[SBox]

Well, I finally fell victim to the battery-draining mistake of leaving the headlights on...time to do the buzzer mod. Luckily, somebody at work had jumper cables.

If my battery dies, for whatever reason, and I can't get a jump, how do I go about starting the car with a clutch pop? Sounds simple enough, but don't you have to have the clutch depressed when you're cranking the engine?

Thanks,
-Alex

 

[Charles]

Put the car in first with the clutch in and have the ignition on. Have someone push the car. After you get up to a bit of momentum, let the clutch out quickly and it should start right up.

One man method would be to put it in neutral, push, jump in, put in first and pop clutch. Don't fall when jumping in car. :lol:

 

[Wasuri]

Its an extremly bad idea to do that. Ill try and find the article, but with this crap china internet(that goes out ever 5 mins) I dont know if ill have the best of luck.

Yet the article said its an extremly bad idea do that method of starting a car. After reading it I am glad ive never done it.

 

[Charles]

It's not something you should do daily of course. But if you are stranded and cannot get a jump, it isn't going to ruin the car.

 

[icarusdown]

there's been times when I had to do this frequently.

you can also do it in reverse if that's the only direction you can go.

ALSO, if your battery is extremely drained, popping the clutch won't work.

 

[Charles]

Yup. The ECU, injectors and the rest need a bit of juice to work.

 

[SBox]

Well then, that's why it didn't work.

Leaving the light on for 8 hours won't leave any juice...crappity-crap.

-A

 

[Charles]

Sometimes you can unhook the battery (to make sure that there is absolutely no drain on it) and let it sit for a couple hours. It will often regain enough power to push start.

 

[Wasuri]

I guess it comes down to how much power you have, and if you want to do it.

I dont think ill do it to my rex...ever.

 

[akirarex]

People have been popping clutches to start a car since the dawn of cars. I know a guy who would do it for about a year until he got a new starter. He was real good at it, suprising he didn't even get the car up to but a few mph and it would work.

You also need traction to do this, wet, snow, sand, gravel will not work with this method.

 

[bittles110]

The only way push starting will hurt your car is if raw fuel goes through the cat. (A little wont do much harm) The way I look at it, is what puts more strain on components...a little pop with the clutch to get the crank up to maybe 500 rpm, or to coast in gear down a steep hill at 4000 rpm?

 

[icarusdown]

as I see it, yes and no

the components are made to handle some amount of engine braking and it's a smooth power transfer

popping the clutch is probably more akin to wheel hop in that the torque and traction are in syncopation which is bad for the drive line.

 

[ollie]

I think we are missing the point here...
Even if you DO pop the clutch and start her......Remember your battery is seriously drained.
After the car starts its mainly going to draw power from the alt.
When this happens there can be a voltage spike that can damage the ECU.
Will it happen every time? no,BUT.....do ya wanna risk it?
...just my .02

 

[Charles]

I have never heard of an ECU getting fried like that. Surely they have voltage regulators in place.

 

[Krix]

the voltage regulator uses the battery as a reference point. dead battery and it will bump up to charge, full battery it puts out enough to maintain.

thats why taking out the the battery while running a car is a bad idea. no reference point and it charges high. and with no battery for the juice to go to it goes to your electral system until it finds a weak link.

ive never had a problem popping the clutch but ive never had a completely discharged battery in my car either.

 

[bobski]

the voltage regulator uses the battery as a reference point. dead battery and it will bump up to charge, full battery it puts out enough to maintain.
thats why taking out the the battery while running a car is a bad idea. no reference point and it charges high. and with no battery for the juice to go to it goes to your electral system until it finds a weak link.
ive never had a problem popping the clutch but ive never had a completely discharged battery in my car either.

As icarusdown said, If your battery is completely drained or disconnected, the car won't start. You may think the alternator will power the electronics once you get the engine spinning, but it actually won't. Why? Electrical generators rely on magnetisim to create current flow, but the alternator doesn't have any permanent magnets in it... only electromagnets. If you don't have any power to drive the field windings (the electromagnet), you won't get any power out of the alt when you spin it. On the other hand, once the alternator starts supplying power, current will circulate around and it will effectively run itself, which is why the engine doesn't stall when you disconnect the battery.
Anyway, a practical solution to the completely discharged battery problem would be to carry a second small 12v battery in the car - something with just enough power to run the electrics for a minute or two while you push the car.
You're right, the voltage regulator boosts output voltage to charge the battery, but it switches back and forth all the time - car electronics are designed to handle it. If the regulator were to boost the voltage so high that it could damage vehicle electrics, it would also eventually damage the battery (I've seen it happen with a bad regulator in a friend's VW). I think the reason you're not supposed to run without a battery has more to do with the alternator's available output. If you run a bunch of high drain accessories like the rear defroster, blower, headlights and such, the alt can't keep up so the battery takes up the slack. With no battery in the same situation, you end up basicly short-circuiting the alternator's output which could obviously damage it.

 

[akirarex]

A little confused about what voltage regulators are being talked about. There is a voltage regulator inside the alternator and I would also bet there are voltage regulators inside the ecu as well. The ecu doesn't work until it does a startup test (1-2 seconds), then it is operable. I would doubt a spike would be present or long enough to cause any damage. Voltage regulators are usually quiet durable devices.

The most valid point for not pop starting is driveline shock. Which usually isn't all that much because your tires will probably break free before any damage occurs.

 

[ollie]

I know some of you guys dont believe what I'm saying,but I HAVE witnessed an incident where an inexperienced tech fried a ECU and a RCM(restraint control module)doing just that.
You dont have to believe me,but when it happens to you dont say you were never informed.

just a lil info..... check out 14.6

Look Here
I know we are primarily focusing on the driveline shock though.

 

[Charles]

I think we can agree that we should all have a decent battery, a headlight alarm (really easy -- I think Stickershop did a DIY article), and jumper cables in the back. I have not had to push start in years. I don't know if you will blow up your ECU but why risk it when a little planning will avoid the whole issue?

Agreed?

Now let's plan a Mid-America meet for 2006. These Niagara and Florida meets are too friggin far away.

 

[Stavros]

Now let's plan a Mid-America meet for 2006. These Niagara and Florida meets are too friggin far away.

Or a West-coast meet? that would be cool too