HEI power lead question.

[Liltroy]

Hi guys, Im new here but Ive been working on a 74 stepside project and it appears the PO really jacked the wiring up in this thing. Anyway, its got an hei distributer that I'm not sure if it came with or not and my question is about the power lead. I just bought the power/tach lead to wire in since the PO decided to use a crimp on female terminal instead and after pulling the wire off it just seems kinda dinky to me?? Its been at least 12 years since I've owned a sbc but I seem to remember the poer lead going to my hei distributer being pretty thick but this one seems dinky like maybe 18g or 16g at the most. Is this the correct wire? The wire is maybe red or orange??? hard to tell due to fading and red paint,lol. Thanks for any help.

[bd]

An HEI distributor is powered by a 12- to 10-gauge pink with black stripe ignition lead that connects to the B+ terminal, using the connector illustrated below.  In some applications the pink ignition lead will be siamesed with a brown or white tach lead in a two-wire connector.

[DnStClr]

I think it was right around that year-74, or 73, that GM started using HEI in the trucks.

[Liltroy]

Well that's definitely not an oem power wire then. I guess I'll pull a larger one from the fuseblock. It runs good but I wanna make sure it's getting enough current.

[Captkaos]

1975 was the first year for the HEI in trucks.

[JollyBowtie]

Most likely whoever put the HEI in your truck just put the spade connector on the 12+ wire from the coil on the old ignition system.  That was the quick and easy way to upgrade to the HEI from points.  You might check the voltage to that wire since some vehicles used a resistor or "resistance wire" to drop the voltage to the coil on points ignition systems.  If you aren't getting full voltage at that wire, getting things that way will sure let that HEI really do its thing.


ROb

[VileZambonie]

Sounds like someone bypassed the resistance wire but did a poor job. Rewire the circuit off of a fused switched ign ckt of the appropriate gauge.

[bake74]

1975 was the first year for the HEI in trucks.

     I added an HEI to my 74 step side, and the wire should be a 12 gage red wire.

Sounds like someone bypassed the resistance wire but did a poor job. Rewire the circuit off of a fused switched ign ckt of the appropriate gauge.

     I did as Vile suggest here and have never had an issue since, been about 2.5 years now.