The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Help Identifying Poles on Delco Remy 1116507 Ignition Switch

I recently bought a NOS Delco Remy 1116507 ignition switch and I was hoping the group could lend me a hand in identifying the poles on the rear of the switch. I'm assuming the three poles are for battery, ignition, and starter, but I'm not seeing any markings indicating which pole is which. I have included three pictures of the bottom of the switch and I was hoping someone out there might be able to help me identify the poles by looking at the pictures.

Thanks so much for your assistance!

Mike

Get out your ohm meter, you have one right, play the game!

Ed

I didn't find 1116507 in either 39-54 GMC Master Parts Book or 1929-54 Chevrolet Master Parts and Accessories Catalog, but I did find it in the 1955.2-60 GMC Master Parts Book. It is listed for use on 55.2 GMC six cylinder standard transmission small trucks. These would have a "stomp" starter.

That switch looks just like the one in my '52 GMC. It has 3 terminals and only 2 positions, on and off. There is no "start" position on the switch as that function is provided by the "stomp" starter button on the floorboard. So you could hook the battery wire from the ammeter to any one of the 3 posts and use the other 2 posts for ignition and accessory.

With some careful ohmmeter reading of the switch on the workbench with no wires attached, I found that the terminal A to terminal B connection made slightly before the terminal A to terminal C connection. Just a few degrees turn of the key difference. So I hooked my battery connection to A, my accessories to B and ignition to C.

Which one is A, B and C? I'd have to pull the switch to find out.

I believe one of those terminals will be "ignition" and the other will be "accessory". The ACC terminal will power things such as the instrument panel, heater motor, radio, or anything else that needs to be switched on and off without being directly connected to the ignition system. The third terminal connects to the back of the ammeter to receive battery voltage. A simple ohmmeter or even an ice pick test light should help you decide which terminal is for incoming power.
Jerry

If I had to make a wild guess, the terminal with the different shape would be the battery.

Mike will this switch physically mount on your truck correctly.
1947-53 Chevrolet truck switches have ears for the mounting screws.
The one you have is for later model trucks.

As Bill Hanlon says, all on or all off. Hook hot to one and use the other two for "ignition on" .

Good point. The 55.2 and later switches have a screw-on bezel at the key end to hold the switch to the dash where the 53 and earlier use ears on the side of the switch. I don't know what mounting is used for 54-55.1.

Hi Ed,

Thanks for your reply. I actually do not have an ohm meter, but now that I know that I can use it for this application, I will certainly pick one up. I am a newbie to the vehicle restoration game, which is why I joined this forum. The way that I, and many other newbies, "play the game" is to do a ton of research and, when we can't find answers, we look to the experts for advice and assistance so we can learn and hopefully pass our knowledge on to others.

Mike

Thank you SO much Bill, Hotrod Lincoln, Buoymaker, and Bartamos for this awesome information and for sharing your knowledge with me and the group! I inherited a '39 1/2 ton and have been struggling with getting all of the correct parts for the Electrolock ignition system so, in order to have a working ignition and not destroying the original Electrolock parts, I picked up this 50's Chevy ignition because the size and mounting configuration seems identical to the one that came in my '39. I want to be able to use the truck's original ignition lock and key and was able to pop the lock out of the original ignition switch and put it in this new one. The bezel from my '39 ignition screws on it perfectly and I am excited to get it wired up.

Thanks again for your helpful and thoughtful replies. I greatly appreciate it!

Mike

Mike, Enclosed is colored wiring diagram(matches wire colors even) showing routing for my ‘55.2 GMC, Chevy is probably the same.

Below are ignition switches, left is original two position switch with no start position due to having stomp starter. Right is V-8 switch with start position, plus labeled locations. Note large screw on flange that holds assembly to panel with two slots 90 degrees apart.

Might be worth getting a copy of diagram, plastic bolt sides, reasonably priced at Jegs.

Ed

Mostly. The GMC only has one turn signal indicator lamp in the dash.

This is great, Ed- thank you very much for the wiring diagram and pics of the ignition switches. This is super helpful!

Take care!

Mike