I went to start up my '99 Suburban and it started but sounded like the starter was staying engaged. I shut it off, smacked the starter once with a hammer, and now it does nothing when I turn the key. Any ideas of what my next step should be would be great. I need this thing soon. 4 kids and one on the way.

 

there should be 2 wires to the starter

-one small gauge wire ; is the signal for the starter to work when the key is turned to start. check this wire for zero volts in all key positions except start. if working properly, it should only have battery voltage key in start. Any voltage on this wire not in start, will cause the starter to engage when you do not want it to.

-one large wire feeds power to the starter all the time. check this wire for 12volts

if both work as i have described, replace the starter.