wiring questions???? please help!!!!

[rodstored-72]

hey guys,
well i am trying my best to fire up my engine in the truck ('72 chevy 2wd shortbed) for the first time. i have a new batt., all new wiring harnesses (engine & lights). i talked to the place that i got the harnesses from & when i explained that i had HEI distributor then i was told that i needed to splice in a red 12v wire to handle a constant 12v pwr supply. he told me to take out the two yellow wires from the engine harness (1-starter & 1-to coil). he said that the yellow wires were not needed, just the prpl wire to the starter. he said to cut the wht. wire (which was the main wire for the 2 yellow wires)all the way back to where it turns to a maroon color (right at the balkhead) and then splice in a red wire to run to the hei distributor. i have done all of this & have re-wrapped the complete harness. i now have the wires hooked back up to their respective places. i am not sure what to do now??? . i guess i am wondering how the power gets from the starter to everything else?? the pos. batt. cable goes to the starter, & the neg. batt. cable i have hooked up to the front of the cylinder head (next to the ac. comp. bracket) so i figured at the very least i should have pwr to simple things like the lights & etc. - right?? i also have the 2 grounding strapes hooked from the firewall to the back of the cyl, heads. anyways i guess i am looking for direction on what i have done so far & direction on what i need to do to get this motor that i have spent a pretty penny on to fire up!!! . if i could get some major help from you guys here i would really appreciate it!!! this is my first rebuild & i like to do this stuff, but it seems like the tasks are at times more then i bargained they would be thanks again for any input that you guys are able & willing to share!

very confused,
rodstored-72

[jhow66]

All power goes thru this block to bulk head and then to fuse panel and switch. (yours will have only one block as I made this one up for 2 circuits) Also there should be a fuselink (14 gauge) between battery and block. Feel free to ask for more help if you need it.

[E's c10swbfleet]

heres how mine gos
there is the wire that gos from the battery to the starter(the big red one)
there is the small red that gos to the key switch to the starter(small post)
then there is a green fron key switch to resister to starter (other small post)

thats how mine gos
call me and i will go out to the truck and walk u threw it

805 462 2768 echo

ps mine is nothing like the pic above and i run hei to

[john]

Heres some wiring diagrams that show the power wiring.

[neonlarry]

Just what seems to be the problem? The power to the starter is not what runs the rest of your vehicle. Do you not have power to the HEI? Have you tried to start it? What does it do?

[truckdude239]

should e a junction box on the fender next to the battery and a small wire that runs from the cable to it feeds the rest of the truck

[chickenwing]

Don't quite get it Neon. Sounds like he has no starter wire now. Forget the starter wire color. IIRC, it's brown.

You were told to remove all the yellow wire 'cause it's resistor wire. Drops "X" ohms per foot. If ya ran the yellow wire to the coil as is you would not have 12+volts at the coil.

Edit: Re-read the post and he says TWO yellow wires. Somebody changed somethin.... If ya can track back to where you cut the 2 wires, 1 will have power in start only and one will have power all the time. Run the start only wire back down to the solenoid and you should be in bidness.

[rodstored-72]

guys, thanks for the input. i was able to get her fired up this afternoon. boy she sounds greeaaattt!!!. i (we - a buddy of mine from church) figured out through the wiring daigram that the 2 fuse links by the batt. needed to be hooked to the j-box with the positive cable. after doing that then the lights and gauges seemed to work although the pass. light is very dim???? anyways once we knew we had power then we went to the next item which was the throttle return spring that i didn't realize that i needed (forgot) so we got that hooked up. then we put coolant in her & pushed her out of the garage & into the driveway. i then put a few gallons of super in her in the tank & then proceeded to pour a little into the carb vent tubes to prime it a bit. she didn't quite sound right trying to start so my buddy figured out that the mark on the dist. was one cylinder off from the correct location so we moved all the wires over 1 poll & proceeded to try her again. a few hits on the key & she turned over & ran like a bat out of h@**!!!!!!!!!. it was music to my (our) ears. i had been waiting for this moment for about 4 months. the only hickups are that the starter is not lining up with flex plate. it makes that "scratch" noise a few times before it finds a groove it likes, but once it does she starts right over! the only other items are that i still have a few spots where the brake lines are leaking. ohh yea the oil drips from where the dipstick is located into the block??? so now i need you guys to help me with the starter problem! we have tried shims. i think for what ever reason the starter just isn't lining up with the flex plate. i am going to ask the place that built my motor what starter they used. the other item of help is the dipstick, we could see the oil coming from there. i guess i want to know if the dipstick is "set" into any kind of sealant or something when it is put in the hole??? what kind of knowledge do you experts have to share???

anyways thanks for all the great support!!!!!!!!!!!!

rodstored-72

[chickenwing]

Dip stick is interferance fit. Pull out old one put new one in by lightly tapping with a big common screwdriver on the ridge on the tube. Stop tapping when ridge meets block. Installed.

I have an old book somewhere that mentions wich starter bolt hole to put shims under for "X" problem. I'll check tomarrow and post then if nobody else tells ya.

Congrats on your run-up.

[rodstored-72]

chickenwing,
thanks for the effort. i am going to see what the engine builder says monday. i guess i will look into buying 1 of those lokar dipsticks since you say a new one should fix my problem. thanks for the information...

rodstored-72

[chickenwing]

I forgot to look for the shim info... Sorry. Honestly don;t know when I'll get to it now. I don't get off till late tonight and I have out of town business for the next 2 days.

[rodstored-72]

chickenwing,
thanks for the effort, but i think i have the starter issue solved. i bit the bullet & bought a h.p. starter from loper's. the place that did my engine said that is all he ever uses on his high h.p. motors is the hytachi high power starter. so i am going to take the napa one back & use the one from loper's. i went ahead & put it on last night, it is sooo much lighter then the stock ones & seems to be alot better made!! the name kinda scared me, but after looking at it & working with it, it seems to be a really good built starter!
thanks for the info on the dipstick i am going to buy the lokar one & install this weekend.

rodstored-72

[Lippyp]

I bought a new engine loom from Wes at Classic Heartbeat and it's already setup for HEI, you can specify that when you buy it. Made by M&H and it's very good quality with all original type connectors pre-installed.