The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Ghost Starter -- Starts without key.

I hate to do something that would seem ... rather stupid, but here goes: As the post title indicates, I have an interesting starter. This is on a '54 GMC, I understand that it is bad to hook 12V up to it, but I did just for a second to see if the starter motor was fried, and the little sucker just started whirring without any key or push-starter behind it -- Has the 12V battery fried something, or am I missing some cutoff wire here?

Sounds like the solenoid is stuck. Unless you have tried to start your truck & had the starter engage for a long period of time 12volts won't hurt it. Lots of us have done it w/out any problems. Heck I ran a 6volt starter on my VW for over 10yrs w/out problems....Joe

Is your 1954 GMC still a 6v positive ground electrical system?

Where did you make the 12v connections to your truck?

Yeah, it's still a 6V Positive, forgot to mention that. I made the connections right up where the old battery was (I made sure to put Pos. to Pos. and Neg. to Neg.). Thanks for the idea, Zookeeper, I'll see when I next look it over if that's it. EDIT: Forgot to mention, when I hook up the 12V battery, nothing else works: No lights, no gauges, Just the lonely starter trying to spin up.