starter wont stop spinning and more...

[90FoxBdy]

Been have a bunch of problems with the car lately. The latest the starter wont stop spinning, and now the car has no power at all and wont take a jump start. All I have to do is turn the battery switch on and the starter starts running. Heres what i did so far after searchng through some threads. Replaced the solenoid with a cheapo, after getting the starter bench tested and finding nothing was wrong with it. Nothing! I then broke down and replaced the starter. This stopped it from running without the ignition switch. I then went to start the car and once the starter cranked it didnt stop till I hit the battery disconnect switch. I then replaced the ignition switch with a ford unit. Once again go to start the car and the starter wont stop again. Next I replace the solenoid again with a ford unit. Went right back to square as soon as the battery switch is on the starter just ran constantly. Shut it down played with some wires made sure everything was tight, go to turn the battery switch on and I get no power at all. Figured I killed it, so I hook up some jumper cables and as soon I connect the cables all four terminals start smoking and burning like the battery wont take the jump. Cleaned all the grounds and nothing...... What next fellas.

Also it makes no difference if the trigger wire is hooked up or not the starter just start running either way. TIA

 

[HISSIN50]

I would start over and make sure each terminal/cable on the solenoid is correctly hooked up. Smoking is not good. One can remove the starter cable on the solenoid and monitor smoke, etc. Carefully attach the starter cable to its side of the solenoid and note what happens. Keep a test light attached to the trigger to ensure you dont have 12 volts hitting it when you should not.

Otherwise, if both starter solenoid terminals are hot at all times, that suggests that it latched.
I know you know all this, as you have gone through it several times. This is just what came to mind.

Good luck.

 

[stang22]

Double check all of your grounds as well. A simple over-look for a lot of problems.

Tim

 

[DMAC88LX]

Double check all of your grounds as well. A simple over-look for a lot of problems.

Tim

Yeah, that sounds like a good place to start, ,my buddy had that problem in his chevelle and found the ground wire melter to his header. Probably an easier diag. than yours but.........

 

[Michael Yount]

A bad ground isn't gonna make the starter run-on; a bad ground will make it not want to turn over at all because it can't get voltage/current needed.

Did you change anything recently, or did this just start doing it? What type of starter - one wire or two wire mini? Sounds like a mini starter with the large cable hooked up the wrong side of the solenoid.

 

[MahFiVeOh]

I had this problem with my car last year. The starter would just scream after i tried to crank it over.I had to disconnect the baterry terminal to get it to stop.I ended up replacing the starter relay 3 times and it did nothing to help the problem.I then replaced my battery ( was kinda old ) and this solved my problem and its never done this since.Apparently when the battery is on its way out it cannot hold a decent charge and this caused the starter relay to arc and "weld" itself when you tried to crank it over. Anyways i hope this helps

 

[90FoxBdy]

Thanks for the ideas. I charged the battery last night so I dont think that has anything to do with it. I removed the cable that runs from the solenoid to starter to inspect it. Looks fine, also cleaned up all the grounds again just to be sure.

Heres something else to add if I disconnect the starter wire from the solenoid or starter I can turn the battery switch on and get power to everything and the starter wont be spinning but as soon as I go to start the car the starter stays on, turn battery back off then on and the starter runs constantly again.

As for anything that led up to this the car did have a intermittent start prob. Sometimes I would turn the key to start it and I would lose all power. Let it sit for a few minutes and it would usually start. Other than that I have not changed anything recently. Keep the ideas coming please and thanks. Ricky

 

[HISSIN50]

Heres something else to add if I disconnect the starter wire from the solenoid or starter I can turn the battery switch on and get power to everything and the starter wont be spinning but as soon as I go to start the car the starter stays on, turn battery back off then on and the starter runs constantly again.

Ricky, I just came in from working on stuff and am out of it. But............
If the power to the starter is disconnected from the rest of the electrical system, how does the starter get juice to spin?

 

[Michael Yount]

Either from the 'Force' or from what Scotty would call 'impulse power'.....

 

[90FoxBdy]

I worded that wrong, what I meant to say is that once you disconnect the cable from either the solenoid or the starter then reconnect and turn the battery back on the starter will not run, but once u put the key back in and go to start it the starter will start running continuesly again. Also didnt mention the starter is the older style 1 wire hookup. Sorry bout that

 

[MahFiVeOh]

Thanks for the ideas. I charged the battery last night so I dont think that has anything to do with it.................

How old is your battery? If you have another vehicle try swapping the batteries, you might be surprised.This is how we finally figured out my problem.I kept asking if it might be the battery causing this problem and i would always get the reply " Nah, it cant be the battery doing this" I was right though $hit luck i say

 

[Laser Red GT]

A bad ground isn't gonna make the starter run-on; a bad ground will make it not want to turn over at all because it can't get voltage/current needed.

Did you change anything recently, or did this just start doing it? What type of starter - one wire or two wire mini? Sounds like a mini starter with the large cable hooked up the wrong side of the solenoid.

I have to disagree. Whilst it sounds strange it actually happened to me. The starter would run even with the key out of the car, just spun until i disconnected the battery. I changed the solenoid and the starter and it still did the same thing happened. Eventually i checked all grounds and the ground wire from the battery to the timing cover was the problem. The connection was dirty and the bolt was rusty. I cleaned it up, put in a new bolt and no problems since. Check all your grounds thoroughly.

 

[HISSIN50]

The starter should always be grounded. A poor connection can keep the starter from cranking the motor over, but cant make it 'run-on' (keep cranking when not directed to do so).

 

[1SLO306]

so when n to put power to it, then it tried to start the car with out the key on. if so my did the same thing one night after showing the car off to some people. i cranked it and the start was tuck on and i would turn the key off and it wouldnt stop so i turn the key and it cranked but starter wouldnt stop. i was pissed so i held the gas down and blew the starter to pieces inside. i got a new starter put i on and it did the same thing so i got a new selinoid(didnt help), new battery(didnt help). turns out fords have to have 2 ground wires from the battery, one to the block and one the the engine bay. happened in june and it hasent stuck since i put the ground wire on it. i didnt have the one to the fender and not having a foot long ground wire cost me about $120 after the core trade in of 30 bucks for the demolished starter. so check an see if u have that other ground wire is there. if not get one, it will save u money!!!!

 

[p.exeter_bleu]

this happened to me one night, but the problem was very clear, the little wire that plugs onto the solenoid was kinda crappy and patched to begin with, and i guess while i started it the wire came apart leaving the cap piece on and making my starter turn till it ate mybattery, my friend came by restripped the wire, made a new connection jumped my car and i was on the road again.

 

[Laser Red GT]

The starter should always be grounded. A poor connection can keep the starter from cranking the motor over, but cant make it 'run-on' (keep cranking when not directed to do so).

I would have agreed with that statement a while ago. However, since it happened to me i know that a bad ground can sometimes allow the starter on a Mustang to run on. I worked on a Mustang this week with a bad ground too but that one wouldn't even turn the starter over. I guess it depends on the conditions.

 

[1FaStMcLAREN]

had the same problem, you might want to check your starter, it gets stuck and continues to spin.,.... it keeps spinning while its turning your car on right?

 

[90FoxBdy]

Still same problem. So far I replaced the solenoid, starter, ignition switch, cleaned the grounds and tried a different battery. Any other ideas?

 

[90FoxBdy]

Problem solved! Turned out it was the solenoid all along. What was happening is that when I was trying to start it the battery was not fully charged and apparently that causes the electro-magnet inside to weld itself together when there is not enough power to complete the whole circuit. I knew originally the battery did not have much power but figured I would just try it anyway didn't think it would hurt anyting just not start. Then when I went to jump it, it was already cooked.

Talked to my uncle who works at a shop that specializes in automotive electronics and he says he sees all the time with Fords. So what I did was take the solenoid that was bad banged it on the wall a couple times to try to free it up then put it on the car and it works fine. Of course im gonna go get another one cause Im sure this one wont last at all. Thanks for the ideas. Later Ricky

 

[HISSIN50]

Your uncle is correct - that is what I meant when I mentioned the solenoid latching in the first post.

Glad to hear you got it fixed.