Brother Neptune

Hi all

Any and all help is appreciated. This is my only mode of transport (besides sharing with my wife, but our schedules don't match well), or besides public bus, and my schedule is too full this semester to dink around on the bus. The car was totaled out by the insurance company a few years back, but she's been dependable and runs great until just recently. She recently hit 100k, and has been experiencing some strange phenomena.

I had driven her to school and around town on Thursday, without problem, until late in the afternoon. When I went to start her, the problems started. When I first turned the key to start her, she started fine, but as I released the key, the starter continued to turn over (with the familiar grinding noise). So, I turned the key to off, but the sound continued, and the car stayed on. I fiddled with the key a bit, off and on, trying to figure something out. I even took the key out, and it continued to run, and make the noise.

So, I put the key back in, and put the car in reverse. The car stayed running, and the noise from the starter stopped. OK. Back in park, sound started again, car still running. *grrr* Now I'm wondering how I can get home. So I put the car in drive, and like in reverse, the sound stopped, but as I passed through neutral, I could hear the starter screech. I tried turning the car off in drive, with success. But when I put it back into park, it tried to start again, without the key.

So, to sum up, the car won't turn off in park or neutral, and the starter continues to turn over in those gears. When it is running, I can't hear the starter turning over in reverse or drive. I can only turn it off in reverse or drive, and have to leave it there, because putting it in park or neutral starts her again.

Fearing a burn-out, I decided I needed to disconnect the battery, while it was off in reverse. Since I didn't know what was happening, I didn't want chance any continuous power going through the wires. This worked, and I could put the car in park. I figured this would be how I would have to start the car from now on....

After going to work on Friday (by putting the car in reverse, connecting the battery, putting the key in, and putting in park to start it), and disconnecting the battery once I got to work, so I went to work, and made it back home again, by the same process. But I went out later that evening to go to the store, and nothing. No turn over from the starter, but plenty of power in the battery. Lights, radio, charger, everything seems to work, and I even tried to jump it from my wife's car, in case it was missing just enough juice. Still nothing.

Now I'm at a loss... I'm reluctant to take it in to be diagnosed, mainly because I'm super-poor (wife and I are students, and jobless), and partly because the car is totaled, and I don't want to pour too much money into it.

If anyone has come across symptoms like this, or has any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it. And if anything is unclear, or you need clarification, I'll be watching this thread like a hawk

Many thanks!

wrench97

Sounds more like an ignition switch is shorted, since shifting into a gear with open the neutral safety switch and disengage the starter.

Brother Neptune

Is there a way I can tell for sure, before taking it in for a diagnostic? Does the wiring go all the way from the switch to the starter? Or could the problem be in the switch itself?

wrench97

It's probably the switch itself if you unplug the switch connector it should tell you.