starter will not disengage, even with key out
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Florida
starter will not disengage, even with key out
Last night my C5 developed this problem:
1)turn the key off, and the motor is still turning over,
2)turn the key back on and the motor runs, but makes a funny noise (Probably the starter still engaged)
3)the only way to stop all this is to disconnect the battery
I believe this to be a faulty ignition switch.
I have seen lots of switch problems, but not this specific problem.
Does it make sense that it is the ignition switch?
thanks!
1)turn the key off, and the motor is still turning over,
2)turn the key back on and the motor runs, but makes a funny noise (Probably the starter still engaged)
3)the only way to stop all this is to disconnect the battery
I believe this to be a faulty ignition switch.
I have seen lots of switch problems, but not this specific problem.
Does it make sense that it is the ignition switch?
thanks!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Here is what the starter wires SHOULD look like. Obviously you have voltage on the purple wire all the time so, it has to be shorted to the one of the RED wires on the main terminal or somewhere in the harness along side the starter:
IF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, The wires turn up clean, the solenoid would be BAD
Bill
IF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, The wires turn up clean, the solenoid would be BAD
Bill
Last edited by Bill Curlee; Dec 22, 2017 at 03:28 PM.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 3,138
Likes: 802
From: Espanola New Mexico
This is a 5 year old thread, not sure the OP will respond. The previous advice to remove the TDR from its socket is still valid. If you remove the TDR and the starter still cranks over the purple wire is shorted to the battery cable at the solenoid or the starter needs replacing.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 12,864
Likes: 4,669
If you bought a reman starter, there's a chance it wasn't remanufactured correctly. Also a chance that the starter gear and flywheel/flexplate/ring gear are ever so slightly too close/tight to each other, and need a small shim to space them apart a small amount. Here is why; when you turn the key, the solenoid effectively forces the starter gear teeth into the ring gear under pressure. However, the return spring doesn't have the same strength to retract the starter gear if they're binding, so the starter gear stays "extended," and the starter keeps cranking. This happened to me about 20 years ago on a 400 SBC in a pickup. Turned off the key, and the starter still kept cranking. If that's not bad enough, once the car is started, the engine spins the starter over much faster than the starter is designed to spin, or capable of spinning. With a couple Flowmasters, you may not even hear the starter cranking when it shouldn't be! So it could be all mechanical. BTW, I had to get 3 different remans before I got one that didn't stick!!! Which means I also had to install, and then remove, 2 other starters!! Not high on anyone's fun things to do after a 10 hour workday! Hope this helps......