Chrysler Repair: Neon seems possessed: starts and runs by itself, combustion chambers, fuse box

Question
We bought our daughter a '96 Neon with 72,000 miles on it. Among the many problems we've experienced with it is one I can't figure out. She will turn the vehicle off, remove the key, get out, and shortly after that, the vehicle will start up on it's own. I first thought that she was smoking her socks, but my other daughter witnessed it too. She has actually driven it after this has occurred without the key. On top of this, it takes some inventive key manipulation to get the vehicle to shut off again. Is there something that can be done short of calling a Priest.

Answer
Hi Barney,
The engine can "start" without the starter motor if it "diesels" due to having a hot spot in one of the combustion chambers which causes an after shut-off explosion that turns the crankshaft. It is possible to 'run on' like that for quite a while, and even more likely if the ignition switch were faulty and failing to shut off the power to the engine controller. The key lock cylinder has an actuating shaft that meshes with a rotating disc inside the switch. The shaft could be bent or the switch rotated in its mounted position such that the key seems to be mechanically in the 'off' position but it actually isn't.
The ignition switch is supposed to control fuses 5-8 and 9-11 and 14-16 in the fuse box under the dash via three separate sections within the ignition switch. So I suspect that the key is coming out of the socket in the 'off' positon without the internal contacts actually being disconnected from those one, two, or all three sections of the switch. So I would check in the fuse box under the dash to see if any/all of those fuses are showing 12V as compared to ground (any shiny metal surface connected to the body) when the ignition switch is off. If so, then replacing the ignition switch would be the logical first thing to do. It could also be short in the wires at the ignition switch. I can xerox a page from the manual that shows how to get to the switch if the voltage tests show any of those fuses to be "hot" even though the switch is off. Just tell me a postal mailing address.
Roland