Starter issues

[Da Chief]

78 Cherokee Chief,401, starts without ignition switch engaged, changed ignition switch twice. Could the solenoid be bad?
Any clues?

[Ryan]

could be the solenoid, could be the plastic arm inside the steering column too.

[davpratt]

How do you mean it starts without ignition switch engaged?

I had a problem with my J10 truck. Turning the key the truck would not start.
It would turn over but no fire to the plugs.

I hotwired the starter soleinoid, turned the key it would start.

Since I had been playing with the wires, I traced the problem to the junction block between the engine bay and the fuse block.
Moving the wires shortened the natural slack in the wire pulling the connector out of its socket.
I removed the bolt and pulled the connection apart and the problem connector was seen right away.
I had to push the wire through and expand the gap in the connector so it wouldn't push back.(There's a slot in the metal connector that needs to be widened to make it so it can't be pulled or push back.)