Starter would not stop...

[RMB]

I cranked the car to go to coffee and cars this morning, and the starter would not stop. I shut the car off, took the key out, and it still wouldn't stop. I disconnected the positive cable, and it stopped, but when I reconnected the pos cable, the starter started spinning again. So, I disconnected the negative cable, reconnected the negative cable, and that fixed the problem. Cranked the car, drove to coffee and cars, no more problems. It's very random, and has happened maybe 2-3 times in the last year, and I've had my car on the road just over 10 years now. What could be causing this? Starter solenoid?

Rob

[seagull81]

My guess would be the clearance on the starter pinion to the flywheel is incorrect and it isn't disengaging when the engine starts.

[rmcmicki]

I had a similar problem, started the car, starter would not go off. I had to cut power at the battery cut off. My solenoid was totally fried inside, so I replaced it with a good Ford Diesel one and have not had issues since.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Solenoid. If it was hanging in the flywheel as Steve suggests it would not have started spinning again when the power was disconnected and then restored.

Jeff

[RMB]

Thanks for the input, I'll replace the solenoid.

Rob