Can a poorly cut ignition key cause a starter to not disengage and burn up? Toyota FJ60 Landruiser.

jimpembrey

1983 Toyota FJ60 Landcruiser 175K miles on a 2F 4.2L I6. Just bought it a week ago, have put about 500 miles on it with no problems. Had some new keys cut at the local hardware store. The only key I had for it was original and very worn. Got in it this morning and new key went in slightly rougher but started right up. Pulling out of the driveway I noticed the radio wasn't working and figured I had a fuse to replace. Drove 5 miles and could smell "burned wire" smell and pulled into a parking lot and shut down. As soon as I turned the ignition off the radio came on. Popped the hood and the starter was smoking a bit and was crazy hot. Let it cool off and tried the key, nothing, no solenoid click, nothing. At no point did I hear anything out of the ordinary, grinding of engaged starter/flywheel etc. Could that have really been caused by a poorly cut key not properly disengaging the ignition switch upon start up? or am I gonna chase an electrical gremlin.

elias

*something* caused that starter/solenoid to fail to disengage, and all the evidence seems consistent with there being an issue in the ignition cylinder now. so it does not seem impossible that it was related to the new key. the key-off/radio-on symptom also seems especially consistent with ignition-cylinder stuff becoming misaligned.