1956 Ignition switch wiring

[knuckle47]

Hi All,
No secret I have been more deeply inside the dash than I wanted and have always seen the piece of lamp cord wire I wanted to trace and replace or at least tie it out of the way.

While doing the clock with the column out, this one wire pulled out of the area it goes to and it must be a big deal. Before I button up the dash I tried to turn over the motor but all I get now is a solenoid click and voltage meter dropping like a dead short.

This wire comes out of the switch but where it belongs I am lost. Ignition on 2 cylinder motors is no where near as complex .

Can someone point me in the direction I should be looking. Nothing obvious under the dash but it was all a hanging mess anyway.

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[knuckle47]

I should add that by jumping to the battery and solenoid with a remote starter switch the engine turns over

 

[sre]

Hi All,
No secret I have been more deeply inside the dash than I wanted and have always seen the piece of lamp cord wire I wanted to trace and replace or at least tie it out of the way.

While doing the clock with the column out, this one wire pulled out of the area it goes to and it must be a big deal. Before I button up the dash I tried to turn over the motor but all I get now is a solenoid click and voltage meter dropping like a dead short.

This wire comes out of the switch but where it belongs I am lost. Ignition on 2 cylinder motors is no where near as complex .

Can someone point me in the direction I should be looking. Nothing obvious under the dash but it was all a hanging mess anyway.

View attachment 20962

 

[sre]

That post is quite important. That wire goes to the starter solenoid. That's the wire that energizes the starter.

 

[knuckle47]

Thank you! I just came in to delete the post not wanting anyone to think I was that dumb..and as I was tugging on a few wires and when I pulled the passenger side solenoid wire( the small one) bingo….nothing on the other end. Stuck the two together ..vroom !

Appreciate you chiming in I was so frustrated as the weather today is already 74 and I have a day to be out working on the car. Rain and cold the rest of the week and possibly snow by the weekend… gee whiz…can’t catch a break. Again thank you @sre

Also having the ignition switch fall into my hand gave me a new appreciation for the wiring…now to stick it back

 

[doug7740]

Hi All,
No secret I have been more deeply inside the dash than I wanted and have always seen the piece of lamp cord wire I wanted to trace and replace or at least tie it out of the way.

While doing the clock with the column out, this one wire pulled out of the area it goes to and it must be a big deal. Before I button up the dash I tried to turn over the motor but all I get now is a solenoid click and voltage meter dropping like a dead short.

This wire comes out of the switch but where it belongs I am lost. Ignition on 2 cylinder motors is no where near as complex .

Can someone point me in the direction I should be looking. Nothing obvious under the dash but it was all a hanging mess anyway.

View attachment 20962

According to the wiring diagram:

On the Batt or B terminal
Yellow wire from the B terminal of the headlight switch

On the Start or S terminal
Red/blue wire going to the starter solenoid

On the Ignition or C terminal
Red/green wire going to the Batt terminal of the ignition coil
Black/green wire going to the charge indicator lamp
Black/green wire going to the oil pressure indicator lamp

On the Acc or A terminal
Black/green wire going to fuel gauge
Orange/yellow wire going to the 9 amp fuse for the turn signal flasher
Brown wire going to the 20 amp fuse for the blower switch
Black wire going to the 14 amp fuse for the radio
Red wire going to the 30 amp circuit breaker for the power seat switch
Black wire going to the 15 amp fuse for the overdrive relay (if equipped)
Red wire going to the 15 amp circuit breaker for the power windows

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[4VE]

Get the electrical manual for a few bucks from Larry's. It WILL come in handy.

 

[knuckle47]

I have it including the one with the fold out pages but following it when a blue wire turns black and comes Out on the other side as yellow it makes it a little more frustrating and all I needed to do was connect one wire which I have finally accomplished and my directional signals are now functioning as well as the engine starting. The problem was I have three terminals on the ignition switch with a fourth center terminal and I am taking the illustration to literally looking for the same square and mine looked triangular

 

[knuckle47]

So, to wrap up… a remarkable beautiful day. Actually the best one since I got the ‘56 in December…..and all i got done was fix a wire and wired up the directional signal switch finishing the steering column… not bad for 7 HOURS!!!
A few more days like this and she’ll be ready next December 🙁