cannot shut engine down

[james bavelaar]

On series 1 E type
Engine starts fine with ignition key on 2 o clock position, but turn key counter clock wise engine
will not shut down.
any ideas?

I was able to shut engine down by putting gear box in fourth and applied hand brake.
James

[abowie]

When you say it won't shut down, is it continuing to idle normally and respond to the throttle, or is it just running on? The first would indicate a wiring or switch problem, the second is related predominately to head condition and timing.

[Heuer]

Sounds like the coil is being energised even with ignition off. Put a test meter on the positive side of the coil and see if you have 12 volts with ignition off.

I have seen coils being kept live by juice flowing through the cooling fan motor but that usually causes the car to run on fire a few seconds before shutting down.