I went out to move my '00 4.7l Tundra last night and when I cranked it I could hear a strange noise under the hood. I cut the key off but the starter kept on cranking along. I immediately pulled the battery terminal to make it stop. This morning I popped the hood and pulled the starter fuse. I figure this will tell me if I have a bad ignition switch. To my dismay it still tried to turn over when I touched the neg terminal. I do not have a wiring diagram but "assume" that the starter relay goes to the solenoid and with it pulled the only real possibility is the solenoid itself.

Does anyone have any suggestions before I continue? The starter isn't exactly easy to get to on this truck. Anyone have a wiring diagram they could post or shoot me?

Ok, I now have the wiring diagram. It appears that the ignition switch triggers the coil on the starter relay. Therefore if the engine turns over with the relay removed it isn't the switch or the relay. There is a heavy 12v cable connecting to the starter and a small 12v wire that connects to the solenoid. There is also a connector on the smaller guage wire that goes to the control module. I need to see if I have 12v on that line next as I guess I could have a control module issue. I fear that the solenoid may be stuck closed though which would require a long changeout.

just pulled the 5A STA fuse and the Starter Relay. Problem still present.

Ugh..... solenoid

"Hit it with a hammer"
I'm old-school and I've seen this work many times. Just a suggestion. Hitting the starter will take a long rod of some sort and a hammer.

It might work!! And it's a cheap fix if it does.

Good luck.
George60

"Hit it with a hammer"
I'm old-school and I've seen this work many times. Just a suggestion. Hitting the starter will take a long rod of some sort and a hammer.

It might work!! And it's a cheap fix if it does.

Good luck.
George60

the only problem I have with that is the possibility that it may happen again when I'm away from home. That would completely suck.

"Hit it with a hammer"
I'm old-school and I've seen this work many times. Just a suggestion. Hitting the starter will take a long rod of some sort and a hammer.

It might work!! And it's a cheap fix if it does.

Good luck.
George60

Alright George, I walked out there this morning and it was still stuck. I took a long 3/8 extension and held it 1/2 inch from the back of the starter and gave it a whack (or 4) with a hammer. Hooked the battery back up and it worked just fine. I bumped over about a dozen times and it never messed up again. Now I need to decide what I'm going to do. It may work fine for another 10 years or it may stick again next week.

Thanks for the idea though. It worked. :)