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Starter won't stop cranking

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11K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  mistypotato  
#1 ·
Starter will crank as long the battery is connected. Key out of the ignition switch and laying on the seat, still cranks. Installed new starter, still cranks. Ignition switch fuse and starter relay out of the under hood fuse box, still cranks anytime the battery is connected..
 
#2 · (Edited)
An odd one. With the starter relay removed you've eliminated everything except solenoid power from the PDC to the starter. That's the smaller brown wire at the starter. The larger red wire is the battery feed to the starter motor and always has power applied. I would suspect the brown wire is shorted to power either at the PDC connection or internal to the PDC. That's contact 87 at the relay through connector C7 pin 3 on the bottom of the PDC then over that brown wire to the solenoid connection C2 at the starter.

Anything in particular lead up to this problem. Any other problems. Any maintenance done recently. What's the model year?
 
#3 ·
To isolate whether it's the PDC, disconnect it. If the starter still cranks when you connect the battery, you have a short of the brown wire to positive in the loom somewhere between the PDC and starter.

If it does not when you disconnect the PDC, then you may have a short inside the PDC or at the connectors
 
#6 · (Edited)
Here's the latest....With the key out, there is no power (by test light or multimeter) in the brown solenoid wire and the starter will crank with the brown wire unconnected or connected. My old school ( '68 thru '88) mechanic skills tells me that the old starter had a stuck solenoid and the NAPA rebilt is faulty also. How else could the starter, now in my shop vise, crank with jumper cables only?? Am I wrong in asumming that the starter has the solenoid built in, or is there an external solenoid I havent found? This all started when I was searching for a problem which is draining my battery in 24 to 36 hours.
 
#7 ·
The solenoid is integrated into the starter.
Unusual to have the replacement starter have the same unusual issue as the old one. But it happens.
 
#8 ·
if you have it out take it back and tell them what the it is doing and ask for another one. If the next one they give you does the same thing then you can be pretty sure the issue is else where.
 
#9 ·
Just back from the NAPA store this morning.....Sure enough, the new (rebuilt) replacement starter was faulty.....Sure makes an old bald headed man scratch his scalp when a new part does not function properly.....Oh well, at least the problem is fixed...Thanks to all for your input...