the starter on my chevy keeps on cranking the engine over when the key is off, it won't stop until the battery is unhooked. I've shimmed it, torn apart the solenoid and cleaned it up, rewired the car, tried two separate ignition switches, eliminated all wires except the battery cable( ran a jumper wire to the s terminal) checked the flywheel to make sure it is on right. I've bench tested it and it works fine, put it in the car and won't stop cranking. I've tried the search function and the best answer I can find is that I need a high torque starter. anybody know if this will help? any suggestions? the starter and solenoid were new when I got the car, it had never been ran. the motor is a 350, tranny is 3 speed.
B+M I had this happen before, The battery was the problem. When the battery was cranking the voltage would drop to about 6-8 volts. The starter would still work but a bit slower. Anyway the heat from to low voltage "welded" the solenoid contacts and caused the starter to continue to crank till the battery would go dead. A small tap on the solenoid would release the contacts after. So check your battery and connections. Good Luck! Normal Norman
i don't think it has anything to do with hi-torque starter or not your solenoid or starter drive must be sticking...or are you sure the "S" pole on the solenoid is not getting energized somehow?
Forgot to mention, I've tried multiple batteries, the latest being a fully charged optima. Nothing is touching the s pole on the solenoid, except the jumper wire I have ran to it right now. I've had the solenoid apart many times, it has no signs of burnt contacts or shorted wires. It works fine out of the car, but not when I install it.
See if you can fit a 3/16 drill bit between the pinion shaft on the starter and the flexplate/flywheel teeth. If it is too tight or loose shim it till it is a very close fit. A touch loose on that clearance is better than tight. Insufficient clearance in this area will always cause a starter to continue to turn even with the key off. The drive gear gets stuck in the engaged position and keeps the starter in the start position thereby not letting the key shut off the starter. You can also use a 3/16" rod or piece of keystock to measure the clearance.
huh, I use a 1/8" allen wrench to test the fit...if it fits, then it's loose enough, but if you can twist it then it's too loose. are all 3 pieces on the end of the starter shaft installed properly? these limit the travel of the solenoid. is the flywheel on backwards?
I just use 3/16 cause that is what I was told like a million years ago. I think it is just so the clearance is there. I have always hesitated to go any tighter because Butch said not to. Sounds like 1/8" works good as well.
doesn't look like the flywheel is on backwards. is it possible that its the wrong starter? Its a newer small block, not sure of the year, looks to be drilled for the staggered mount bolt starter and the inline bolt starter, I'm using the inline one. the tranny is 64 chevy car 3 speed manual.
maybe a voltage drop test on the battery cables and make sure there's a good ground (battery to block and block to frame). the newer ('96 and newer) sbc starter with the small case are magnetic. they can handle low voltage, they handle header heat a lot better, are a lot lighter, but there is no 12v kick-up for the points.
I had this happen several years ago. After I had tried everything that's been talked about on this thread i gave up and took it to a good performance shop. They assured me it it was just an "shim" problem. After 4 day of trying "everything" including a new flexplate and their "good" shop SBC starter they took the starter and the engine block numbers to a good electrical rebuilder shop down the street. It turns out that there are actually different starters for SBC's. They got me the correct starter for the engine i have and I've never had a problem since. The guys at the performance shop had never known about this and I still have people tell me that there's only one sbc starter.
does it do this all the time or just when warm? My truck would do that after short trips. Put a shield or blanket on it. I don't think its a shim problem,, does it grind or whine while its turning over? Get a starter for a 454, switch the nose to a small block nose and try that. Big block starters are longer than a small block and will fit should cure the problem.
okay I've checked everything twice, still won't stop running. I'm going to try a new starter. checked napa online for different starter possibilities. engine is a 79. tranny is a 64. which one do I get the starter for, two differerent starters, 79 is high torque staggered bolt pattern. 64 is low torque straight across bolt pattern. motor is drilled for both.
Should'nt the S terminal be hooked to the start position of the ignition switch instead of being hot wired to the battery?
the S terminal should be connected to positive power only when you want the starter to engage, and then disconnected once the engine starts. Hopefully B + M knows this....?
Yes I know this, I have a wire to the s terminal that I am using for a jumper wire, only to eliminate the possibility of the cars wiring or ignition switch as being the problem. the wire is hot only when I want the starter to engage , just as it would be if connected to the ignition switch.
is the engine grounded good? you can have 3 batterys in it and if you have a bad ground it wont matter.ground the battery to the engine. Randy
B + M, were you able to find the problem? How 'bout the starter, did it make a difference? Reason I ask is, this happened to me today. I've been having starter trouble lately, it's a high torque and $140 bucks at Oreilly, not like the $39 starter for the early models. Anyway, I at the credit union picking up some cash at the drive thru and the place is packed. I finally get up to the tube shootin' machine and when I'm ready to leave, the damn truck won't start. I was lucky cuz a real nice dud pulled me out of the drive thru lane and even gave me a jump and it started so I'm off to the insurance place, go in, pay the bill, out to the truck and when I try to start it, it barely turns over and when I released the key THE DAMN THING KEPT RUNNING, HOLY SHIT!!!! WHAT NOW!!!! Run around front of truck and frantically remove positive cable with pliers (yeah...it wasn't pretty). Dash lights were on and everything, that was creepy man. I think it's in the switch, I don't know, I moved the starter cable around at the solenoid and it started OK. When you think about it, the damn thing could burn up. Good luck and let me know B+M, thanks.
It may or may not be a high torque starter problem. However that is what cured the exact same problem for me. Thats what the counter guy told me couldve been a bad starter from the beginning. anyway Im glad I have the hi torque version now.
No I still have not figure out the problem, I have another starter at work, just been to busy to bring it home and try it out. It amazes me that a motor that is so popular can have some many starter issues. I hope you get it figured out. keep us posted-Brian
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