Battery cable will be the same size at the starter as it is at the battery, so yes, it's pretty good sized.....they usually don't get lost among all the other wires in the starter area.
Assuming your car still has the insulation on the trans tunnel, the battery/starter cable will run alongside the trans, underneath the insulation, and come out just behind the bellhousing in the starter area. Large eyelet terminal on it that goes to the large stud terminal on the starter solenoid, along with the other wire you found that goes to the horn relay. 


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Joel Adams
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Found it.  For your amusement, here's my wiring.  Header is dropped to allow R/R of starter.  Two wires for the remaining solenoid connections are green and black; supposed to be yellow and purple. There is an extra green wire too, I guess I'll find out where is goes when something doesn't work.

OK, starter is wired.  But I still have no dash lights except the courtesy lights and seat belt lights.

We have juice at the horn relay and all the fuses checked out OK.

Any ideas to check?  Haven't checked fusible links yet, which one is the likely culprit?  Could a busted ignition lock cause this?

Thanks,
Jim

eldredjames - I'm going to attempt to attach the wiring diagram for your model vette. Hopfully you can download it and blow it up to start tracing the wires that are being effected by your lack of power or lack of ground. It is a process of elimination. Good Luck.

Wiring diagram


(modified large image to link-aapple)



|UPDATED|3/10/2016 7:46:50 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Jim...do the head/tail lights work?

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Joel Adams
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Thanks  Tomtall.  I've already got two wiring diagrams, but this is a new prospective. Never hurts to have more documentation.

AA I'll check the lights out tomorrow. :-)

how is the ground supposed to connect from the battery to the starter?  I've always believed that the starter being bolted to the bell housing would give it a ground?



|UPDATED|3/17/2016 3:07:12 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Ground cable from battery attaches under the drive seat, to the frame. At the front, another cable attaches from the frame to one of the engine mount bolts. The starter will ground to the engine.

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Joel Adams
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Finally back to the Vette, life has a way of demanding attention elsewhere...

Noticed in the Assembly Manual for 1969 that there should be a ground wire connecting at one of the starter mounting bolts.  Found the wire, attached it, but had to change the end terminal so I guess it was connected somewhere else at one time.  Continuity check showed the wire was connected to the battery ground cable but not a good connection.  Resistance went down but not to 1 or 2 ohms as I usually see.

Symptoms now:

Battery voltage is 11.6 volts,

Side lights work, not enough air to turn the lights but I saw no light gleaming thorugh the covers.

Turn signals work.

Horn works

Battery (or amps) guage doesn't register when the key is turned on,
but swings hard to the left when the key is moved to start.

Had the starter checked at O'brien's Auto parts- ran fine.

I'm at a loss. any suggestions?




|UPDATED|3/22/2016 1:33:29 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

It Started!!
Needed to find all the wires AND recharge the battery.  11.6 volts didn't work, 12.99 volts did the trick.  I didn't measure amperes although that probably had something to do with it!!

           

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Joel Adams
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(click for Texas-sized view!)             NCRS

"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"