94 Tahoe

[Kv5137kv5137]

Starts without key and ignition in off pos.? Starter? IGN?


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[HotWheelsBurban]

Starts without key and ignition in off pos.? Starter? IGN?


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Sounds like the wire that goes to the smaller terminal on the starter solenoid is touching the battery cable. I presume it's doing this when the battery is connected? These terminals are really close together and if you are not very careful to keep the wire and cable terminals from touching, especially when you tighten the nuts down, they will touch and the starter will activate. I had this happen on my old square body Burb when I had to change the starter out. Some of the solenoid end caps have a bar on them that helps locate the terminals. A lot of them don't; someone decided that they could save money by not having something the factory engineered for safety.
There's other things that could cause this, namely that some wiring is touching something it doesn't need to. But disconnect the battery cables from the battery, and take a look at the starter wires. Good luck, let us know what it is!
Edit: if this is what happened, you won't know it until the battery is hooked back up. Then you'll know right away! Pretty scary when it happened to me, but I unhooked the battery and got back under the truck. When I saw the connections touching, then I knew for sure that I had to be more careful about tightening the connections. That small nut is probably a 11/32", one of the few things you'll need that socket or nut driver for, but that's the one. I believe the battery cable one is 1/2". Might be easier to connect the wires before you stab the starter onto its mounting, if there's enough slack. And be careful about that sensor that sticks out of the block near the starter. It can be broken and I've heard it's a ***** to get out. And if you have to change it, it goes into the water jacket so you're going to lose coolant. Best to be careful around it!