Headed home from a boat ride on Sunday. Pulled the boat out, shut the monte off to strap it down (at this point all is still well.) Once ready, I start it up - and there is a screechy kind of noise coming from below. Shut it off, did a quick inspection - nothing looks out of place. Started it again - same noise... UNTIL I shifted it into neutral. All quiet, sounds fine. Tried fwd, rev etc... all good. Towed the boat home 45 miles - all perfect, as long as I do NOT shift to PARK. Now I'm sporting a big reminder sign on the wheel to start stop only in neutral - nice touch eh? I think I caught a wiff of burning electrical when it was making the noise, it sounds l ike it may be coming from the starter or transmission - not sure. Any ideas? (I'm really not ready to surrender the Monte as a parts donor for the Raider just yet...) <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Loose skid plate?

Really? Not sure of you're being a sa, or serious <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> So I checked anyway. Everything is tight, no loose bolts, chafed wires or anything else that looks out of place for a 15 year old 150k mile truck. Other than some minor valve cover gasket leaks (or rust preventer as I like to think of it) everything "looks" fine from underneath. Can't help thinking this seems electrical - guess I'll dig into the manual and start poking at switches. Though any further advise is always welcomed.

Any chance the starter is still being powered up after you've started, and ONLY in Park, not in neutral? I would have someone I trust to start the vehicle while you're laying under the truck and seeing if it's something you can easily hear and spot while you're down there. Starter motors that are made to speed with a " now-running" engine make some pretty interesting sounds since you normally don't hear them spin at such a fast RPM.
If it IS in the trans, you'll probably hear that as well while you're under the truck and someone is starting it for you. Let us know what you find.

Nope not being a SA. Don't know you well enough to do that. I've had skid plates make noise while in park and not in Neutral or drive. Wierd... I know.

The starter solenoid is something else to consider as well as obviously something gone wrong in the tranny. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />
Although they rarely go bad, with your mileage it's a possibility however unlikely unless it's been abused either through act or neglect. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

One way to maybe check if it's the starter making the noise by running in park is to remove the Hot battery lead while the motor is running. The Alternater will keep the motor running but the starter wont then get any juice.

Also, try doing the same and also undoing the Solenoid lead to the starter to stop the starter motor from engaging.


If the noise stops then it could be nuetral safety switch, Inginition switch, coil, or solenoid ...perhaps

NO NO NO NO! This sends a huge voltage spike to the alternator, and will probably fry the voltage regulator, at best shorten it's life significantly.

Pull the solenoid wire from the starter with the engine running and the starter should disengage. The sound may be the overrunning clutch in the starter pinion. crawling underneath with it running and using a piece of vac hose in your ear to localize the sound should make it easy to find.

OK, so DON'T unhook the battery - I guess I'm too old-school. This would be fine for a car before 1980ish...

In the 1970s, removing a battery terminal was an accepted practice to test charging systems of that era. That is not the case today. Just say NO if anyone suggests this. ( http://www.pacificpowerbatteries.com/aboutbatts/Car%20Battery%20FAQ/carfaq14.html )

Michael, I used to do the same thing back then, when the voltage regulator was more mechanical and had no electronic guts. In fact, the whole car had no electronic guts except the transistor radio. And voltage regulators didn't last very long, then, either, mainly due to sparking corrosion on the internal contacts.

Finally got a chance to do some checking. Now another strange symptom that may imply my problem is in the column / ignition switch... I think. Turned the key to the run position (not to start) and it cranked and started right up. Freaked me out a bit, was just getting ready to crawl under to check for the noise. So it's definitely the starter cranking over when in park, now I need to isolate why...