***79 MALIBU WIRING WIRING PROBLEM PLEASE HELP***

[chevy2480]

The only other red wire i have coming out of my harness goes to a splice and then has the connector for the back of the alternator and the plug for the alternator. Does there need to be a wire from that splice to the starter? i can post a pic if need be.

67rstbkt: i have a good meter, and ive tested all the wires, just cant seem to trace it or get any power, unless im testing it wrong. i tested the fuse box and the wires coming in it, they were good 12v, but i never could get any power down to the starter. fuses are all good and new ignition switch so i dont know. im still kinda new at this stuff so some instruction would be nice.

Post a pic if it is a red wire with a ring on it that goes to the post on the back of alternator then yes it has to be wired 12 volt hot. The way i wire my gbody is battery wire to starter and another wire to alternator from batt and the only other wire down to starter is purple. Itake all the other wires needed to alternator post.

 

[malibuguy11]

here is the pic of the wires... these are the only other red wires coming out of the harness at the fire wall.
so i also need to have a wire from positive on the battery to the starter and also from positive on the battery to the alternator, is that what your saying?

 

[malibuguy11]

sorry forgot to attach the pic lol

 

[malibuguy11]

so do i need a wire from that little splice right there in the pic to positive on the battery?

or do i go directly off the stud on the alternator to the pos side of the battery?

 

[chevy2480]

so do i need a wire from that little splice right there in the pic to positive on the battery?

or do i go directly off the stud on the alternator to the pos side of the battery?

Yes that wire has to be hot either run it to stater where the other wire is running. But what i would do is run the other wire that is red going to starter to alternator and run a power wire from the alternator to pos terminal of battery this will let you have one less wire to burn up on headers etc. In other words on the starter side you will have just the purple wire and the battery power cable.

 

[Mike P]

The wiring at the starter looks right, (on the Chevy, the S terminal is always towards the block .........it was designed that way to make it easier to burn your wrist on the manifold/headers when you have to short across the 2 terminals to get the car going after the starter heat soaks).

Anyway, a couple of thoughts/things to check.

I did a 78 wiring harness and later steering column into my 83 El Camino recently. One of the things I found out is that the early wiring harness used an electrical neutral safety switch (it’s actually a combination backup light/neutral safety switch mounted at the bottom of the steering column) it has places for 2 plugs instead of just a backup light plug. On the later column/switch the neutral safety is mechanical (the key can only be turned when the column is in the park/neutral positions. If you have the neutral safety plug on the wiring harness you need the earlier backup light switch or a jumper wire in the plug to complete the circuit.

You said you changed the ignition switch....Check to make sure it’s adjusted properly, if it’s not up high enough it may not be making a connection when you turn the key. The easy way to check is to loosen the screw that hold the switch and slide the switch upward as you turn the key if the engine turn over the switch wasn’t adjusted properly.

 

[malibuguy11]

thanks for your help guys the malibu now starts through the ss steering column. no more jumpers and all that jazz... thanks everyone

 

[67rstbkt]

thanks for your help guys the malibu now starts through the ss steering column. no more jumpers and all that jazz... thanks everyone

Good stuff, glad you got it working. Well, what was the problem? It could help others having the same issue.