Runaway Starter Motor!

I was going to drive my Falcon to work this morning, but when I started the car the engine picked up speed and was running very fast. I turned the engine off and pulled out the key, but the engine continued to run! What the heck?! I pulled out the center ignition wire from the distributer cap, but the engine continued to run at a high rate of speed! What the heck?! I removed the air cleaner cover and put my hand over the carburetor to smother the engine, but the motor continued to turn at a high rate. I finally realized that the starter motor was running out of control and it was turning the engine. I pulled the negative lead off the battery and the engine finally stopped. Whew! If I had not figured it out, the starter would have continued to run until the battery died. The amount of power that the starter motor had been putting out was amazing. The starter motor is only a little over a year old (installed 8/28/13) and I hope that it was not damaged by this mishap.

It kind of freaked me out! :WHATTHE:

I thought about it while driving another car to work and decided that the starter solenoid must have stuck in the “on” position. I looked on-line and saw that Advance Auto Parts had an ACDelco solenoid for $24.99 that was supposed to fit the Falcon. My buddy with the 1967 Fairlane exclaimed “Don’t put a GM part on your Ford!” He made it seem like such a sacrilege that I looked some more and found that O’Reilly Auto Parts had a Motorcraft Starter Solenoid Part # SW3 for the Falcon, for $32.99 + $2.31 tax = $35.30. They had cheaper parts, including a MasterPro-brand solenoid for only $13.99, but after my experience this morning, I went ahead and bought the more expensive Motorcraft part in the hope that it will be more dependable than the bottom-priced piece. The starter solenoid SW3 is listed as fitting 2,513 different Ford vehicles. I installed the new solenoid when I got home this evening and the car started (and stopped!!) perfectly.

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Manufacturer Information: “Designed, engineered and recommended by Ford Motor Company. The name says quality, dependability and performance. Motorcraft® parts are the preferred choice of Ford Motor Company. From motor oil to transmission assemblies and everything in between, Motorcraft® parts provide exceptional quality and fit. You expect the best, and with Motorcraft®, you get the best. The right part for the job. Motorcraft® parts are designed specifically for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles and have undergone extensive laboratory and on-the-road testing. They're built to maximize the performance of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.”