chiefymcpots

so every now and then ill start my mustang and the starter wont disengage once the car is started, and when i turn the car off and take the key out the car keeps trying to start. when i open the hood to disconnect the battery the positive and negative cable are pretty warm. (details of the car) 1983 5.0 5 speed. the previous owner pulled out a lot of electrical components, such as radio, a/c and heat exchange, and the gas gauge and thermostat dont work, so i am wondering if i don't have a loose wire that might be causing something to short?

Force4

Is the motor starting or just turning over without the key? Sounds like faulty wiring in the ignition.

chiefymcpots

its just turning over with out the key, but when it starts with the key the ignition stays engaged and i can hear it rev-up with the engine. the guy i bought it from said he replaced the starter

DRAGUL

Check the starter relay sounds like it is bad and sticking closed. Relay should be next to battery on fender battery cable goes to it. Cables are warm because you are pulling alot of amps through them starter is not meant to be on all the time. There is a small wire on the side of the relay that is your power from ignition switch should be slid onto a threaded post. If you pull off this wire and your starter still tries to crank then it is the relay. If it does not try to start then you have a problem somewhere else and I would start at the ignition switch. Hope this helps. It has been awhile since I worked on one of these. Nice car I had a 83 gt hatchback. very simple car to work on . good luck

1988MUSKRAT

I had a similar problem on my 88 it was one of 2 things the solenoid was bad or going bad and the ignition switch one the column not the key part but the part that bolted to the column that all the wires go in. It has a rod and a spring that pushes down when you turn the key. Mine was hanging up. If you get one make sure to get the right security bit to take it off as i got home and then had to go back to the parts store to get one.

mjr46

most likely it is the selonoid on the fender that is bad, wires heat up from current draw = normal

chiefymcpots

so i replaced the solenoid (which was only 13 dollars buy the way thats why i love these cars) and everything worked perfectly, i had to disconnect the battery and leave it where it was for the night, once i replaced the solenoid the starter quit acting funny, and the car started normally

mjr46

^^^good deal

DRAGUL

Great to hear it was a easy fix