Cranking a car from before 1950 or so was relatively safe, newer cars with
high compression engines and advanced timing will often fire once in REVERSE
direction (remember-the timing is set BEFORE TDC, so it will spark before the
piston reaches the top of the stroke... and since you are pulling rather
slowly-there is not enough momentum to carry the piston up past the top of the
stroke-result-the cylinder fires before the piston is TDC and the engine makes
one turn backwards)-so the crank will not be kicked out of the "starting dog"
but will push back against you. If you are pushing down, it will push you
up... very much up, like 10 feet or so. If you are pulling up, the crank
handle will be ripped out of your hand (if you haven't wrapped your thumb
around it) and then spin smartly 360 degrees to hit the middle of your right
arm and smartly break it (actually rather nastily break it and shatter the
bone). So NEVER push down, NEVER wrap your thumb around the handle and NEVER
use your right arm.
Jan Eyerman
(an old, old timer who was taught well by a an even older old timer who had
lost his right arm that way)
Thomas Wiencek <wiencek@anl.gov> wrote:
One more safety item. Always crank with an open hand (palm up). If the car
back fires you can break your wrist!!!
On 2/28/02, Marc James Small <msmall@infi.net> wrote:
At 09:00 AM 2/28/02 -0800, Lloyd Elliott wrote:
>Can you really start an Alpine with a crank? The owners manual refers to
>doing so, but does not give a procedure. Might be nice if the battery is
>discharged. How do you do it?
>
It will not work with a discharged battery if the car has an alternator, as
some current is required to "flash the field".
To start:
-- set handbrake (vital!)
-- put car in neutral (vital!)
-- pull choke out as needed by ambient temperature and conditions
-- turn ignition key to "on"
-- insert crank
-- turn crank (be cautious -- when the engine catches, it will kick the
crank out of the bolt)
-- drive off or whatever
Yes, I have done this on my Series V a number of times, just to prove to
others that a road car marketed in 1967 still came with a hand crank.
Marc
msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +276/343-7315
Cha robh b`s fir gun ghr`s fir!
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