hi does anyone know what the two wires connected with selnoid lead on the starter are for? they are both red with fusible links on them. my starter litterally broke off it's mounting and shorted its self on the exhaust manifold pipe. cooked the battery real good. hope that's all. thanks pete

On the '84, they are fusible links A & B. Link A will have a large red wire leading away from it and it serves as the main power supply to the ignition switch and most of the fuses in the fuse panel. It is also the lead to the alternator for battery recharging. The other wire, Link B, should have a red/white wire leading away from it. This leads to the headlight door motors, the light switch, and four fuses in the fuse panel (Inst, Tail, Stop/Haz, and Ctsy).

thanks a million for the info!!! i looked at the wires and they are both red. when i disconnected the selnoid they weren't attached. could they be for the safety clutch switch which was disabled on my car. i looked in the GM original shop manual but nothing. also how many links in the engine compartment?

The neutral safety switch is on the transmission if your car is an automatic, and it's on the clutch pedal if it's a manual transmission. In either case, the switch breaks the current to the purple wire on the solenoid unless the clutch pedal is pushed in, or the gear selector is placed in park or neutral on the auto.

As for the number of links in the engine bay, on the '84 there should be two at the starter, and two at the battery junction box.

you really know your stuff!! the links in question are the ones at the starter. they are with the wire that comes from the harness by the thermostat housing. im just afraid of hooking them up and frying something. sorry for the constant questions just not familiar with this. by the way i was in Nova Scoita last year. one word says it all WWOOWWW!!!!

It's a small world!

Go ahead and connect them. Just be sure to connect the fusible link wires to the same starter terminal as the big black wire dropping down from the postive terminal of the battery. It's a post with threads on it and there should be no other wires attached to it except the battery cable and the two links. If you want to be extra safe, just remove the purple wire from the solenoid first, then reconnect it after the big wires are screwed on.

thanks again!!!!! you saved me alot of headaches. cheers

quote Originally posted by Bloozberry: The neutral safety switch is on the transmission if your car is an automatic, and it's on the clutch pedal if it's a manual transmission. In either case, the switch breaks the current to the purple wire on the solenoid unless the clutch pedal is pushed in, or the gear selector is placed in park or neutral on the auto. As for the number of links in the engine bay, on the '84 there should be two at the starter, and two at the battery junction box.

Hmm. There is no battery junction box on any 84 Fiero--that was added only on later years when they moved C-500 from center firewall over to the passenger side near the battery. The 2 fusible links are just wired into the positive cable and hang down near the right end of the valve cover. I own three running 84s currently--sold another last year.

I had problems with these very fusible links on my '84. It had a rabbit living in the battery tray and he found the fusible link wires to be delicious!
Upon restoring things, working on the wiring harness, I was troubled as to why pontiac would hook up anything other than a single connection to the battery positive post. I checked the wiring diagrams and figured that must have been exactly what they did. A wire to the starter and the two fusible links! I could not get the three lugs to fit under the battery bolt to make the connection! I think in the end I'll have the starter cable connect to the side post and the two fusible links connect to the top post since I bought a dual post battery.

If I had to do it again, I would reroute the fusible link connections down the starter, but I had pretty much completed the wiring harness when I got to the point that I realized I didn't like pontiac's method!!

I'll have to find my bunny in the fiero pic for you folks! Man he liked alot of the wires!!

quote Originally posted by Damelectrician: I had problems with these very fusible links on my '84. It had a rabbit living in the battery tray and he found the fusible link wires to be delicious! Upon restoring things, working on the wiring harness, I was troubled as to why pontiac would hook up anything other than a single connection to the battery positive post. I checked the wiring diagrams and figured that must have been exactly what they did. A wire to the starter and the two fusible links! I could not get the three lugs to fit under the battery bolt to make the connection! I think in the end I'll have the starter cable connect to the side post and the two fusible links connect to the top post since I bought a dual post battery. If I had to do it again, I would reroute the fusible link connections down the starter, but I had pretty much completed the wiring harness when I got to the point that I realized I didn't like pontiac's method!! I'll have to find my bunny in the fiero pic for you folks! Man he liked alot of the wires!!

Just keep in mind there are 2 links as pictured and an additional 2 links at the starter. Only the Factory Manual shows the correct wiring AFAIK. The aftermarket manuals show the later years' diagrams. There is a factory manual for 84s currently for sale in the mall, and they are worth their weight in gold if 84s are your thing. There are a lot of subtle differences in wiring on the 84s as compared to other years, since there is no wiring harness accomodation for a 2.8 in the 84. There is also an extra set of relays on the left side of the engine compartment, next to the declid hinge--left side--bottom 2 relays I believe. These 2 relays are for L/R turn sigs/brake lights. Later years don't have them.

quote Originally posted by maryjane: Hmm. There is no battery junction box on any 84 Fiero--that was added only on later years when they moved C-500 from center firewall over to the passenger side near the battery. The 2 fusible links are just wired into the positive cable and hang down near the right end of the valve cover. I own three running 84s currently--sold another last year.

My mistake, I assumed there was a junction block based on my '84 service manual but didn't actually go and look.