Originally posted by Andy W.:
Originally posted by G Pappas:
..... Also, you don't want to [b]quickly turn the pulley in a clockwise direction either, since it is possible (although doubtful) to start the engine that way.....
I was just quoting what I read out of the Haynes manual. Never tried it myself and don't plan to anytime in the near future either
.
Are you saying that (a) the car won't crank over or that (b) once the car is started (i.e., cranked over) that it will stall?
I am not a mechanic, but I believe that there are plenty of engines that run without batteries (lawnmowers, weed wackers, mini-bikes, remote-control airplanes, etc.). The way that you get them to start is by "cranking" the engine. I believe that this is done by turning the crankshaft at a sufficient speed until the engine fires and then can continue firing on its own. For example, the way to start a lawnmower is to pull the ripcord (or whatever it is called) a gazillion times until the engine turns over and starts. I believe that this method was also the way that they used to start cars back in the "good old days" (before my time
).
I am pretty sure that the Contour engine can be cranked in the same way. And if a fully-charged battery is connected, I am pretty sure that the car would turn over and continue to run.
So I guess the question is "will the Contour continue to run if the engine is cranked sufficiently
without the battery connected?" In other words, does the circuit from the battery need to be completed in order for the car to continue running. Maybe one of the electrical gurus on this board can answer that question.
