Reply to post: Re: Starting handles

I could throttle you right about now: US Navy to ditch touchscreens after kit blamed for collision

Dazed and Confused

Re: Starting handles

My first car was made in the UK in the late 60s, it didn't have a starting handle by default, it had an electric starter. But the hole was there in the cross member ready for it and you could go to the parts department at the main dealer and order the parts for hand cranking. When the car was new I imagine no one wanted this, but by the time I bought it, the car was "an old banger" and luxuries like new batteries were beyond my means so I bought gadget that replaced the standard bold on the end of the crank shaft, which would take a starting handle. Luckily my old man had a starting handle so I didn't need to buy one of those. All very useful when the car was having problems starting. Certainly easier than push starting the car.

The normal electric start was by the ignition key, the switch the key turned then supplied current to a solenoid which switched the high current circuit to drive the starter motor. I've owned several cars where there was a button on the end of the solenoid you could use to manually engage the starter motor circuit. Again useful when your battery is suspect.

In more recent years I've owned a classic car from the 50s, it didn't have the starter on the ignition key. You'd start the car by using the key to switch the electrics on and then there was a starter button on the dash to engage the starter motor. This again worked via a solenoid, so the starter button supplied a low current to the solenoid which then switched the high current circuit for the motor. I found it quite funny when I bought the modern descendent of the classic and it had reverted back to the 50s practice of having a separate starter button.

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