Weird "starter" problem

[simssj]

Buttoning back up after belts and FOES seal replacement.

Before I put the belt covers back on I wanted to check "while rotating" everything just to make sure all was proper. So I pulled the coil from the distributor and had my son sit in the driver's seat while I manned the trouble light to watch.

I told him, "So let's just hit the starter, count to three, and off."

So he nods, and I tell him to hit it. She's cranking righteously and I'm counting 3... 4... 5... still cranking. I yell at him to shut it off. Still cranking. I look up and he has the keys, in his hand, up in the air. Eyes as big as saucers. Still cranking. Battery starting to wobble now. slowing... slowing... Stopped.

I put the key in, jiggled it a little. Tried the starter and it bumped the motor (but the battery was too weak to do much).

So, the question: What would cause the starter to "stick" in the cranking position, even absent the key in the ignition????

Really scratching my head over this one!

[Gawernator]

Porsche ghost possession?

[Chris71383]

possibly a sticky solenoid on the starter. I had to swap mine due to a busted post and found a bunch of sticky goo/tar on the inside of the solenoid coating the pilot to the point it could barely move.

[sketchers356]

This happened to me a couple of months ago. My mechanic had to switch the ignition switch and the relay. He had to take the dash apart to get to it.

[mikepellegrini]

+1 on the sticky solenoid.

I've never had that happen on a 944, but I had a Taurus wagon, and every so often, the solenoid on that would stick.

Luckily, on an 87 Taurus, the solenoid is mounted on the interior of the driver's fender (So when it stuck, the drill was to race around the car, quickly open the hood, then give the solenoid a good whack with the palm of your hand.

What a pain!

A 944, the solenoid's mounted on the starter. Just take the starter off and there's a couple (three?) bolts that hold the solenoid on. I found them at Autozone and O'Reilly, both for around $80.

[simssj]

Shoot. I snooped around a little and it looks like prices for the solenoid range from ~$80 to to more than $150.

But, my local AutoZone has a reman'd starter *and* solenoid for $119 with a "limited lifetime" warranty. (Duralast Import/Starter (16931) | 1987 Porsche 924S 4 Cylinders A 2.5L FI | AutoZone.com)

This seems like a no-brainer to me. Four nuts, 15 minutes and good to go.

Thanks for the tips, guys!

[FLYGEEZER]

Yep!!!! Solenoid..... Been there, done that. About $60 and 20 minutes.

[rsoles27]

I've put the wires on wrong once and it continued turning aven after pulling keys. did you remove the starter?

[simssj]

Yes, I had removed the starter to insert the flywheel lock while I was changing the belts.

Can you tell me a little more about how you hooked up the wires wrong? I can't see how this could be done, but if it can possibly be done wrong, I probably did.