I just had a powermaster starter rebuilt with a new solenoid and I upgraded the alternator to a 100 amp. After installing them the car started up and ran great on friday night. I started it today and now the starter won't disengage even when i take the key from the ignition, i have to stop it by removing the battery cable. could it be a bad relay or switch or something? perhaps a bad battery cable/terminal?

i can't imagine it being the starter as it was just rebuilt less than a week ago. any help is appreciated

Sounds like the solenoid is hanging up.

Not sure this is a problem with Chevy, but with Olds, we did a complete motor rebuilt, and during the cam break in, the starter engaged, while running, could not stop, till we took the bat cable off. What happend, is the starater batt cable runs next to the oil dip stick , and it touched it and caused a dead short, and started the starter. This was scarry, hope this never happens to anyone on a motor start up. Anyway, what I would look for, is there anything making a dead shot to the starter?

apparently it was creating a dead short from some heat wrap we had around the starter (running hooker headers so i wanted to try to keep the starter cool). it seems like it was a combination of the heat wrap crossing the switch wire and and battery wire and causing the short, or that that heat wrap itself was conductive and causing both wires to cross.

i think the issue is resolved so look out for your wiring when you hook up a starter fellas.

Not sure this is a problem with Chevy, but with Olds, we did a complete motor rebuilt, and during the cam break in, the starter engaged, while running, could not stop, till we took the bat cable off. What happend, is the starater batt cable runs next to the oil dip stick , and it touched it and caused a dead short, and started the starter. This was scarry, hope this never happens to anyone on a motor start up. Anyway, what I would look for, is there anything making a dead shot to the starter?

You may have thought that is what happened but shorting out the positive battery cable to ground can NOT make the starter operate. :noway:

The contacts in the solenoid can weld the switch closed.
Cheap aftermarket ford solenoids do it frequently, but they're easier to smack with a wrench to knock free.

I have heard that the ballast resistor bypass terminal on the starter can back feed enough voltage to keep the solenoid engaged if the car was changed to an electronic ignition and discarded the resistor, but I have never seen it personally.

..........................

I have heard that the ballast resistor bypass terminal on the starter can back feed enough voltage to keep the solenoid engaged if the car was changed to an electronic ignition and discarded the resistor, but I have never seen it personally.

I saw an article with pictures in one of the magazines one time where the contact disk came loose and was causing the starter to be energized.

Also if the starter drive gear hangs up in the flywheel, it will keep the starter going.

One more coment to Dean. I know the starter ingaged and keep the motor running. We pulled the coil wire and then all the plug wires, and the motor keep turning. We were running and lookingfor tools and my son finally found a cable cutter and cut the cable, to stop it. It was a very scarry moment. When we put the motor back together, we wondered why the dip stick had duct tape on it, took it off and there was a hole. We fixed the hole, but we found out why it was there. We looked at the starter than and saw it touching the tube. Droped the starter, checked it out, look good, went to the part store, bought a new cable end, and restarted the car and did the rert of the cam break in. Car is still running good yet today. I would never wish this sound or thing happing to anyone breaking in a new motor. We were having a beer and high fiveing each outher, thought it was great that it fired, took about 10 min before it engaged. Have been real carefull since.

One more coment to Dean. I know the starter ingaged and keep the motor running. We pulled the coil wire and then all the plug wires, and the motor keep turning. We were running and lookingfor tools and my son finally found a cable cutter and cut the cable, to stop it. It was a very scarry moment. When we put the motor back together, we wondered why the dip stick had duct tape on it, took it off and there was a hole. We fixed the hole, but we found out why it was there. We looked at the starter than and saw it touching the tube. Droped the starter, checked it out, look good, went to the part store, bought a new cable end, and restarted the car and did the rert of the cam break in. Car is still running good yet today. I would never wish this sound or thing happing to anyone breaking in a new motor. We were having a beer and high fiveing each outher, thought it was great that it fired, took about 10 min before it engaged. Have been real carefull since.

Oh I wasn't doubting that the starer engaged but it is electrically impossible for a dead short to ground of the positive battery cable to cause it.