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Ignition/Wiring problem.

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jaegzie

jaegzie

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Ok, I finally got a chance to sit and work on the BE.

My BE cosists of the following first off:
59: BE
63: Wiring harness
69: 1275CC.

It is negative ground.

There are really two parts to this question.

First, what is the least I need to hook up as far as wiring to get the car to run. Currently, I have the ignition switch hooked up to the switch box(I forgot what it is called) then down to the starter. Also I have the wires running to the coil and to the dizzy.

When I use the key the car will fire and start to run, but as soon as i stop turning the key, the engine dies immediately. Any suggestions, could this be because the wiring is not fully installed?

I guess I am stuck at this point.

TIA
 
There are 2 circuits in the ignition system. 1 delivers power to the ignition system while the engine is cranking and the other when the key is just in the on position. This is why it will fire while cranking and then not keep running. Sounds like you will need to hook up more of the wiring which you will need to do anyway. You might try and find something that is hot with the key on and get a jumper wire with alligator clips on both ends and hook one to the pos side of the coil and one to the power source you found. Another thing you can do if you cannot find a power source is to hook to the pos side of the battery. You will need to be ready to disconnect the wire quickly if need be because turning the key off won't stop the engine. Maybe a good thing would be to use a long jumper wire with a switch in it so you could cut the power from the drivers seat.
 
I might think first and foremost to get a correct wiring harness from a '59 BE. If nothing else get a copy of the wiring diagram. Connecting things at random will certainly let the smoke out of wiring harness and could immolate your car, garage, house, etc. I certainly would not want to explain that one to the wife.

1275 can be connected positive or negative ground. Generator / starter can work either way but would have last been set up as negative ground. Fuel pump on a BE is mechanical, have you changed to an electric type? Only issue in going negative ground in a BE would be the tach but that is mechanical in a BE. Later tachs can be adapted and mechanism can be transplanted to the BE Style tach.

It all depends on originality and if you are dropping a 1275 into a BE you are not likely going for a concours restoration. Give us some more details and this list can help.
 
It does sound like a ballast wiring problem but that '63 harness should not be set up for a ballast, if that's what you really have. To make it run you should have a brown or brown/blue wire from the regulator to the switch. If you don't have the generator/regulator in use yet then the wire could come directly from the battery. There is a white/red wire from the start switch to the solenoid and a white wire from the run position on the switch, directly to the coil and a white/black from the coil to the dizzy. In other words, your '63 wiring harness should have only one circuit rather than two. My first guess would be you do not have the white wire connected right. Possibly you may have it connected to the start circuit.

Spitfire's testing ideas will also work but you should get the wiring right first. Also heed Jim's advice to avoid having to "explain that one to the wife."
 
Coil can be wired for either positive or negative ground. Decide which way you are going to go and wire accordingly. Let us know and we will advise.
 
I just rewired my '63 this past winter. I'm pretty much a noob though, so for what it's worth;
What ignition switch is this? You wouldn't have a use for a "start" position on your ignition switch unless you've added a newer electric solendoid with it, right? BE and '63 would have a mechanical pull start knob to kick the starter on. My key is simply off or on. I had a electric solenoind but put on the original pull start knob because it's cool. From the ignition switch a white wire goes through the tach (but a BE is mechanical so doesn't have this, you have a 1275 so you probably don't have a generator with a mechanical tach drive on it so you need an electrical tach from a later car to go with your newer harness maybe?) then the wire goes to the coil. You can just use the extra long white wire and run it straight to the coil from the switch I'd think, essentially providing the coil with a switched 12v source. Whether your coil has an internal ballast resistor or needs an external one added depends on the coil. If your engine is grounded via the ground strap, the coil has 12v and you can engage the starter, it should run, no? May not recharge the battery if the generator/voltage regulator and all that isn't hooked up but it would run for a while off a healthy battery, right?
BTW I went to - earth. Here's my labeled wiring diagram FWIW.
MK1wiring%20labled.jpg
 
I bet the solenoid is wired wrong.
If it runs while cranking, you have the crank wire hooked up to the ignition.
Color codes, if original are brown, always hot from the battery, gets hooked to the same post as the battery lead.
Small wire/red wire goes to the single terminal on the solenoid.
Solid white wire from key switch goes right to the + side of the coil, via the tach if you have an electric tach.
And to just get it running, hook up a wire from the + side of the battery to the plus side of the coil and it will run.
 
Your initial question was what is the minimum you need to get the engine running and an extension of that question was why is the engine dieing when you release the ignition key.

Let's back up and say the easiest way to make this engine run is to use a "standard" ignition coil which will measure 3-Ohms across its primary windings (when no wires are attached). Let's also assume you want negative ground.

A SWITCHED terminal from the ignition switch (live anytime the key is on) should be connected (using a white wire) to the coil (+) terminal. The coil (-) terminal should be connected to a white/black wire going to the distributor. Returning to the ignition switch, one switch terminal will be hot ONLY when the key is turned all the way to the start position. That terminal should receive a white/red wire that goes to the starter solenoid. With a standard ignition coil this will give you the minimum "run" configuration.

If you change to a ballast ignition coil (1-2 Ohms across the primary windings) you need a starter solenoid with 4 terminals and there is some additional wiring involved.
 
Ok, it appears I need to give some more info...

The wiring is for sure a 63, I bought a 63 last winter and stripped it down.

My plans with the car are as follows...

I want to get the car running with the 1275 with the newer electronics at first. Then I will switch things back. I would like the car to look original, but be a little more fun to drive. I have changed all of the suspension and brakes to the newer style and would like to have the 1275 instead of the 948. I plan on getting the car running and be able to drive it then, then switch back to the original tach, speedo, pull switch and all of that. I figured this was the way to go.

Solid white wire from the tach... didnt do that one.

I will go through the wiring a little bit better, hopefully tonight and give an update. Thanks for the replies.
 
You won't have a solid white wire from the tach if the tach is mechanical from a BE, (it doesn't come "from the tach" in any event, it comes from the ignition switch, loops through the back of the tach and then goes to the coil--in a '63 scheme). You don't need to loop through the tach, the car could care less if you know the rpms, but it sure needs the 12v to the coil all the time (when key is on), not just during when key is in "start". What ignition switch is this?
Where are your switches and gauges from? The BE?
You have a newer generator without tach drive, '59 instruments and '63 harness?
 
Wow, this is just how much i hate doing any type of wiring, this all confuses me.

I will go through the car again tonight and make sure that everythign is hooked up and i will test power and give a better description tomorrow of the problem. Thank you all for replying.
 
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