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TR6 starter problem...totally stumped!

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ferrdlee

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'73 tr6, US Spec.. WR wire came of tang on starter (has happened a few times over 20 years...I've tightened and pushed back on). This time, i noticed a second wire, WY, was broken off. Can't find where it was ever attached to the WR one... At any rate, I stripped the WY one and stuffed inside the clip and pushed it back on the tang like I always have, and not the car fires and immediately dies. Since i couldn't see where it used to be attached, and my wiring diagram doesn't show a WY wire at the solenoid, I put it on the big red lead on the solenoid and just put the WR one on the tang. Naturally, the car started right up and kept running. I immediately knew that wasn't wired right since as soon as i sat in the car to start it, the red light was on in the gauge telling me the system was already hot. Needless to say, I had to pull the coil wire to shut it off. So... then I found this forum and saw a note saying some cars had the WY, but it wasn't necessary and could stay unattached. I left it unattached and all I got with the WR back in place was a click from the solenoid.

So what's wrong???????

dave
 
You must not have a schematic for your car.
Go to this site and print one for a 73.
https://www.advanceautowire.com/tr2506.pdf
The W/Y feeds the coil as long as the starter is engaged in spinning the engine.
Once the engine starts, the ballast resistor (K/W) wire takes over....that is unless the system has been modified.
 
poolboy said:
You must not have a schematic for your car.
Go to this site and print one for a 73.
https://www.advanceautowire.com/tr2506.pdf
The W/Y feeds the coil as long as the starter is engaged in spinning the engine.
Once the engine starts, the ballast resistor (K/W) wire takes over....that is unless the system has been modified.
Click to expand...
thanks for the quick response...

i've been looking at that schematic till i go blind and it doesn't show a WY either...it shows WN. does it go with the WR on the same tang or is there another tang around the far side i didn't feel??? the schematic shows 4 terminals and i only see 3 but i can't look for a 4th right now because it's a pouring t-storm at the moment and the car is dead in the driveway! did i just miss something simple???
 
If you want to start your engine so you can move your car, go the fuse box and make up a wire that will reach from the spade with the white wire to the positive terminal of the coil.

If your starter still works, the engine should start and run normally, and stop running when you turn the key OFF.

If you want to leave it that way, you'll want to have a 3.0 ohm coil.
 
Last edited:
Rather than arguing about the schematic, just disconnect the WY wire and tie it back some place where it can't short to anything (including the WR wire). In theory, it makes starting easier in very cold weather; but as long as the plugs, points and battery are reasonably fresh, you should have no trouble at all down to well below freezing with it simply disconnected. And it doesn't do anything at all once the engine is started.

FWIW Here's a blowup from Dan's diagram (click on the thumbnail). Note how the WY is supposed to go to it's own terminal on the starter solenoid. Some replacements don't have that terminal, or yours may be broken off. What the terminal does is supply battery voltage to the WY wire only when the starter is cranking. This shorts out the ballast resistor to provide more current to the coil, giving a hotter spark when battery voltage is low (due to cranking a cold, stiff engine with a cold battery).


UNTITLED.JPG


PS, it could have been worse. I was some thousand miles from home when one of the Stags started dying only while driving uphill. I had an interesting time figuring out that that wire had broken loose, and would touch ground (shorting out the coil) only while driving uphill.
 
TR3driver said:
Rather than arguing about the schematic, just disconnect the WY wire and tie it back some place where it can't short to anything (including the WR wire). In theory, it makes starting easier in very cold weather; but as long as the plugs, points and battery are reasonably fresh, you should have no trouble at all down to well below freezing with it simply disconnected. And it doesn't do anything at all once the engine is started.

FWIW Here's a blowup from Dan's diagram (click on the thumbnail). Note how the WY is supposed to go to it's own terminal on the starter solenoid. Some replacements don't have that terminal, or yours may be broken off. What the terminal does is supply battery voltage to the WY wire only when the starter is cranking. This shorts out the ballast resistor to provide more current to the coil, giving a hotter spark when battery voltage is low (due to cranking a cold, stiff engine with a cold battery).


View attachment 33063


PS, it could have been worse. I was some thousand miles from home when one of the Stags started dying only while driving uphill. I had an interesting time figuring out that that wire had broken loose, and would touch ground (shorting out the coil) only while driving uphill.
Click to expand...
thanks...

i was obviously not looking at the right schematic...it was labelled 1973-1976 TR6...that thumbnail is not on the schematic i had. Can you give me the right link? Anyhow, it stopped pouring and i did find the 4th terminal blade...it was bent completely sideways in a spot i couldn't see...missed it when I initially looked...and did have the broken connector on it. So we're fixed.

Thanks very much for your help
 
I gave you the link to the schematic for your car. In fact there is a schematic for the 250 and every year TR6. All you have to do is scroll down to your year.
 
ferrdlee said:
i was obviously not looking at the right schematic...it was labelled 1973-1976 TR6...
Click to expand...
Strange. The PDF file that Ken linked to above has 8 different schematics in it; the only one that covers more than one year is the 71-72 TR6. 73 TR6 is on page 6, and is the first year with the external ballast and the WY wire to short out the external ballast. All earlier years didn't have it.

But here's a JPG copy of just the 73 TR6 page
https://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh260/TR3driver/Manual pages/73TR6.jpg~original
 
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