Special Solonoid Needed for V12's???

So, I traced a starting problem to the 6v solonoid. I thought. So, I bought another one from NAPA. Seems to work fine off the car, that is, it transfers current, but on the car, nothing. Hard wired the battery to the starter and cranks fine. Hook up solonoid, and nothing. This is a mystery to me. Any thoughts?

Thanks, in advance.

Scott

Make sure that the battery cable is on the battery terminal of the solenoid and the starter cable is on the starter terminal of the solenoid. If they are reversed you might not get any action from the solenoid. That happened to me.

Make sure that the battery cable is on the battery terminal of the solenoid and the starter cable is on the starter terminal of the solenoid. If they are reversed you might not get any action from the solenoid. That happened to me.

I connected it based on the label on the solonoid marked 'BAT', that is, I connected the battery to that terminal and starter to the other. Nada.

Very strange. There is continuity across the two terminals where the battery and starter are connected indicating they are connected together when the solonoid is activated using either the button on the bottom of the solonoid, or the starter button on the dash. But, when wired to the car, there is nothing, not even an indication the starter knows the battery is there.

One other thing. The battery was showing 7 volts yesterday, before trying the new solonoid, but now it shows 5 volts. It's been disconnected from the car except when troubleshooting this. Are 6 volt batteries more susceptible to draindown than 12v? It's an Optima with 800 CCA.

??

You may well have the wrong style relay? The 6 volt Ford style is activated by grounding the small center terminal...this is done with the starter button ciurcuit. Some starter relays are activated by applying voltage to the small center terminal.

You may well have the wrong style relay? The 6 volt Ford style is activated by grounding the small center terminal...this is done with the starter button ciurcuit. Some starter relays are activated by applying voltage to the small center terminal.

The mystery was that when the new solonoid was activated using the button on the bottom of the solonoid, ie by-passing the dash button, the starter still didn't make starting noises. Must've been a bad connection cuz now it works either with the bottom button or the dash. Dunno, but it works now. The new solonoid must be the ground-to-activate type. Anyway, now I know there are two different types. I will attribute this success to this forum. Thanks, much. Now, I just need a battery with full charge as 5 volts does not seem to be enough to crank the big 12. Tomorrow is another day. I am sure I will have more questions.