Yesterday I swapped out the starter on my 1974 Mercruiser 140. The new starter was a 3 pole instead of 4 pole like the original (yes, original) Delco that was in it. I was told that the Delco I had was extinct and that this one was a replacement for it. On the original I had a yellow wire attached to one of the small terminals, and a brown wire on the other small terminal. On the new one I attached both the yellow and brown wires to the one available terminal. When i went to start it, it would turn over but not run. After some mental debate, I took off the brown wire and she fired right over and ran perfect. I've looked at every wiring diagram I can get my hands on and can't see what that wires purpose is. I hate to open the wrap for all the wires its encased in to chase it, and dont want to have to return the starter. Any ideas what this brown wire's purpose is? Thanks!
