car stays running with out the key..HELP!

[bailor91gsx]

i have a 91 gsx with no alarm and no turbo timer..i was trying to start it the one morning and it had a bad coolant temp sensor so it wouldnt start...whlle trying to start it it kept trying to start without a key i had to pull the battery termnal and there was smoke coming off the starter.....i let it sit over night and put the termnal back on and put the key in tried to start it and all the dash lights are on like coolant abs oil press battery etc..then today i put the coolant temp sensor in and it started and stayed running without the key in...i had to stall it to shut it off....and thoughs?

 

[Gasolinebaptism]

ignition fuse?

Something is wrong with your ignition switch it sounds like.

 

[serviceguy]

Was this happening before or is this a car you bought recently? It almost sounds like somebody messed up with the ignition, like trying to wire a start button or something that would bypass the key anyway. I would double check the wiring against the drawings on the service manual. You can download a copy somewhere in here for free.

 

[bailor91gsx]

it was fine i drove it home from work parked and came out the next morning and it started doing this...the only hacked up wiring i can see is for the radio other then that everything looks untouched...

i unpluged the ignition switch and all the lights stay on....

 

[Silent_White]

Back of the ignition:
Constant 12V+ White Always has power
Starter Black/Yellow Only has power during crank
Ignition Black/White Has power in on position and in crank
Accessory Blue/Black Only has power in on position

If you used to have an alarm or any re-wiring around the ignition and the idiot that took it out didn't do it right, its causing your issues.
If whoever installed your cd player pulled an ignition wire to use as the acc on the deck instead of the accessory wire and it is now making contact with the constant, it would essentially be jumping the connection between constant and ignition at the cd player causing the car to stay running when you removed the key.

Since you have had starter issues, and had the staying running issues, i would lean toward something ignition related that had been removed at some point in time (turbo timer, remote start, or car alarm) or the actual ignition itself. I would guess that the constant listed above is making contact with either the ignition or starter wires. Start at the back of the ignition and follow the wire bundle, look for tape or zip ties, something that doesn't look stock, take it apart and see if you can find the issue. disconnect the battery before checking for a short such as this.

the first thing that I would do is test the power values of these 4 wires at the ignition in the off position.

 

[acidreian]

inspect all the relays that run in the ignition line could be that one is stuck. pop off the caps and check them

 

[Silent_White]

inspect all the relays that run in the ignition line could be that one is stuck. pop off the caps and check them

This is not a relay problem