diagram what wires go to the starter solenoid

I ran a similar rebuild on my 2012 Can-Am. The solenoid has three main connections: the thick red from the battery positive goes to the big terminal on the solenoid, the small yellow (or sometimes green) is the ignition trigger from the key switch and goes to the middle terminal, and the ground wire (usually black) attaches to the solenoid case or a chassis ground bolt. Double‑check continuity with a multimeter before you power it up.

Just a heads‑up: make sure the battery is fully charged and disconnect it before you start fiddling. I once wired my starter wrong and it fried the starter motor in seconds. After connecting the red to the solenoid's main terminal, I used a splice block for the ignition feed to keep it tidy. Also, don’t forget a good crimp on the ground strap – a loose ground can cause intermittent starts.

I had a different experience on my older Honda ATC. The solenoid there uses a separate coil wire (often blue) that goes to the kill switch, not the ignition. If you’re pulling a Honda, verify that you’re not mixing the kill‑switch wire with the start signal. Hooking those up wrong can lock the engine and even damage the CDI. A quick look at the service manual PDF cleared my confusion.

If you’re comfortable with it, I’d suggest labeling each wire before you disconnect anything next time. I used heat‑shrink tubing and wrote the function on a piece of tape. It saved me a lot of guesswork when I reassembled. Also, consider adding a fuse inline on the ignition trigger wire – a 5A fuse is cheap insurance against a short that could blow the whole wiring harness.

One trade‑off to consider is running a dedicated ground strap from the solenoid to the frame instead of relying on the case ground. I upgraded mine after noticing a slight voltage drop during cold starts. It didn’t change performance dramatically, but it gave me more confidence in wet conditions. Just make sure the strap is bolted to a clean, bare metal spot to avoid corrosion.