Need help with these wires, see picture

That looks like the starter relay. Is that correct?

If so, then you should always have only ONE wire that is switched by the relay.
Therefore, the other wires would connect to the side with the battery wire.

Do you have a mini/new starter upgrade? Is that why you have TWO wires that are switched by the relay?
If so, that is a VERY VERY bad idea. Like walking blind-folded across a street, that "may work for a while". But, do it enough times, and VERY BAD things happen to you.

There are wiring diagrams at:
Mustang FAQ - Wiring & Engine Info


For a mini/new starter install, see:
http://www.fordracingparts.com/download/instructionsheets/FordInstShtM-11000-A50A75B50B75.pdf
From the manual: (Caps and bold are from the manual)
! ! ! WARNING: DO NOT INSTALL A JUMPER WIRE BETWEEN THE BATTERY TERMINAL AND THE
SOLENOID BLADE TERMINAL AT THE STARTER TO AVOID THE USE OF THE # 12 WIRE. IF DONE,
VOLTAGE IS GENERATED TO THE SOLENOID BY THE STARTER SPINNING AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE START KEY OR BUTTON, CAUSING THE STARTER TO REMAIN ENGAGED, RESULTING IN SEVERE DAMAGE AND EVENTUAL FAILURE OF THE STARTER ! ! !


BTW: IMHO, ***BFD*** about ruining a starter!! There's also a good chance of munging up teeth on the flywheel. What a "fun and cheap" thing to replace - NOT! And, in the absolute worse case, a broken rod/etc could happen from the starter "re-engaging and applying force" as it free spins.


More FRPP manuals at:
Ford Racing Performance Parts - [Downloads]

VibrantRedGT said:

No, the car isn't running and I'm not using another type of starter. I got these wires mixed up and trying to get them back in the correct order before we are done with the motor work. I'm checking wire diagrams to get it correctly. Only problem is the color coding has been a pain because some of the wires must be chased far to get the real color. This was why I'm asking for someone to post a picture of theirs.

Click to expand...

If you have the older bigger starter that has only one wire on it, then you want only that big fat wire going to it (the black one on the right?).

All of the other wires will connect to the terminal that has the battery wire on it.

BTW: Some pics of the new verses old style of starter:

BTW, for the Fox Stangs, Ford used the starter relay terminal as a battery-power distribution post/point/block.

VibrantRedGT said:

I'm checking wire diagrams to get it correctly. Only problem is the color coding has been a pain because some of the wires must be chased far to get the real color. This was why I'm asking for someone to post a picture of theirs.

Click to expand...

FWIW, in reality, there no such thing as a 100% correct wiring diagram for a Fox stang. I have THREE different wiring diagrams from FORD Manuals, books, etc that have slightly different wires and wiring colors for my '86 T-bird's power distribution. If I remember correctly, none of those where exactly the same as my '86 T-bird that had 100% stock wiring (springs and tires were pretty much the only mods on that car).

After talking with people, and seeing forums posts over the years, it's clear that my T-Bird wasn't the only Ford that had some differences in the wiring from the FORD service manuals. For various reasons, Ford would do inter-production mods on wiring and other things.

So, the point is that you may or may not be able to find a wiring diagram, or other member's car, that has the same exact wiring as yours. Yes, there is a very high chance that you will. But, also realize that it's not 100% guaranteed.

Some diagrams to help out...


Starter solenoid wiring for 86-91 Mustang



Starter solenoid wiring 92-93 Mustang or earlier Mustang with upgraded high torque mini starter.