I hope i'm connecting these two things together properly

So I've always known that if your battery is dead and a jump doesnt work, something else to try is moving the car and starting it up. But I've never known why. After being bored and just reading about cars instead of studying I somehow started reading about alternators. And how its hooked up to the crankshaft by a belt which turns it and can produce a current which goes to electrical equipment throughout your car including your battery. So when the battery is dead, making a car move by pushing it or letting it roll will help give a small current to the battery and therefore help start the engine?? Am I right??

One thing I couldnt figure out though, is that you do this with the car in neutral or in gear?? If the cars in neutral isnt the transmission disconnected from the engine and there for if the wheels are turning the engine isnt??



Also if you want to share some cool knowledge use this thread for it. Something you learned or what not.

 

Not too long ago I posted a thread of how a differential steering works, the information was insightful and video was amazing, especially since it was from 1937.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...erential+works

 

therefore*

 

You're right, the car would have to be in gear or you wouldn't be turning the engine. It takes a good amount of pushing to move a car in gear though, especially enough to charge it up enough to get it started I'd assume.

 

If you're pushing a car to turn the alternator belt, you're also turning the crankshaft, no? Get the car moving fast enough, with the car "on", and eventually the car could start on its own, no?

That's pretty much how push-starting an MT car works. Get it moving a little with the clutch disengaged, engage the clutch which spins the flywheels, crank, etc, car starts, runs all belts including the alternator, which then charges the battery, which you can use for later starts. :thumsbup:

 

That only woks on manual cars, automatics the motor isnt being turned when the car is in gear because of the torque converter.

 

Ohh, thats true I guess


I remember also hearing about either hitting the alternator, or stater motor(cant remember) if your car wont turn over. What does that do??

 

Good to see someone actually research what your were curious about. Stay curious!

I did the same thing years ago when trying to figure out more details about how Internal Combustion Engines work.

Howstuffworks is your friend
http://www.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm

 

Might have went through that a while back, at least the internal combustion part. I remember seeing a cool animated visual of the cylinders getting pushed down and turning the crank which would push it back up and all. Really cool.

Now I just wish I wasnt afraid to work on cars haha. Or its just I need to find someone to teach me. I dont wanna do thing just after looking at a DIY i found on the internet haha. Will learn on my next car.

 

it's actually because the engine is not turning, which is then turning the torque converter, which also turns the oil pump inside the the automatic transmission, which is what allows the transmissions to engage the clutch packs from the built up pressure from the pump spinning

starter normally, and normally basically all you are trying to do is knock it, and have the brushes inside of the motor relocate/shift enough to make contact to allow current flow (electricity), which in turns allow magnetic fields to form and spin the motor over

and if you are having to do such a thing, the starter is basically F@cked and needs to be replaced ASAP, cause it will just keep doing the same thing over and over till one day it will no longer work at all, and you are stuck somewhere due to not being able to start the engine

 

how mechanically inclined are you? can you say take apart something like a bicycle with out too much hassle (providing you have the proper tools), and i am talking about needing very little help with DIY's and such; there are a couple of things that even i would probably need some help with due to not having worked on bicycles very much (mainly thinking of the cassette bearing, what the pedals actually mount to, and rotate in at the bottom of the frame)

cause a car is basically the same thing, but instead of doing those 500 piece jigsaw puzzles, you are doing the 5-10,000 piece ones instead, it might just be a little more complicated and take a little longer to do though....

 

and when push starting a MT put it in second gear not first, it is a lot easier
done it twice on my CL once with two guys pushing and once with just me and one guy and i had to jump in and start it while we got it going, that was a challenge

 

Actually, an automobile is quite different. It's a wheeled conveyance, yes, but I think that's about as far as it goes. I think the OP is doing the right thing by reading and familiarizing himself with the basic workings of automotive mechanics. The next step would be to perform light tasks to apply this knowledge.







Terry

 

Its more I'm afraid of messing up. Because it can be a costly mistake. Also the fact that torquing seems to be very important when putting somethings back together. And I would have no clue what to torque it too. I dont think a manual comes with something like that.

First off I need tools for the car which will come in time when I get more confident.

I can work on things, but the things I work on, I know them pretty well. A car I dont. I need to know what I'm working with before I work with it. If you get what I mean.

 

ohh okkk, thanks. Didnt know that.

 

yes a car is alot more complicated and such, and has quite a few different parts then a bicycle, but it still achieves the same purpose of knowing if the OP is confident/knowledgeable enough to be doing tasks such as working on cars and such (while keeping the "investiment/damage" costs low)
which on an car, could even potentially kill somebody, or cost thousands of $$$ to repair properly

btw how ever you look at it, it's still making sure the OP is comfortable working with his hands (and getting dirty some), and using proper tools to do the job correctly

along of things/bolt sizes torque to the same value throughout the car, and even then some things you just need to make sure it is tight without going way overboard and snapping a bolt head off (suck as brackets to hold like the fusebox in place, the manufactures still give specs for them to torque them too, but it is not 100% critical though)
but something like a wheel though is alot more critical though, to make sure it does not fall off and such
and that is also why you gotta buy a couple of torque wrenches in various sizes, so you can torque things properly when needed
as far as finding the needed torque necessary, the service manual sure as hell will have the torque specs in it (sometimes it is in the pictures though with a little arrow off to the side though, other times it will also say the necessary torque in the procedures/instructions)
btw i am thinking you are thinking about the owner's manual and not the service manual...





as far as necessary tools, yeah that can be a limiting factor to doing it yourself too (and at least you are trying to do it with the proper tools, and not just improvising at times)
and there is alot of stuff you can still do on your car though, even with very basic hand tools (might take a little longer though, but still achievable)(even like some of those 100 piece tool kits will get you enough tools to start doing a little more then the very basic stuff)


and as far as working on it, you gotta start somewhere...... even if it is just changing your own oil, or something along those lines (or spark plugs, since then you don't have to actually get underneath the car, by jacking it up (alot less safety risks to worry about for starting out)

 

I'm pretty handy when it comes to using most tools I think. At least those used for around the house. Cars would basically be the same except I wont have many power tools I guess. Yea I'll probably start off by changing my own oil and things like that. I already know the procedure and its seems simple enough. Things like that I dont really care about. But like what you said with spark plugs. I looked up a DIY on that and I watched my mechanic do it on my car. So I'm pretty sure I can change a spark plug, but I would need a refresh as I dont remember everything.

 

and alot more machined fasteners/bolts compared to wood screws and such

also basically every fastener on a honda is metric too, and not standard/imperial like household things, so you might need to get the correct sockets/wrenches so you do not strip bolt heads and such

 

isnt that what i said?

 

It's called a "push start" and yet another reason why manuals are better than slush boxes.

 

Only with MT. I've helped several of my friends bump start their cars when needed. You really don't need too much speed or distance either.

 

I'm pretty sure a Bentley manual for a given car will have torque specs for tightening bolts. At least from what I've heard.

My 328i needs new rear suspension bushings ... I'm thinking about spending the winter learning how to do them with the help of a Bentley manual ... At least the disassembly part. The bushing replacement I may take somewhere to get done. It looks like a royal PITA without a tool.

 

napas and carquest's normally have a machine shop at a couple of their location around major cities, which should have no issues changing out the bushings for you, and should be for a reasonable price too

 

That is really good to know, thank you. I'm going to break down the rear first this winter and then do the front afterwards.

I saw a build thread on a guy and his buddy doing the bushings in the rear and it was 10 hours because they didn't bother getting a tool to remove and replace the bushings. They drilled and hammered them out. I have NO interest in doing that

I'm also considering doing the shaft pin bushings in the transmission too. If I'm dropping the diff, might as well see how hard it is the drop the trans too.

Only issue is that it all has to be done from jack stands

 

Lol, dead words are funny.

 

yeah without proper tools/adapters, bushings can be a fucking headache to do, especially if you plan on doing multiple one


and jack stands have fun with that, a lift is so..... NICE to have

 

Unless there's one of those places around here you can rent a bay with a lift, I don't think that's possible ... And I'd rather take two months for free to learn how to do something than pay someone $85/hr to do in ten hours and then be at someone else's mercy every time I need something done.

Especially with two German cars :smitler:

 

speaking of batteries, mine died today. Had go around asking a neighbor for jumper leads. Only if I had a manual I could push start