Battery in trunk. Ford Solenoid in trunk. My Ford Solenoid does NOT have an "I" terminal...only a single "S" terminal, and an in and out for the big starter wire...

Most instructions I've found on line say the wire (purple I think?) from the "s" terminal of the Delco solenoid should go to the "s" terminal of the new Ford solenoid. This I can do...

Other instructions I've found say I also need to run the yellow wire that was at the "R" terminal of the Delco solenoid to the "i" terminal of the Ford Solenoid...

This is not so easy, since my Ford Solenoid doesn't have an "i" terminal. Can this "R" wire be run somewhere else? Or do I need to get a different Ford solenoid??

What am I missing here...

If it matters, I'm pulling my points/condensor system and installing a Pertronix unit in the distributor at the same time...

I know this yellow wire all has something to do with the ballast resistor, but not sure exactly where to go with that yellow wire. Does it do me any good to leave it right there on the R terminal of the Delco solenoid?

I'm a little confused as you can tell....

Thanks to anyone who can provide me some direction!

You can just make a jumper for your starter that jumps from the main battery cable terminal to the S terminal and run your original S wire to the solenoid in the trunk to the S or I terminal. So now you would just have the heavy battery cable from your trunk to the starter, and now that it is jumped to the S terminal on the starter, when it is powered from the solenoid switched in the trunk it will crank.
Just remember that all your 12 Volt power needs to be from the trunk now

Thanks for the respose. I agree, and that is my intent...I realize the need for, and benefit of, the jumper on the Delco solenoid. And I'll also be running a fused/dedicated 8 gauge HOT from the trunk battery to the firewall for both battery charging and power distribution to everything else. I just didn't mention either above.

Please allow me clarify my #1 question/quandry:

With this setup, what exactly should I do with the yellow wire that is currently attached to the R terminal of my Delco solenoid?

As you may know, the function of the R terminal is to supply a full 12V to the coil while cranking. The coil normally runs at 8V or so on a stock set up, so the R gives a little extra to get the car started easier and it drops out when not cranking. Your new petronix won't need it. In fact you should remove the old resistor / ballast set up and give the coil a full 12V when the key is on.
I dont see why you need the Ford solenoid in the trunk. You could keep everything stock and just run a longer battery cable to the trunk battery along with your 8 gauge from the battery to the horn relay block. just my .02.

I consider the ferd solinoid in the trunk a safety feature. Since it is a relay, it will only send voltage thru the large starter wire when actually starting the car. While the charging wire will be live all the time, it can be more safely run in the interior of the car vs under the car, and alot less of a fire hazzard.

That makes sense. He should likely put a good size fuse on the 8 gauge wire that goes back to the battery as well.
Your '68 looks great BTW.

The manufacturer of this trunk mount battery kit is a fellow who likes to chat about all things electrical...came across him a few years ago and he was quite insightful.
http://www.madelectrical.com/catalog/st-1.shtml

Thanks, and your vert looks great too! I have the ferd solinoid under my master cylinder even though my batt is in the stock location. You cant see it but it sucks to access it although, knock on wood, I've never had to.

Thanks guys. Agreed on most accounts....solenoid in trunk for safety, and I absolutely will fusible link the main 8 gauge. I've read the MAD electrical stuff all over already...frankly I was hoping to buy the entire setup from him. Have been trying to call the place for the past WEEK, multiple times per day. CONSTANT busy signal, occasional ringing with no answer/no recording. Can't leave a message, there is no way to order parts from their website, prices all out of date/unrealistically below cost, no response to my email, and several excuses printed on various pages of their site that they are trying to upgrade various things but apparently aren't getting much done, since I recall reading those same pages a YEAR ago...

To make a long story longer, they've absolutely lost my business and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone....and I even wonder if they still are in business at all. I haven't purchased all my cables yet, but I have another source found and will buy from them instead of from non-responsive MAD.

ANYWHO>>>>back on topic.

With regards to the Pertronix unit wanting full voltage, this was my initial thinking...no need for resistor with their thingy in place adn no points. Oddly, the instructions that came with my Pertronix specifically stated "do not remove ballast resistor if equipped".

Hmmm. I can't fathom why. Their own literature says the Ignitor has an operating range of 8 to 16 volts. In my reasoning, more is better...why shouldn't I go ahead and give it full voltage in the event I'm attempting a restart someday with a slightly weak battery? I found the Pertronix instructions on that aspect very weird.

Speaking of...I'm pretty sure that I do want to remove it, but does anyone know where the heck IS the ballast resistor in these cars? Is the ballast resistor possibly the wire itself? I have a 1968 service manaual, and read the wiring diagram, and there is absolutely NO resistor drawn on the wiring diagram. Yet if you read the ignition section is states that the coil gets power "thru the resistance" when in the "on" position. And clearly a points car NEEDS the resistor, so it's gotta be there somewhere.

If I wanted to remove it, where exactly do you suspect I would find it?

Suppose I'll just probe around with a volt meter and see if it's the wire itself...

Assuming I put full battery voltage to the coil, with Pertronix Ignitor, it seems to me the original yellow wire at the Delco solenoid can be simply removed and elimated entirely...

Thanks! Anyone reading this please chime in if you think I'm driving myself off a cliff! I'm always learning....

It is the wire itself. I think the yellow one, IIRC(doubtful). Personally I don't think I would remove it. Just tape it off and hide it back on the harness. Really, you never know.

But then again why move the battery.

It looks like a failure to communicate. Universally accepted nomenclature would help. The acd starter has a starter solenoid, the other one is referred to as a remote solenoid, and there seems to be confusion what wires do and do not go on the solenoid and remote solenoid.

Minus the welding cable I made everything myself for free using ‘shop supplies’ at work. The alternator feed wire, also 8 guage, has fusible links on both ends.

The solenoid needs to be bussed, well should be bussed because you are defeating the purpose of a remote solenoid without bussing it; as a result, there is only one wire coming off the solenoid, the starter cable. I used 00 welding cable, and it cost $1.75 a foot, and that was paid for with 1988 dollars. With scrap copper prices where they are, that same cable has to cost at least 3x as much. Terminals are swaged and soldered.

Here’s a shot of the copper bussbar that I fabricated; the bussbar is pulled to the side to better illustrate it. The starter wire bolts against the terminal, and the bussbar rests on top, and very-berry shiny on the backside of the buss. I cannot get a shot of the trunk-mount solenoid because I have the car taped up, and it was installed too long ago for me to remember what goes where on the solenoid.

You want the battery mounted on the right side to assist with the natural dig-in on the right sid of the car during launch. The claim was that the shift was equal to moving the engine back on its mounts by 3 inches. The claim seemed to be a stretch, but when I put the car in gear, I could feel the difference just easing away. Total vehicle additude, handeling, and hook up feels like the engine has moved back that much. Amazing!

<I dont see why you need the Ford solenoid in the trunk.>

Because the goal of a remote solenoid is to disable the solenoid, and the buss bar disables it. As I said before, if you don’t disable the solenoid, it defeats the purpose of a remote solenoid. And the remote will work if the starter is wired in the traditional way, but it would increase, not decrease resistance.

The location of the solenoid makes a difference. The loss of amperage happens at the solenoid. Tests show that if you get the amperage loss out of its system the moment it leaves the battery, there are more available cranking amps at the starter lead, than if the solenoid is located closer to the starter.

As for Mad, they are just like Dougs and Pypes. Just like I wouldn't buy the others' obvious substandard product, I woudn't have bought anything from Mad 20 years ago.

Keep in mind, that mine is a 9, often, a different puppy. I did babysit an 8 for about 20 months. The car must have been in lub wif me because I was the only person who could get the car to start. (You have to know the song, and keep in beat with the gas, and the throttle motion is like manipulating a feather. I have been singing along with the song longer than some current owners have been alive. ANd if you don't know the song, it will flood lamf.)

Anyway, the 8 I babysat had what would have been a Mopar ballast resister if it were on a Mopar, so it would be a safe guess that the item I saw under the hood was the ballast resister. Whether or not this was factory, it was located on the firewall, just to the right of the center of the firewall.

I cannot say for sure, but sometime duing my 35 years of a sick obsession, I think I recall hearing about people removing them; simply, they splice the wires together. Keep in mind that I think I recall hearing something along these lines. I don't know how you could verify it because the internet is so overan with idiots, none of whom have a f/ing clue what they talk about.

my pink '68 stock wire is a resistance wire that only allows about 8.5V to the coil. easily checked with a volt meter. the wire actually feels warm to the touch when the key is on. you wont need the wire going to the R terminal on the starter. i'd remove it fully.

I'm on it. I now have my head wrapped around exactly what each wire does, and therefore I know where to go from here to both chase down/identify what I currently have, and install what I WANT to have.

Thanks to all for each tidbit of contribution...