# Why hasn't anyone come up with a better way to start vehicles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615 "2012-04-22T19:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615/41 "2012-04-24T00:17:28Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > Sure, why have a single point of failure when you can have 15 or 20? 🙂 Aw, c’mon; billions of PCs out there have 2032 coin cells and they don’t fail _that_ often 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615/42 "2012-04-24T03:00:00Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Aw, c’mon; billions of PCs out there have 2032 coin cells and they don’t fail _that_ often 😉 Think it through Push the unlock button on the remote, it partially wakes up the car’s network, and unlocks the doors call it a 10A load for less than a second. Open the door, interior lights, call it 1A Insert the key and turn to accessory, network comes alive, 11A (yes 11Amps, I’ve measured it) Turn the key to on, the daytime running lights come on, we are now at 15A Also when the key goes to on, the fuel pump energizes for 1 second add 6-8A additional. When the car goes into crank, you will need about another 6A for the injection and ignition systems. Excluding the starter draw, you are going to need about 25-30Amps to start the car. Go watch Apollo 13 then come back and tell us just how many of the 2032 cells are you planning on installing in your car? How long do you think they will last? One key cycle, or do you think they might make it to 2? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615/43 "2012-04-24T03:05:44Z")
The winking smiley didn’t tip you off? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615/44 "2012-04-24T03:31:20Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615/45 "2012-04-24T03:49:45Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > … In modern cars, you can’t open a window or **unlock doors** without electricity. I hate those cars. Whenever you lock your car with the remote control, the only way to unlock it without setting off the alarm is to use the remote. That battery in your remote is going to die some day, and you’re betting 50/50 odds that it’s going to die when you lock your car, rather than unlock it. That said, you also need electricity for the ALARM. Unless you want the car to mechanically explode or something when somebody tries to steal it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-anyone-come-up-with-a-better-way-to-start-vehicles/619615.md?page=2)