Older diesels need to be “warmed up” before you can start them. Some models today even require a waiting period of up to 10 seconds with the ignition on “ON” before switching to “START”. I reckon this is to heat up some sort of (pre-) ignition. Usually, there is a symbol visible in the form of a dashbaord light that looks somewhat like the wire inside a light bulb. I remember older cars (70’s diesels) that had to be warmed up like this for over a minute.
So I think it’s fair to say that a Korean War army truck will not start automatically. A diesel may not need spark plugs, but it does need an initial spark to get going.
Coldfire said “A diesel may not need spark plugs, but it does need an initial spark to get going.”
That would be a glowplug. Looks sort of like a sparkplug with a resistance coil instead of a spark gap.
A diesel will start without it however. It does make it much easier to start and reduces the already very high load on the battery/starter motor due to the higher compression of a diesel.
Responding to some other comments, it never occurred to me that anyone would start a car with a manual transmission without pushing the clutch down.
Maybe people today aren’t all that familiar with manual transmissions due to the popularity of the automatic.
I have, when the hill was steep enough and compression low enough. My 1979 Honda Civic could not hold itself on a steep hill by the engine resistance alone - it would start “humping” down the hill. I think it only had 7.5:1 compression when new, and it had nerly 400,000 miles on it when the body broke (that’s right - the engine ran great, but the body physically broke in two from rust and wear such that you could no longer open or shut the doors).
I never use my “parking” brake, it’s just become habit to leave it in first gear. This is especially important in cold, wet sub-freezing weather (for obvious reasons) and when parking for long term-- several weeks or more.
This is a little off the original subject, but still related to manuals. I was taught to put a car in neutral and start it that way, with my foot off the clutch. Anyone else do it that way? I also park in gear, with the handbrake.
I’ve always started in neutral as well. For the hell of it, I just pulled out my owner’s manual and this is in fact the way Subaru recommends starting my ('88) vehicle.
I’m sure by now they have made it necessary to engage the clutch as a safety feature, at least on US imports.
The way I see it, the less you have the clutch engaged, the longer it will last.
True, Gatsby, although the wear on the clutch from being engaged whilst starting would be negligable when compared to the wear of a gear change or, worse, acceleration from 0 in first gear.
I think that may be true, but it must depend on how you drive. I start in neutral because I would never accelerate with the clutch fully engaged, whether changing gears or from a standstill. I always lift the clutch up to the point where the car wants to move forward (like autos do)before I accelerate because it is better for the clutch. So I think starting a car with the clutch in (especially with an old car that usually needs a bit of acceleration to even think about starting) would be quite damaging.
I agree with you, Coldfire, it probably doesn’t make a whole helluva lot of difference either way. My point was that starting the car with the clutch in is not the only “correct” way as posted above.
One of the things I learned in driving school in high school was how to use the hand brake as a backup brake when you are driving down the street. It’s something you almost never see in films where someone is going real fast down some slope cause they can’t use the pedal. Idiots.