[HO455]

Yes the purple wires to from the ST terminal on the ignition switch through the neutral safety switch, through the firewall connector, and to the solenoid. It's no wonder GM vehicles of the era have hot start problems.

There actually are two coils in the starter solenoid. One to pull the contacts and the bendex in which is where the 42 to 48 amps comes in. Once the contacts and the Bendex are pulled in a different coil maintains the contacts and Bendix as long as the engine is cranking. I believe the hold coil amperage is 7 to 8 amps.

So the solenoid wiring will only see the 40 plus amps momentarily. (Unless there's a failure somewhere) With the exception of the headlights & brake lights the rest of the circuits in the truck are de-energized when the key is moved to the start position.

The thing to remember is GM is in the business of making money. So what might be unacceptable in one industry may be good enough for GM, if it saves a couple pennies per vehicle.