the live feed on the spade was giving it continuous 12v ,either the barrel(or feed junction)is goosed or the spade is getting power from the battery (arcing over) I doubt it is the starter...
Starter solenoid stuck or bendex gear jammed The starter motor part has power straight from the battery so has 12v all the time the solenoid switches it on as it pushes the bendex gear forward. If the flywheel teeth are damaged it can also course the bendex gear to jam so holding the motor on
Yep, solenoid jamming, I reckon. As matty says, power comes straight from the battery via the big terminal, so the ignition switch isn't involved and the starter will continue to run. It's obviously un-jammed itself now .
Thanks for the replies guys. I checked all the wiring and deduced it is the starter causing the problem. The PO bought the starter relatively recently from JK so not sure of the quality. One to keep my eye on, glad I have quick release battery terminals! Do you think I need a new starter or could this be a one off issue? If I do need a new one, were sells quality parts?
Tricky, as starters seem to have varying reputations for quality. To give it a workout, take the starter out, ground the body, don't connect the main bolt terminal, just keep dabbing 12V on the slim solenoid terminal. The solenoid should repeatedly click/operate. If it does this ten times, you'd have some confidence it's not going to stick in the future!
I had similar after a 2 1/2 month lay up, put it down to a sticking sol, not issues since and that was 3 months ago.