning that fast

[@KevinWilsonSBC]

This method along with a 1/0 ground from the battery to the engine block and you will be much better starting and longer life of your solenoid and starter!! I need to do one of these tech tips on clean and dirty grounds. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!

[@justinvanburen8259]

Nice video!!

[@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259]

There's no solenoid on my Ford starter.

[@dsmkyle8802]

This is been a thing on factory cars I've seen. Good information thanks for the video

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

Thanks COOP ...

[@DadKevinWilsonSBC]

Yes, that is a very good video. I have been doing it wrong for many years but now I know the right way to do it. Absolutely love the starter.

[@pl7868]

Had issues with my sbc stroker starter , it was only 11,1/2 com , made up new starter cables using cable from a arc welder don't use any more , no ford solinoid just wired normal , spins like a sewing machine now , most of the stuff you buy now is made in china and it is crap , never heard anyone complain the cables on their 50 year old miller weren't heavy enough , have seen a lot of starter cables not worth putting on no matter what they claim the gauge to be

[@mattodombigoscustoms9957]

I usually do that but put a circuit breaker between the starter and battery just in case something happens won't stay hott on the big cable not the switched one

[@yurimodin7333]

uhhhh, why not just wire it up like a chevy comes from the factory.....battery to main lug. Cranking button straight to the starter's solenoid......that's kind of the point of the starter having its own solenoid vs the Ford method.

[@travispfannmuller7717]

because the solenoid heat soaks and will cause excessive current draw, we used to do this all the time before the new generation of high torque starters were available. Try it before you knock it, put an amp clamp on the cable from the battery to the starter and it'll surprise you

[@DwayneAkers]

The problem really is that long voltage path through the ignition switch and neutral safety to the solenoid is not enough amps to make the hot solenoid. Most don’t get the wiring fixed, or do and still have the design issue causing problems. Remote solonoid fixes it… that short jumper between 1/0 battery cable and solonoid is way better than 15ft of wire, switches, and bad spade connections.

[@Latuya-y1n]

For big 1400 cid Darren blower nitromethane Allen Johnson pe V8 18 liter remote starter u said racing 🏎️

[@trailerparkcryptoking5213]

How many amps does the low amp side of the starter relay draw? Factory starter? Meziere starter? Everything in that low amp circuit needs to be able to handle the required amperage. Now on the safety side, that long unfused 1/O wire is a fire hazard if it ever shorts to ground, so that main power cutoff switch is a great idea as long as it’s only used to start the car.....

[@blow0me]

Starter solenoid is usually less than 10A. So it's dumb adding another solenoid inline

[@jdubcbr600]

Thats crazy. I've never seen a starter wired like that with the jumper, its just flat out wrong

[@plap.]

With the jumper the switch is used to switch the ground not the hot. You can ground anywhere right next to the switch and supply power with a very short wire. In essence you have one wire to run without the wire being hot and reducing spark possibility up at the dash. Better and safer set up. No fuse is nessasary either, you don't have to fuse a ground wire

[@briankennedy5578]

​@@plap.This is absolutely incorrect. You better take another look . Switch hooks directly to battery and first solenoid. Only thing jumper wire does is actuate second solenoid when voltage is supplied to starter, and robs some of that voltage for the second solenoid. All the ground is supplied thru the chassis

[@briankennedy5578]

​@@plap.Also you can put fuse on either side

[@daviddroescher]

​@briankennedy5578 how do you suggest adding a fuse between the starter mounting bolt×2 as well as the starter case?

[@mikeyshoemagoo0384]

Me either I just bypassed it but I am looking forward to trying it this way because it doesn't start right

[@ThePaulv12]

Why do you need 2x solenoids? Seems to me theres a lack of understanding basic electrical principals. Reminds me very much of a hot rodder recently saying you need hevier wiring on those because theyre 24v. Not really. The higher the voltage the lower the amps. At 6v you need heavy wiring. A 6v starter might need 600a, a 12v starter 300a a 24v starter just 150a. I understand how sheep think.

[@fixitnige]

Why would you even use the remote solenoid when there is one on the starter this make no sense just wire the battery to the solenoid on the starter and the push button to the solenoid.

[@crazyjon1tire854]

I don't know who or why someone would wire a starter in either of these ways cause neither of them make any sense at all🤦‍♂️

[@garyradtke3252]

I have never wired any starter the first way in 55 years. It makes no sense. All marine engines are wired in the second fashion and we call the solenoid the slave solenoid. Boat wiring can be vary long compared to automotive.

[@Ken-RicSki]

I feel like this was not very time efficient just to say, nothing new, just get a good power cable to the starter solenoid and wire it like most every stock starter? I figured this was gunna actually be a trick like rewinding or over volting the starter

[@Drmcclung]

Old Ford guys with old worn out Ford starters know! It'll help you stop blowing through so many modern crap solenoids on a starter that's worn out and draws more current than it used to. Those worried about a permanent hot lead on the starter, I need you think harder about that lol.

[@keithalexander8956]

If you have a quality battery disconnect on the + cable it will be a breaker if the cable is shorted. My cable tie broke and the cable fell between the body and frame, on launch from the tree car died. Jumped out and disconnect had tripped. Pulled disconnect on and instantly popped again. Found the cable between the body and frame after towing back to the pits.

[@123nova87]

It sounds like that because it’s 16 volts. A regular 12 volt starter and battery won’t sound like that.

[@StevePaxton-gv4tp]

They may explain what happened to me...

[@FadetoBlack1463]

Need to tighten up that 2 step on the chip. Large fluctuation in rpm there which will make for inconsistent launches/60's ...

[@bradblakeley3408]

Not the way thats wired ..Now ur starting button is firing 2 solenoid's.

[@Starchybugger]

all wrong, remote switch should tap the starter motor pole. parallel two sources of high current to the motor. your close

[@AA-tb4ff]

just put the battery cable to the starter and the push button wire to the starter solenoid. you dont even need that ford solenoid. your customers are sniffing glue

[@jamesmclachlan4938]

Hehehe laughing in MOPAR reduction starter noise

[@fireworks1727]

Your setup works great until you smash it to the wall going balls deep and the frame smacks the side of the starter and ground out and causes a huge short..yeah. no thanks.. I'll keep the live wire up on the firewall away from the frame.

[@CHASNME]

I want to wire my setup without the remote starter relay, instead using a high current switch directly to the solenoid. Is this possible?

[@CarothersSecurity]

Without using the solenoid you will have a constant hot wire run to the starter. This sets up a fire hazard and you should not do that. Always use the solenoid.

[@CHASNME]

@CarothersSecurity so it would be possible to wire a momentary switch directly to the starter solenoid assuming some form of circuit protection was used? There's a number of high current constant hot circuits on a car but they are all fused.

[@mikemaguire5507]

Mini starter wires just like the regular Chevy starter. I don’t get it. I just eliminated the 12 V to the coil cause we know the coil only gets 8 V stock Chevy wiring harness I mean, am I wrong?

[@rgr67camaronoprep33]

700.00 dollars for a sbc starter. whew.

[@noahdunaway]

I have the Meziere 130 tooth starter flywheel combo which works fantastic but it’s a $1,000.00 🤦‍♂️

[@joecummings1260]

Funny how we ran 12 to 1 compression with point coil ignition and 12 volt batteries using nothing but GM delco starters 45 years ago. Later on when the olds diesel came out, I could build one of those starters to fit a small block

[@shovel5180]

Keep adding more weak links to your electrics. I'll be at the top of the staging lane. Waiting......

[@jarvislarson6864]

The solenoid on a meizere powermaster ect with higher torque motors were built with weak or draw too much current .....hogwash they went to the trouble put their name on it and skimp is what youre saying or that youre smarter or they arent smart enough to know your alleged fix? These performance parts manufacturers putting $ jnto aponsorships and events giving $ for contingency parts being used on cars at events that place up in the points or win arent getting customer feedback? Nope not buying that my powermaster high torque reduction gear starter needs a deviation from design to fix it when nothing is really needed