Starter Whining All The Time!!

[TheRoaringEagle]

Driving to 7Eleven, all of a sudden starter starts whining and then the lights dim out and the car shuts down. There are 3 posts on the solenoid, all wired tight and secure. I know the yellow wire on the farthermost passenger side is what turns off the starter after the engine starts, but it is crimped well and secure. Where does it lead to and what might be happening? I'm looking at a generic engine wiring diagram that shows the wire to be called a "Ballast Resistor Bypass" which says it's optional. Is that my yellow wire? The other wire goes to the start terminal on the ignition switch, which I'm assuming to be the purple wire. (67 camaro factory wiring)

Help!

[TheRoaringEagle]

I ripped out the old wiring, installing a direct-fit Painless Wiring harness and noticed that there were just two wires that needed to go to the starter solenoid from the main engine harness. Then I looked at the third yellow wire I had on the starter from the factory wiring and followed it up. It didn't lead anywhere! It was a null wire!

Which is weird because before when my brother started the engine up the starter whined while running and I hooked that null yellow wire to the third post on the solenoid and it stopped whining.

What would make the starter keep turning while the engine is on? Could a ignition wire that pops off the top of the distributor make the starter go? I noticed that one popped off after the starter incident. Any help would be appreciated.

Also how can I determine if I have a 153 or 168 tooth flywheel? I need to buy a new starter and my engine is a 400 with 12 to 1 comp. I'm thinking about a CSR Ultra Lightweight (CSI-100U), anyone use these guys?

Thanks.

[gmachinz]

You should have (originally) a total of 4 wires to your starter if it retains its points ignition. Hopefully this should give you a baseline. You have the main battery cable to the starter, then along with it on the same post is a -10 gauge wire (red) that meets up to a soldered factory crimp which goes to the fuse box and the main charge post on your alternator. Then, you should have a purple -12 gauge wire which is what kicks out your solenoid ("s" terminal on starter) when you start the car. Finally you have a field wire that leads to the negative side of your igniton coil. Now, if you have upgraded to an aftermarket type HEI ignition, you can eliminate the field wire. My guess is you had it on the "s" terminal which is always hot with your key on. I hope this helps-I had to figure out some wiring gremlins on a '70 Monte Carlo recently so the wiring diagram I used should be similar to yours. -Jabin

[TheRoaringEagle]

I have a modified points ignition I think, magnetic pickup... The car ran fine they way it was wired. I had the purple wire on the s terminal. And the battery post on the starter has the cable going to the battery, and another wire from the starter to a main junction. The alternator charging wire goes directly to the battery. The field wire I'm assuming which was yellow didn't go anywhere! It was connected to nothing, which is weird because when I hooked it up on the starter the first time it started whining, the whining stopped. Until this last week. The yellow field wire doesn't even look damaged, it's clean cut without any signs of falling off.

But with my ignition, would I only need the battery post cables and wires, and the purple wire without the field wire?

I didn't get a field wire in my Painless Wiring kit.

[gmachinz]

Ifyou're runnign an HEI type distributor-then no, you don't need that yellow wire. I suspect a faulty starter solenoid, possibly not dis-engaging itself after the car is running. Another thing to check is the ignition switch-maybe the contacts in it are binding or catching which could make the solenoid stay on until you actually shut the ignition off. -Jabin