Starter issues. ..

[biggjim313]

Anyone ever have their starter just engage while driving???

Was out for a cruise last night and was getting on the gas a Lil heavy and then my starter just engaged and just kept cranking.
Had to happen when I didn't have any tools with me so I ended up tearing up my battery cables and when I finally got it unhooked my starter caught fire and thankfully I had a bottle of water with me and put it out.
I'm wondering if it is a ignition issue or maybe my alarm/remote start or even just a bad starter.
My truck is a 99 tahoe that I just recently built a 383 stroker for and have about 200 miles on it now..

If anyone has any input that can help..would be greatly appreciated. .

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

so let me get this straight your cruising down the road and your starter engages and stays engaged while your rolling down the road
good lord it must have looked like the 4th of july under your vehicle
asside from the fact that its definatly bad starter but even if it wasnt my question is are there any teeth left on the flexplate or the starter
now im assuming you put it in Nutral pulled over and turned the key off
and and the starter was still trying grinding on the flexplate trying to turn the engine over and you basically had to cut the batt cables to get it to stop

My best guess is a short somewhere ? and you starter wasnt bad it is now and does you flex plate have any teeth left
when you connected the starter to the battery did you use the old factory wiring or new stuff if you used new stuff check that make sure you didnt melt the sheeth it runs really close to the engine and the headers

 

[SunlitComet]

if it was the starter the springs in the starter would have had to break. and the solenoid would have to move completely over on its own. put a volt meter on it on main feed and starter trigger. turn the key on and listen for the starter relay. if it clicks pulling it out and back in again and the meter changes to eliminate the relay as the cause for now as it moving and being commanded to do so by either your alarm or ignition switch. if meter changes and relay does not click it may be fused. if the meter show power regardless something is wrong with wiring from relay box to starter trigger wire. disconnect the alarm trigger and look for voltage on the column starter wire to relay if you see voltage then the ignition switch is the culprit.

 

[biggjim313]

so let me get this straight your cruising down the road and your starter engages and stays engaged while your rolling down the road
good lord it must have looked like the 4th of july under your vehicle
asside from the fact that its definatly bad starter but even if it wasnt my question is are there any teeth left on the flexplate or the starter
now im assuming you put it in Nutral pulled over and turned the key off
and and the starter was still trying grinding on the flexplate trying to turn the engine over and you basically had to cut the batt cables to get it to stop

My best guess is a short somewhere ? and you starter wasnt bad it is now and does you flex plate have any teeth left
when you connected the starter to the battery did you use the old factory wiring or new stuff if you used new stuff check that make sure you didnt melt the sheeth it runs really close to the engine and the headers

Lol.. yeah as soon as it happened I threw it in neutral and killed it but looks like it only hurt the starter teeth.the flex plate is brand new and still looks fine.
I have new wiring but all the wiring looks fine.. no bare wires or burnt wires.

---------- Post added at 05:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:44 AM ----------

if it was the starter the springs in the starter would have had to break. and the solenoid would have to move completely over on its own. put a volt meter on it on main feed and starter trigger. turn the key on and listen for the starter relay. if it clicks pulling it out and back in again and the meter changes to eliminate the relay as the cause for now as it moving and being commanded to do so by either your alarm or ignition switch. if meter changes and relay does not click it may be fused. if the meter show power regardless something is wrong with wiring from relay box to starter trigger wire. disconnect the alarm trigger and look for voltage on the column starter wire to relay if you see voltage then the ignition switch is the culprit.

I'll have to buy a volt meter can't find the one I have and I'll do some tinkering. .thanks

 

[God]

This happened to me once, I made a thread about it. Mine happened when I parked and keyed the engine off it started cranking and wouldn't stop on or off so After maybe 3 mins of crank time I popped the hood and pulled the starter relay fuse. Now I'm wondering why you didn't just pull fuses instead of tearing up battery cables? Also the way I fixed it was by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. Dunno why it happened but it hasn't happened to me since .

 

[biggjim313]

This happened to me once, I made a thread about it. Mine happened when I parked and keyed the engine off it started cranking and wouldn't stop on or off so After maybe 3 mins of crank time I popped the hood and pulled the starter relay fuse. Now I'm wondering why you didn't just pull fuses instead of tearing up battery cables? Also the way I fixed it was by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. Dunno why it happened but it hasn't happened to me since .

Honestly after I did it I thought to myself why the hell didn't I just pull the relay.

---------- Post added at 09:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 AM ----------

I also think it has tried to start just sitting there with no key on in the driveway.

 

[SunlitComet]

This happened to me once, I made a thread about it. Mine happened when I parked and keyed the engine off it started cranking and wouldn't stop on or off so After maybe 3 mins of crank time I popped the hood and pulled the starter relay fuse. Now I'm wondering why you didn't just pull fuses instead of tearing up battery cables? Also the way I fixed it was by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery. Dunno why it happened but it hasn't happened to me since .

it was in the heat of battle.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

hey at least you reacted quickly and its probably safe to assume you didnt hesitate otherwise your tahoe would probably be pile of smoldering metal on the side of the road

anydescision is better then indecision words i lived by in iraq and afghan

---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 PM ----------

you wanna know whats ironic i was driving earlier and i heard on the radio GM just did a massive recall for a very similar problem
97 to present i guess they had vehicles with the ignition engaging with out the key in

 

[livingez_123]

You said you had a remote start, try disconnecting it and see the problem is still there.

 

[biggjim313]

hey at least you reacted quickly and its probably safe to assume you didnt hesitate otherwise your tahoe would probably be pile of smoldering metal on the side of the road

anydescision is better then indecision words i lived by in iraq and afghan

---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 PM ----------

you wanna know whats ironic i was driving earlier and i heard on the radio GM just did a massive recall for a very similar problem
97 to present i guess they had vehicles with the ignition engaging with out the key in

Yessirr.. I'm gonna have to look into that.