Can you move a car with the starter?

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Yes.i reciently drove an v6,5 speed f150 across town in bumper to bumper traffic then 45 miles on the fwy with no clutch pedal because the internal slave was leaking all the fluid out. I had to put it in gear and restart it in gear @ every light. I was pulling a small trailer too.

The starter had no problem getting the truck and trailer moving even on a pretty steep slope. How long it may have lasted If constantly cranking. Enough to get off the street and up to a gas pump for sure.
 
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Ever felt how hot the positive battery cable gets if you crank the starter motor continuously for 20 seconds? 30 seconds gets it hot enough to start melting the outer lining. 45+ seconds could easily start a fire. Seen it happen to several vehicles over the years back in my tow truck driving days.
 
Originally Posted by GoldDot40
Ever felt how hot the positive battery cable gets if you crank the starter motor continuously for 20 seconds? 30 seconds gets it hot enough to start melting the outer lining. 45+ seconds could easily start a fire. Seen it happen to several vehicles over the years back in my tow truck driving days.


Yeah they aren't continuous duty rated and I've heard 20 seconds is about the limit you should give a starter motor before at least an equal amount of rest time.

I flooded the carb in my cadillac cimarron and gave it 300 seconds of cranking over ten minutes. The battery held (!) and it eventually caught.

It makes way more sense to get out, walk, and put gas in a gatorade bottle or something to return to your car with.
 
Originally Posted by GoldDot40
Ever felt how hot the positive battery cable gets if you crank the starter motor continuously for 20 seconds? 30 seconds gets it hot enough to start melting the outer lining. 45+ seconds could easily start a fire. Seen it happen to several vehicles over the years back in my tow truck driving days.

No idea but we remote started our diesel Canyon after the fuel gelled and it cranked well over 30 seconds before it started so clearly the cables on modern cars are plenty thick.
 
I remember in 1976 I had a 911 Porsche and like an idiot I ran out of gas across a rather large intersection from a gas station and in my wisdom I used the starter to get across the intersection and into the gas station pump . I was rather pleased with myself.
 
Yep, ran my moms 1980 Ford Fiesta into a tree about 6 feet away when I was a kid. Car didn't have a chance to start, but it certainly rolled forward under starter power.
 
The clutch apparently failed on my '65 Comet 289 V8. The clutch was engaged and wouldn't release when I pushed on the clutch pedal.

I was 30 miles from home when I discovered the problem. I had a mandatory stop - there was not only a stop sign but also a car coming so I had no choice but to stall the engine using the brakes. What to do now? I started the car with the transmission in first gear and drove it home that 30 miles using clutch free shifting. I was rather proud of myself.

It turned out that a pin had fallen out of the linkage but I didn't know it at the time.
 
Had an '02 Elantra with a busted neutral safety switch on back order. My girl friend, who hadn't driven a manual transmission in a couple of decades, tried to start it and almost ran it into the front of a Quik Trip.
 
Yes it has happened. I was in England back in 1970 and I was a passenger in a car. It ran out of gas just within site of a petrol station. The driver was able to move the car to the station on the starter motor alone. We filled up with gas and were on our way once more.
 
It'll work but it's not good for the starter or the cables. I have had to do it a few times. Usually you can rig something on the clutch switch to get it to crank with the clutch out.


Originally Posted by ecotourist
The clutch apparently failed on my '65 Comet 289 V8. The clutch was engaged and wouldn't release when I pushed on the clutch pedal.

I was 30 miles from home when I discovered the problem. I had a mandatory stop - there was not only a stop sign but also a car coming so I had no choice but to stall the engine using the brakes. What to do now? I started the car with the transmission in first gear and drove it home that 30 miles using clutch free shifting. I was rather proud of myself.

It turned out that a pin had fallen out of the linkage but I didn't know it at the time.


My dad was in a similar situation on Long Island with an 18 wheeler. A spring in the clutch broke and jammed the pressure plate. He drove it back from LI to utica NY with not clutch. Just starting and stopping it in 1st gear when he had to stop. He was worried about running out of battery in heavy traffic but old mechanical diesels will fire right up as soon as you hit the start button when they are warm.
 
Yes - with a manual tranny - works really well with a diesel engine since the starter has way more grunt.
 
I hav
Originally Posted by IndyFan
Jeeps with manual transmissions, except for the new JL, can move the Jeep with the starter in first gear in low range 4 wheel drive. This is for stopping on steep hills where it would be difficult to slip the clutch. So, if your engine wouldn't start, yes, the vehicle would move with the starter. The new JL Wrangler doesn't do this because it has hill hold where the brakes apply, keeping you from rolling back.

I had done this a few times in my CJ, but as said it was only for 10 seconds or so, not a 1/2 mile journey.
I also had the clutch linkage fall apart on me 60 miles from home, so had to do as a few above mentioned, if I had to stop, I would put it in neutral, stop, turn off engine, put in gear, and then start it in gear to get it going. I had like 4 stops I had to do that with.

As mentioned, the continuous draw of the starter would eventually melt the cable or connections, and would not be good for the starter or ring gear.
I would just walk to the station and get some gas vs possibly ruining a starter, cable and ring gear.
 
I was getting a friend's late 68's pickup with a stick shift going once, forgot to step on the clutch and she started to move. I suspect I could have gotten it going for a ways if I had wanted to.
 
I did a lot of off-roading with a friend that had a VW powered Meyer's Manx type dune buggy back in the early 1970's. I remember one of the tricks that we used if we got stuck was using the starter to crawl the car along for several feet until we reached a spot where we could get better traction and then started the engine and off we went.
 
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My XTerra has a bypass for the clutch switch that'll let you start it in gear, meant for situations where you're stopped off-road and absolutely cannot roll backwards. In 2wd or 4hi, you can definitely tell the starter is struggling but it does move the truck. In 4lo, it seems to turn normally. No idea how long you can do it for, but I've managed to shove a group 29 deep cycle battery under the hood so probably quite a while.
 
I did it once in the Midget. Aftermarket electric fuel pump had a defect, and I got about 100 feet from the garage when it died, going up a hill. Tried to turn it around to go back down the hill, but I had to use the starter to move it a few feet forward to start coasting down the hill. Clicked the garage door opener and managed to coast down the hill and back into the garage.
 
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