Starter Running & Running

I'm looking at a 1999 Camry LE that the starter continues to crank & the solenoid has power when the key is in the on position. Also the fuel pump continues to run all the time with the key on the on position. Ignition switch is good & starter relay checks okay. Somehow when the ignition switch is turned just to the on position -- both the fuel pump & solenoid kick in -- the car starts & the starter motor continues to run on. No aftermarket alarm system on this car. So I'm looking & scratchin' my head. Anybody seen this one before ? Is the fuel pump suppose to run continuously when the motor is not running? Any ideas anyone?

Find your schematic at the top of the forum in the thread titled "Factory Service Manuals".

It appears it almost has to be the ignition switch unless you have some oddball short to power in the circuit. Done any recent maintenance that could effect it? Not sure how you eliminated the ign switch but, I would disconnect it and jumper the wires to bypass it and see what happens. You could also check continuity through the switch. Here's the power flow: battery/ign switch/park neutral switch/starter relay/starter. As for the pump running in "on", according to the schematic, it appears it depends on what the ECU output would be. My suspicion is the pump runs when the ign switch is "on" since the ECU is powered when the switch in "on". Not positive though.

check the ignition switch again. on 97-01 camry's it is a high failure item. just saw one last week on a 97 that would not stop cranking the starter. had to disconnect the battery. once hooked back up it was cranking again. replace ignition switch and problem solved. if you have alot of keys on your key ring that (the weight on the switch) is what caused it to fail. your fuel pump may be related to the switch also, but i don't know. mike

The ignition switch & starter relay are new. I'm looking into the neutral safety switch as a possibilty because it will still start in gear when the switch hits the on position. There has to be some kinda harness problem somewhere. This is one of those problems where you look at it for three days going --"this has to be something simple right ?" Thanks for the replys & i will post the fix for this strange one when I find it.

Neutral safety switch seems okay & symptom is still present with the switch unpluged. I'm now looking into the the possibility of a short in the power circut like RIP said. This crazy problem has now gone to a short engagement of the starter when the key hits the on position & then it disengages & everything seems to be normal & you can then go to the start position. If you turn the key quickly to the start position you never notice the problem. Only if the key is turned to the on position & left for a second. Still checking & going through the diagrams -- getting closer to finding this ghost I think.
Anyway --I'm walking away from this one for the weekend. I'll continue next week -- Happy New Year Everyone !!

It sure seems like symptoms of a bad ignition switch. You might want to consider the possibility that the replacement switch was defective right out of the box.

Any luck yet? To answer an original question, no I've never seen a car start in the on position. I have seen starters continue to crank after starting.

Any chance the solenoid plunger is sticking or welding itself to the contacts?

Any chance the solenoid plunger is sticking or welding itself to the contacts?


I've learned never say never when talking electronics but, not likely. Many times schematics are either incorrect or don't show you everything you need to see. Your question could be the case if the starter continued to crank after releasing the ign switch. In Hoytmans case it cranks when in the "on" position. Only things designed to be powered then are the coils, ECM and some accessories. The starter circuit doesn't get powered until the ign switch is turned to start. If the solenoid contacts were welded, you would have to disconnect the battery to stop the starter. It would get continuous power off the primary battery lead.

Would it be a waste of time to have the starter tested? If he is still scratching his head, no.

Hoytman "I'm looking into the neutral safety switch as a possibilty because it will still start in gear when the switch hits the on position." "Neutral safety switch seems okay & symptom is still present with the switch unpluged."

The neutral safety switch is there to prevent the car from starting in gear. The switch is mechanical and over time the cable stretches and the nut tightening the switch has to be re-adjusted to neutral. I'm assuming that is part of your problem.

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