Reply to "Ignition System Mess"

The John Haas controller is great, but... it can't replace a coil, voltage regulator or solenoid...

(... Unless it really is a miracle product!)

If you want to get rid of the Voltage regulator, you need to convert to one of the "1 Wire" regulators (there is a GM ??? (Part number escapes me... 12-SI?). That means rewiring and you lose one of the generator idiot light functions on the dash board.....

I did not do this - I had my existing alternator rewound for higher capacity, with the same interface to the external VR. You can get solid state ones that likely have higher reliability than the mechanical relay type - yours (with the silver cover) may already be solid state.

If you want to lose the remote solenoid, you can likely get a PMGR (Permanent Magnet Gear Reduction) starter - which is an excellent upgrade - you need to do some rewiring to get those high power lines running directly to the starter, as well as the solenoid control. You may or may not need a tap of the battery to bypass the ballast resistor to the coil if you have one.

Or you can use a PMGR starter with that external solenoid, by merely running a wire off the remote solenoid to the starter.


My suggestion?

Clean up what you have, get it running as well as you can (if able) THEN worry about ignition upgrades.

Those wires can be cleaned up with judicious sorting, rearrangement, new terminals maybe connectors, zip-ties, and sheathing/cable wraps.

Rocky