greendragon Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Hi could someone please help me sort out a couple of problems I have in fitting a new solenoid to my S3 2.25 petrol. I took the landy apart 5 years ago and didn't think it was necessary to label the solenoid wires up as I thought it would be a straight forward job to reconnect them. However none of the manuals tells you which terminal is which i/e battery side / starter motor side etc. This suggests that it doesn't matter which side is which but is this right? The second problem (?) is with the new (non genuine) solenoid as it has one less spade terminal than the old Lucas one. There are 4 male spade terminals on the Lucas solenoid 2 on one of the main bolt terminals and 2 in the centre - one facing up one facing down when fitted to the battery tray. On the new one the one facing down is missing and there is a hole that goes into the main body of the solenoid. On several S3's I have seen recently the white/red wire appeared to be connected to the terminal that is missing on my new solenoid. Will it matter if the wire is attached to the other terminal? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 The standard solenoid has three connections, two thick ones which are interchangable and a small one for the white/red wire. The wiring to the vehicle is usually taken off the solenoid, battery side! The 2nd small connection is for vehicles with a ballasted coil, it is used to short out the ballast resistor whilst cranking. The body of the solenoid should be earthed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greendragon Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 The standard solenoid has three connections, two thick ones which are interchangable and a small one for the white/red wire. The wiring to the vehicle is usually taken off the solenoid, battery side!The 2nd small connection is for vehicles with a ballasted coil, it is used to short out the ballast resistor whilst cranking. The body of the solenoid should be earthed. Roger should I run a separate wire to earth from the body of the solenoid or is it earthed enough when bolted to the battery tray? there are 2 spade connectors on one of the main connectors what would these be used for? also the hole in the body of the solenoid (bottom middle of photo) goes right inside so could there be a problem with dirt or moisture getting in? thanks Hopefully the photo of the new solenoid has come out so you see what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 You shouldn't need to run a seperate earth wire, just make sure you clean back to bare metal before bolting the solenoid on. In the picture connect the battery to the right-hand terminal, the starter to the left. The spade connectors simply connect power to the vehicle, there should be a thick brown wire connected to the larger terminal which goes to the fusebox. I'm not sure about the smaller one, IIRC in the landy it isn't used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greendragon Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 Many thanks Roger 5 minutes and it will all be connected (well make it 10) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD5 power Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 hi i think the red and white wire should be connected to the small terminal on its own. as this is the wire from the ignition switch that should send the current to energise the magnet in the solenoid and join the two big terminals together. hope this helps matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 hii think the red and white wire should be connected to the small terminal on its own. as this is the wire from the ignition switch that should send the current to energise the magnet in the solenoid and join the two big terminals together. hope this helps matt Yes indeed, I was referring to the small spade on the thick post whien I said I didn't think it was used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greendragon Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 hii think the red and white wire should be connected to the small terminal on its own. as this is the wire from the ignition switch that should send the current to energise the magnet in the solenoid and join the two big terminals together. hope this helps matt Thanks Matt it does help in so far as it confirms my original thought about where the white/red wire went. Your reply also helps me understand how the solenoid works, thanks. Roger I did understand your reply to mean the spade on the main terminal. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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