2001 Silhouette starter always on

2001 Sil that is not driven every day. I got in it one morning and the battery was completely dead. When I tried to jump it, immediately upon my final battery connection, the starter engaged and turned over the engine. I hadn't even put in the key yet. The engine started but the starter continued to run. I unhooked the jumper cables, the enginge continued to run. I had to put in the key and turn the key forward and then back to where I would normally turn to shut off the engine and it shut off. I then tried to start and nothing happened not even a click. I didn't try it but I assume if I had put the jumper cable back on it would have tried to start again. Has anyone ever heard of this before?

Dan

2001 Sil that is not driven every day. I got in it one morning and the battery was completely dead. When I tried to jump it, immediately upon my final battery connection, the starter engaged and turned over the engine. I hadn't even put in the key yet. The engine started but the starter continued to run. I unhooked the jumper cables, the enginge continued to run. I had to put in the key and turn the key forward and then back to where I would normally turn to shut off the engine and it shut off. I then tried to start and nothing happened not even a click. I didn't try it but I assume if I had put the jumper cable back on it would have tried to start again. Has anyone ever heard of this before?

Dan

Did you find out why the battery went dead?

Unless it was something else,I suspect a faulty starter solenoid (Built in) or an ignition system drain/fault.

Find the cause of the dead battery and you should find the other fault.

I am, however, surprised the battery protection shutoff didn't activate to save the battery. Maybe THIS is the culprit.

Ok, lets be sure we are getting the facts right. You used a set of jumper cables and on the instant of final connection with the donor battery, your van not only turned over, but the engine started? It started and ran? You removed the donor battery connection at once, but the van was running? The starter motor was stuck on, and the van engine was running? Not just cranking over due to the starter motor stuck, but really running and firing the cylinders?
Then you got into the car, turned the key on, and back off and everything was dead once more? If that is what happened, then your key switch is bad--really bad. Don't try to jump it again until you fix that.
If I am misunderstanding, please tell us exactly what happened.
Oh, there is no 'battery' protection circuit that can shut down the starter. The starter motor takes so much power that the cable runs directly from the battery to the starter (where the solonoid is) and nothing can shut that off other than removing the battery wire.

I thinkk your key is stuck in the 'start' contact position if I'm understanding what happened correctly.
John

Ok, I did have a couple of facts wrong. (I had a helper who was apparently turning the key while I was hooking up the cables).

So today I went out and started from scratch. Here's what happened. First I verified that the batt was dead. Insert key, turn to start, nothing at all, no noises no sounds no lights. I took the key out, and hooked up the jumper cables again. Nothing happened. When I put in the key, I got lights and ding dongs. When I tried to start, nothing. I waited about 5 minutes and tried again. Engine turns over and finally starts. The engine started and the starter disengaged. Now with the engine running, the gas, temp, and rpm gauges do not work. After a few minutes, I drive around the block. Still no gauges although the speedometer works. I am getting warm air from the heater. I return to the parking lot and let it run for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes or so, I notice the starter is engaging and trying to start the engine (while it is running). I get in and turn off the key. The engine shuts off but the starter still is trying to start the engine with the key in my hand. I put the key back in and after a couple of turns forward and back, the starter finally stops and I am able to start and stop the engine normally. Also, after the 15 minute wait the gauges are all working now.

I have waited now about 30 minutes with the engine off and it seems to restart just fine. Gauges all work, heat works and starter seems to be acting normal.

2 other things that may or may not matter. This vehicle is not driven too often. Prior to this episode it had sat for probably a week or 2. It is also very cold here (Indiana) and don't know if that may contribute. One other thing I noticed. When the engine is running and the heater blower is on full blast, if I turn the key forward to the start position, I would expect the starter to make a grinding noise (we have all done this at least once where we forget our engine is already running) but it doesn't and the heater blower motor really bogs down and returns to normal once I release the key.

I apologize for the misinformation. I appreciate your time in helping me with this matter.

Dan

ignition switch is bad.replace the ignition switch.

Absolutely--replace the ignition switch before the van burns up. Don't fool around with it, those starters won't take much of this kind of abuse. You won't like buying a starter and a new power cable from the battery if they burn up.