Wiring up my new distributor and Starter..extra wire??

S

Sargewesser

Member
1969 Buick Skylark, getting a 70 455 in her. Have new ready to run distributor, and high torque mini starter installed. Directions call to bypass the small yellow wire coming off starter since the flamethrower 2 coil doesn't require a capacitor.. do I just tape it off?
 
You can do that.
If you eliminate the circuit at the yellow wire, you may loose things like neutral safety switch if the car is so equipped. So, if you find something like that no longer functions, that will be things like a neutral safety switch.
The yellow wire only powers up while the starter is turning. It supplies a full battery voltage to the coil while starting. The coil receives a reduced voltage while running. You can just tape off the pink wire which ran to the coil before the upgrade to the pointless ignition.

I will leave what I already typed, but looking at your post again, you are referring only to the coil? I don't think the coil should make a difference. Leave it as is. As mentioned, cutting off the 12 volt start wire is done when eliminating a points distributor.
 
The OE capacitor is for radio interference suppression and is not even required on the original install. Your rewire is not for the coil install, it is for the distributor which no longer requires a reduced voltage to run. The Original install had two wires coming to the coil. One supplied reduced voltage all the time, and the other a full 12 volts from the starter only while cranking (the wire you are concerned about) . That wire will no longer be required and can be eliminated. Breaking it at the starter may eliminate things like the neutral safety switch. An HEI may require battery voltage, and may require a new 12 volt wire to the coil that supplies voltage whenever the ignition switch is on. Have a look at your instructions.
 
Sargewesser said:
Yes, I bought an HEI distributor.. and have a hi volt coil.
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Is it a GM Big Cap HEI distributor? The reason I ask is because some use the HEI description as a catch all for any electronic ignition distributor, even ones that have been converted from points. Most mini starter solenoids don't even have a provision for the yellow wire. That yellow wire bypasses a resistance wire in the engine harness. If you have a GM big cap HEI, you will need to replace that resistance wire.
 
Sargewesser said:
No TA Performance plug and play HEI..
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Yes, that is a GM big cap HEI Distributor. It needs full time battery voltage. If your engine harness is original, and you were using points, there is a resistance wire inline that must be replaced. The GM HEI will not run right or at all with the resistance wire.

v8buick.com

Installing points conversion, and HEI System function, tests, and modification.

I'm writing this because this is a frequently asked question (FAQ) on V8, and one of the first modifications owners make to an older car, is to replace...
v8buick.com v8buick.com
 
Sargewesser said:
It is. They had 3 levels.. rebuild, street strip, performance HEI.
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I am still unclear exactly which distributor you have from TA, but if it is the TA725B or 725R, it is a Ready to Run distributor, I encourage you to look at whatever instructions TA sent with the part. In the catalog, it looks like the MSD 8552 Distributor, and they need full time battery voltage as well. If the instructions specify that, you'll need to remove the aforementioned resistance wire.
 
I just messaged Mike Tomaszewski on V8Buick about the TA725. It requires full time battery voltage like a big cap GM HEI. You will need to eliminate and replace the resistance wire for the points.
 
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