I notice that there is a 2 spade connector on the HEI unit.Which spade do you hook up the 12 volt wire to? What is the other terminal for? And lastly, can I use the wire that was attached to the carburetor idle solenoid (now removed and disconnected) for the HEI power? Thanks, Scott! :confused:

On my HEI the two connectors are for the +12V and the tach. The one further back is for the power, the one in front is for the tach, assuming the distributor is installed with the connectors on the driver's side of the engine.

As for the connection, you should be able to use any +12V source that's hot in run and start, as long as it'll be able to flow enough current. I'd suggest to run an independent wire from the fuse box to the distributor (with a grommet in the hole in the firewall!).

Correct terminal is marked "BAT"

Is the choke wire hot when the starter is operating?

What kind of vehicle?

You could connect the yellow resister bypass wire that comes from the starter "R" terminal along with the choke wire to power the HEI so it will get 12 volts both during "start" & "run"

Just use the 12v wire that was on the old coil and hook it to the Bat terminal. The one closest to the firewall.

69 Right? Yes you can use the pink (12 gauge) idle stop solenoid wire for the HEI dist. It connects in the same terminal at the bulkhead along with the coil resistor wire.

Originally posted by 540cutlaSS:
Just use the 12v wire that was on the old coil and hook it to the Bat terminal. The one closest to the firewall. NO!! That is a resistor wire! You will NOT have a full 12 volts to the HEI if you use the old coil connection. If you want to do CORRECTLY, there is a terminal marked "IGN" on your fuse block. Using some #12 stranded wire, crimp a spade connector to each end. One end hooks to the "BAT" terminal on the HEI and the other end connects to the IGN terminal on the fuse block. Voila! A full 12 volts! ;)

71 el camino,its not pink, I dont think its 12guage

That wire is too small. Pick up something like this. Run it into the IGN terminal on the fuseblock. You will need a 1/4 inch spade connector to plug it into the fuseblock. It plugs into the front HEI terminal marked BAT. (At least this is how I hook up mine.)
http://www.centechwire.com/catalog/accessories/hei1.shtml

Did a search on "scottysalesman" assumed you were working on your 69. For 71 it's a 20 gauge black/pink wire, not adequate for an ignition power wire. As suggested by others, get power from the IGN terminal on the fuse block.

Thanks for the info. If the other spade is for the tach,do I need to hook up my stock tach to this? How does the tach in a stock guage cluster get its signal? If I eliminate the old distributor,coil and wiring, how will this affect tach operation? Thanks, Scott!

The original wire for a factory tach is a brown wire that connects to the - post of the stock coil. That wire will connect to the TACH connection on the HEI. A factory tach works fine with an HEI.

Elree ,thanks, you are the MAN!