Car trying to start with out the key turned?

[rwood126]

Ok...heres the deal. My starter when out last night...so (I thought. I had to un plug the battery to get the starter to stop spinning.) I just replaced it 10 minuts ago. I went and hooked up the battery cables and the car startes turning over....no key in the ingnition or no clutch pressed in.


Any ideas?

 

[jrichker]

The starter solenoid has stuck the contacts together. Usually this is result of a low battery or some bad connections. Clean and check all the connections before proceeding. The battery posts and inside of the battery post terminals should be scraped clean with a knife or cleaner brush tool.

The clamp on with 2 bolts battery terminal ends are a know problem causer. Anyplace you see green on a copper wire is corrosion. Corrosion gets in the clamped joint and works its way up the wire under the insulation. Avoid them like the plague...

The fix for stuck contacts is to smack the bottom side of the starter solenoid to get the contacts unstuck.

If that does not work, remove the small red/blue wire that is stuck on a screw. It is the wire from the ignition switch that energizes the starter solenoid. If that fixes the problem (unlikely, but possible), replace the ignition switch.


If that does not work, replace the starter solenoid. A wiring diagram of the solenoid follows...

Starter solenoid wiring for 86-91 Mustang

Starter solenoid wiring 92-93 Mustang or earlier Mustang with upgraded high torque mini starter.

 

[rwood126]

Thanks...

I guess when the starter locked up it caused the solenoid to go bad. Just replaced the solenoid...fire right up. I'm not going to keep the aftermarket solenoid on there....it's real cheap looking. I'll get a new OEM solenoid tomorrow when I go into work.

I know that I don't want to have to change out that starter again any time soon...