runaway starter

[trapper911]

:help: i have a 96 grand caravan 3.3 L (POS) , last month or so it's had real hard time starting. every 5th try it will finally engage and start.
its not the battery, thats good condition. well, yesterday it decided that the starter was going to engage and run continuously !!! even with key in my pocket and engine in shut off !!! had to pull the battery out.

i put in a new starter relay thats in the PCM, and even tried switching the automatic shutdown relay, that didnt do shut it off.
i put it up on ramps, crawled under and disconnected the brown wire (speed clip) to the solenoid, but it still tries to start the van as soon as i put power on the battery cable.... :VHOT:

i just tried removing the ignition switch, thinking maybe the times before when it wouldnt activate, it had finally stuck in the run/start position.

now that i got the steering collumn pulled apart, i got down to 1 stupid bolt that looks like its a 3 or 4 mm star head with a stud in the middle of the nut head ! what now !!!?????
does it sound more like a shorted out starter ( one piece with solenoid ) or like the ignition switch ???

how do i test which it is without ripping the parts out?

[mfahey]

Taking a shot here but it sounds like the Bendix gear is staying engaged meaning the starter needs to be replaced. I would take it to an auto parts store and have them test it.

[trapper911]

ok, didnt want to have to try ripping starter out, but figured i finally would..
too cold to stay outside and test alot of stuff at once, i try one thing, come back inside, grab chiltons and re-read stuff, search on here, then go freeze the jewels off again, 20 minute job now taken all day !! :mad:

[donald7150]

sounds like the starter solenoid took a crap
its the small cylinder mounted directly on the starter where all the wires connect

[trapper911]

ok, finally got my fingers in to pull the top bolt off a few hours ago. took starter over to my brothers place. we tested it, pulled it apart and ran ohmmeter on it to test leads. found it had ground where it shouldnt in B+ wire and quick disconnect. solenoid was ok, no burns in the magnet or copper wires. pulled bendix gear, spinned just fine. finally i said, "the nose gear is staying all the way out, its not spring loading..."
pushed down on back of spindle, finally it broke free. turned out it had welded itself to the copper connectors on both sides and was stuck!!
now i just gotta fine tune dremmel it smooth again, or go to a starter repair shop and buy the connector bolts, to save myself about $160.
i thought that it had broke a wire loose inside from the solenoid, and it had welded to the other wire in a constant hot feed accross, but it was just the spindel making the connection. once we broke it loose again, we hot charged it and it worked just fine.

[mfahey]

Sounds like it found a new ground path, hence the welding.

[acton mike]

I would spend the bucks on a starter if i were you; it sounds like it has suffered some abuse and it would be a damn shame to do all that work on it only to have it crap out

But, if money is tight - then needs must

[gsmagnum]

I would get a JY starter.
Go to a JY that has them pre pulled.
I think I paid $25 for a late model V-8 starter if memory serves correct.
Call around and find one that meets your available funds.