My 1957 ford randomly had the bolt on the relay snap clean off. not sure why but it smoked after it did it. it still clicks internally. so i purchased a new one, it arrived, i installed it, insured its grounded and it wouldnt click, checked wiring, its getting power, still nothing! so i assumed it was a dud and sent it back. bought one fresh off a mercury (which i realized was a mercury marine after reading into the company that made it) but it does the same job, so i installed it, and the key doesnt work, neither does jumping it with a screwdriver, minus the one time i got it to work. and i couldnt replicate it. so still no clue whats wrong. any ideas?
If you bought an OEM-style replacement, the relay coil is grounded through the mounting bracket, so making sure the screws and/or inner fender panel are at least somewhat clean metal where the solenoid attaches is important. The two small wire connections should be marked 'S' for start (the other end connected to the start terminal on the ignition switch) and 'I' for ignition. This one will connect to the coil side of the ballast resistor for resistor bypass when starting. The big terminal on the same side as the S terminal is the battery connection, the other goes to the starter.
This is the type relay you should have... Starter Solenoid Switch ECH ST67 | Buy Online - NAPA Auto Parts (napaonline.com) With the mounting bracket facing up as shown, the connections left to right are 1. battery, output from the generator via the regulator, and input to the main harness (this last one may be connected at the voltage regulator 'bat' terminal), 2. 'S' or start terminal from the ignition switch, 3. 'I' or ignition terminal, connected to the coil side of the ballast resistor, and 4. connection to the starter. You can run into relays that lack the 'I' terminal, these are for later-model Fords and wire differently in that the bypass wire to the ballast resistor comes from the ignition switch, not the relay.
You may have the big terminal wiring backwards and by grounding the S terminal the coil gets it's power via the big terminal wired to the battery.
looked it up, since this one is for a Mercury boat, it has a ground that acts as a kill switch, preventing the solenoid from engaging without the safety switch engaged. itll work, i just need to ground that terminal temporarily.
Sounds like you have a plain high-current relay, not specifically a Ford starter relay. These usually have an all-metal body and while they have four terminals, the 'I' terminal isn't there. The fourth terminal is the relay coil ground, these don't get their ground through the mounting bracket like the Ford relay. This can still be wired to work however... Where the battery and starter are connected doesn't matter unlike the Ford solenoid. Connect the battery and output from the charging system to one side on the large terminal, the starter and ballast resistor bypass wire on the other large side. The two small terminals are the relay coil. Connect one to the 'start' wire from the ignition switch and the other one to ground. If the relay has an internal diode, it will make a difference which wire connects where. If it still doesn't work because of a diode, reverse those connections.
Some cars such as early Chrysler products and Buicks used a starter relay that actually had a ground terminal that was wired to the generator armature and allowed the car to be started, but once the generator started charging it would disconnect the starter solenoid.
Cat listen to Crazy Steve, get the Napa solenoid switch. Steve has forgotten more about wiring than most people on this board know. No offense to anyone else. Like he said the switch you tried is totally insulated. The correct switch isn’t very expensive. Then go over grounds and clean them up.
If the 'temporary' ground shown is what it takes to make it work, that's just a 'plain' relay, not a Ford type relay. I'd also be a bit concerned if it is heavy-duty enough for the starter load.
i'll compare the price of a new one to one at a junkyard near me, theres a '64 ford truck and several 65 t birds, if they are cheap enough i'll grab a bunch of them and stash them for safe keeping. it is a starter relay, just not for a ford. ive determined the 2nd prong is definitely for a ground or something similar as its marked with a G.
hm? thats a compliment. forgetting more than everyone else knows is a good thing. means youre experienced.
Early Ford solenoids = Flathead with push button on dash did have the S pin going to ground . The price of a new one has jumped a bunch with the inflation but Damn, a 12 volt Ford car/truck solenoid is a 12 Volt car Truck solenoid that fits from 56 up to some 92's They aren't something rare and made of unobtanium that you have to go to some specialty house and neither are most mechanical parts on that car. Rock Auto has a Standard SS582T which is from their Cheaper T line for 9.14 for the real cheapskates. Those are available probably for around 15 at some parts houses.
the junkyard sells them for 5 bucks a pop. if they are real ford and in good condition im getting every one i can. probably better than the chinesium
FWIW, I've never had an OEM one fail electrically when used as designed. Just don't use one in a continuous-duty application as the relay coil will burn up more often than not...
Just an attempt to clarify the reason that a Mercury Marine relay would require an external ground. Most boats aren't made with an steel structure that can be used to ground the relay housing, so the external method is used. Also used in some RV applications. I like your plan to harvest good used OEM stuff. Used real Ford better than new offshore every time!
my grandpa uses boats, apparently boats have two harnesses, a ground harness and a positive harness, so thats fun.
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