Help with 77' starter wiring

[Spence]

I just finished stock rebuild on a 72 350 for a 77 jimmy

it looks like the previous owner f**D up my the started wiring

I found a think pink wire cobbed to a thin brown one

pink one follows the rest of the stared wiring back to harness
brown one follows frame to the gas tank area

any idea what they are and where they actually go / do

[Spence]

[Spence]

I had a lot of trouble uploading these pics I didn't mean to upload them twice

[ray_mcavoy]

Welcome!

There should be 3 wires down there by the starter:

(1) A 10 gauge red wire with a 14 gauge red fusible link connected to the large BAT stud on the starter solenoid (along with the positive battery cable). This is the main power feed wire from the battery to the rest of the truck. The red coloring may have faded and is now making this wire appear pink. And the thinner brown wire connected to it could be a replacement fusible link .... fusible link is basically just a short section of smaller gauge wire but it has a special type of insulation that is designed to remain intact if the wire inside burns out). The factory splice between the 10ga wire and 14ga fusible link was originally encapsulated in a molded round plastic insulator.

(2) There should also be a 12 gauge purple wire with a small ring terminal that attaches to the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid. This wire comes from the ignition switch and is used to engage the starter.

(3) An 18 gauge tan wire that exits the engine harness near the starter and then runs along the frame back to the fuel tank. This is the sending unit wire for the gas gauge.

[Spence]

i have 10 gauge red red wire with link and 3/8 ring connector

I have thick brown one with little ring connector

then theres the thick purple (pinkish) one thats cut and linked to the sending unit wire (think brown)

what should i do?

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by Spence

i have 10 gauge red red wire with link and 3/8 ring connector

I have thick brown one with little ring connector

then theres the thick purple (pinkish) one thats cut and linked to the sending unit wire (think brown)

what should i do?

It sounds like the 10ga red with the fusible link & 3/8 ring connector is still stock and should be okay to connect to the starter BAT stud.

The insulation on these wires has a tendency to discolor after years of exposure to oil, dirt, engine cleaner, etc. so the thick "brown" wire with the little ring connector is most likely the 12ga purple wire that should connect to the small "S" stud on the starter solenoid.

The gas tank sending unit wire should be 18 gauge tan for the entire length (although it may look brown due to discoloration). The thicker purple/pinkish section sounds like something the former owner has spliced in there ... probably to fix a section that chafed or got melted by the exhaust. To make a proper repair you'll probably have to unwrap the harness a bit to trace this wire back and look for any other splices. Then take out the bad / poorly repaired section and replace it with some new 18 gauge wire (preferably with high temp rated insulation ... like type SXL).

[Spence]

you hit the nail on the head

I traced it back and the "pinkish" thick wire is just a splice repair for the sending unit

it got me scrambled because the color and size of wire he chose to use for the repair looks exactly like what i was looking for as a stater wire

thank you so much!!

[ray_mcavoy]

You're welcome!

Yeah, it can sure make tracing wires / troubleshooting things more difficult when folks splice in sections of different color and/or gauge wire. I know it's not always possible to get an exact match to the existing wire but I always try to make an effort to use something as close as possible when making repairs.