Hi defender,
just to confirm what Phineus is mentioning: when I had this issue, after replacing the solenoid I disassembled it. the heavy duty contacts were burned and welded together, so there was a permanent bridge, and the starter got permanent power. Sorry for not mentioning this details before, but this was the "short circuit" I was talking about.

Jürgen

Hi defender,
if you have ignition switched on, and press the starter button, the following should happen: Power activates the solenoid (via thin cable), solenoid gets pulled in, inside the solenoid the contacts for starter power get closed (thick cables coming from battery, going to starter), starter gets power via thick cable and starts turning. At same time solenoid moves starter gears into position via "fork", spinning starter turns engine.
When you release the starter button, power to solenoid gets switched off, solenoid pushes back via springs in the solenoid, power to starter gets interrupted and starter gearings get disengaged. - The solenoid cannot spin, as it is an electro magnet only, no motor. It just can move in and out, move gears, and close or release contacts.
My experience was that I pressed the starter button, everything works fine until engine turned, but when I released the starter button nothing happened. Solenoid was kept in "pull in" position and starter remained under power, kept turning the engine. Burned contacts avoided that the solenoid could move back into release position, and power to starter was not interrupted.

In you case, when you push the starter button, the solenoid should pull the "fork". If this is not happening, and the starter turns already, the solenoid seems to be pulled in to maximum, and cannot be released for the same reason I had.
I would propose to pull back the shaft in the solenoid with a combination pliers, if possible, to disengage the solenoid manually. This might work. If yes, this cannot be the final solution, I'm sure the issue returns after some more starts. From my perspective, the solenoid should be replaced, or repaired.

Jürgen

Jurgen:

Thanks for the excellent description.  I helped alot.  I connected the battery in a tempory fashion so I could disconnect it quickly in case the starter stuck again.  I turned the ignition to the on position and pushed the starter button in.  The starter made a spinning sound.  I pushed in the "fork" in, at the coil, with my index finger.  Once I did this the engine almost cranked (started).  I released the starter button but the starter was still engaged.  I then quickly disconnected the battery.  I repeated the above steps again to closely inspect what was happening with the "fork" at the coil.  Once I pushed in the "fork", at the coil, it would not release the starter (in other words push the shaft back out of the coil) until I disconnected the battery.  I tried this several times with the same result each time.

I hope this aptly describes what I experienced.

Thanks for your advice,

Edward  

Edward,
when you push the starter button, the first noise you should hear is a strong "klick" from the solenoid, when this pulls the shaft in. Once this has happened, the starter should begin spinning. If you don't hear the click, clack, or whatever you call it, and the starter beginns spinning immediately, whithout shaft of solenoid pulled in, there is something wrong with the solenoid. Solenoid controls the power coming to the starter.
Try this: disconnect the power cable from solenoid to starter (short one), and connect the battery. Don't switch ignition "on". Check, whether there is power at the power outlet on solenoid to starter (short cable without starter connected). - Inlet (from Battery) must have power, outlet to starter must not. If there is power already on the outlet, solenoid is defect. If there is no power on outlet, switch on the ignition, and press starter button. Solenoid must work now, pulling back the shaft. With starter button pressed, and activated solenoid, there must be power on the outlet. this is the normal case, solenoid should work.
Hope this helps.

By the way, spring #13 has no direct function to the solenoid, it's just a mechanical connection from solenoid shaft to starter gearings, supporting the fork to move back.

Jürgen

Finally took the time and replaced the Solenoid.  Just took my time after I read the repair manual on removal and installation.  Charged the battery.  When I was finished and tried to start it, it started!  Amazing sound.  

Thank you Bob!  Thank you Jurgen!  

It starts everytime!

Thanks,

Edward