Here's what happened: I started my jeep ('87 YJ 4.2L) and the starter kept cranking, would not disengage. I didn't know what was happening and drove off. It sucked all the juice out of my battery and burnt up the starter.
My first thought was that my solenoid (the part that sends juice from the battery to the starter) was stuck. I replaced my solenoid, starter motor, and battery. When everything was in place I connected the leads on my battery and the jeep turned over (and would have started) even though the ignition switch (the one on the steering column) was set to 'off'. So I think the ignition switch on the steering column is stuck in the 'start' position.
How do you replace that thing? Where is it, is it right there where you put the key in? Do I need to take the steering wheel off and get to it that way? Chilton is pretty useless here, they really don't show you where it is or how to get at it.
Next question - which wire on my solenoid comes from the steering column? I'm considering a simple 'on-off' switch and a starter button simply because I can't find where the starter switch is on the steering column. Any advice?