Wiring a Ford Mini Starter...

Okay Guys,

We get asked this question a lot.  To use the Ford remote starter solenoid or not to use, that is the question. 

The standard architecture in the Mustang is to use the remote solenoid to switch the power going to the coils of the solenoid integrated into the Mini Starter.  This is a remnant from when Ford did not integrate the solenoid in the starter.  If you think about what is going on here, you are using a switch (the key) to send power to one solenoid (the remote solenoid) to send power to a second solenoid (the one integrated into the starter assembly). 

If you wanted to wire the system with ISIS the same way as the original schematic, you would connect the starter output on the POWERCELL, usually the light-blue wire, to the coil terminal on the remote solenoid.  When the MASTERCELL sees the starter switch close, the POWERCELL sends power to the remote solenoid, which sends power to the solenoid on the Mini Starter.  This link will take you to the schematic in our reference library that shows how to wire it the Ford way. 

http://www.isispower.com/filebase/src/Installation_Guides/Littelfuse-ISIS-ignition-starter-combo.pdf

A lot of guys use this approach because it is how it was done in the car originally.  Some customers have also told us that they like this approach because it gives them a stud that is easy to access to connect constant 12-volt cables. 

The easier way to do this is to connect the output on the POWERCELL directly to the starter terminal on the starter assembly.  That way when the MASTERCELL sees the input from the ignition switch, it commands the POWERCELL to send power to the integrated solenoid, which cranks the motor. 

The power going to the starter solenoid looks no different to ISIS than a headlight or a door popper.  As far as we can tell, Ford is the only OEM that uses this separate solenoid to power the starter solenoid.