Saw something I hadn't seen for years when starting a car

[wilkinsservis]

People on this web site are all knowing and seeing but with a tremendous eye for detail and minutiae. Yesterday I was in a parking lot and saw a woman start her car with the door still open and one foot on the ground. I hadn't seen this done for years but on reflection I recall this was a habit of country/rural ( or perhaps it's military training ) people when starting a vehicle in years gone by but can't remember the reason for this. Does anyone know whether this is true and if so why do it this way?

 

[funktionalart]

Now THAT is a detailed observation!

And I really should know the answer. I've a very elderly uncle in England who STILL does that same thing. While living in Ireland, I found it a common sight as well...but do not recall exactly why people would do this. Maybe I should ring up the old uncle and ask about it~
Allen

 

[electron1100]

cooling winds

I do it in the summer, turn the car on drop the windows, then close the door and drive off etc

 

[hydralique]

One thing I've noticed on cars built in about the past 15 years is that there is an interlock switch on the clutch pedal to prevent starting unless the pedal is depressed. It is annoying to me since it's one more thing to go wrong eventually; I've always had the habit of putting the gearbox in neutral before starting anyway.

I would be surprised to see many older people with a habit of starting the car without having their feet inside. Before modern electronic engine management cars often needed a little throttle to start, or a couple of pumps of the pedal which would squirt fuel into the engine via the accelerator pumps on the carburetors. If it had not been run for awhile my favorite old Citroen started best with this procedure: turn on key, listen to clicking of fuel pump until it slowed down which meant the carbs were full of gas. Pump accelerator three times and then turn engine over for 3 seconds. Repeat twice with pedal half down, on the third try it would always start. I was admonished to not use the choke due to the possibility of fouling the plugs. Engine management is one place where modern cars are vastly superior to old cars, moderns usually just start quickly and don’t care much what you do with the accelerator pedal. 

 

[iheartmaytag]

Seatbelt interlock

For a short time in automotive history, 1974 to mid 1975 model year, cars were equipped with a seat belt interlock. The front seat occupants had to be belted in order for the car to start. There were pressure sensors in the front seats that sensed the weight of the occupant(s). The sequence had to be pressure, retractor spooling out belt, buckle for the car to start. However, service personnel found that they could bypass this interlock by standing outside while cranking, or in effect not placing weight on the seat did not trigger the pressure pad and the vehicle started without interrupt. When the occupant did sit on the seat a buzzer and light reminded to fasten the belt, which they remedied by removing the buzzer.

It was harder to defeat the interlock until it's use was repealed in the mid run of the 1975 models. It was amazing the acrobatics people were willing to go through in order to NOT be bothered by wearing a seat belt.

 

[countryford]

<blockquote>
For a short time in automotive history, 1974 to mid 1975 model year, cars were equipped with a seat belt interlock.

</blockquote>
 

My 1974 Gran Torino had that on it. Shortly after I bought it, I was cleaning under the drivers seat and found some wiring that wasn't hooked up. I hooked it up and when I went to start the car, I discovered what I had rehooked up. As you said, I couldn't start it without the seatbelt being buckled or if I lifted my weight off the seat and started it, it would give me a loud buzz when I sat back down on the seat. I ended up just unplugging it, and didn't have any other issues with it.

 

[philr]

About starter interlocks...

I never understood the idea of having a sensor in the driver position of the seat for the 1974-75 starter interlocks! I mean, if there's someone to turn the key and start the car, we could assume someone should be seating in that position, so why a weight sensor would be needed?!

 

My 1974 LeSabre didn't have that as the system was bypassed for cars sold in Canada. The wiring for the system was still there but there was a cover where the cancel button was normally connected for this system. My 1975 Electra is too new to have this as it was made in March of 1975 and the wiring had been modified by that time (and even in the US, the cars equipped with airbags lacked the seat belt starter interlock).

 

The first of the 7 pictures in the photo viewer box shows my former 1974 Buick LeSabre with the unused and covered connector for the seat belt starter interlock cancel button above the brake booster. The second one shows another 1974 LeSabre from the US (I wish I had this one instead!) with the cancel button connected in the red connector. The third picture shows an early-production 1975 Electra sold in Canada with the connector that's also covered. The 4th picture shows the same location above the brake booster on my 1975 Electra (which has 3 reasons to lack the starter interlock as it was sold in Canada, it has airbags and was produced after they abandoned the feature!) without the wiring or connector.

 

The pictures 5-6 show a US-market 1974 Electra with airbags and it has the same cover on the seat-belt interlock connector above the master cylinder.

 

The 7th picture (which could be made larger by clicking "view full size") shows a folder that explains the ACRS system for 1974 Oldsmobiles. The text shows that ordering a car with airbags eliminated the seat belt light, buzzer and interlock system. 

 

[iheartmaytag]

The driver's position sensor

was supposed to be for service. No weight in seat indicated no driver, allowed the car to start. Was also there as the sequence was necessary, weight in seat, retractor, buckle. This prevented someone form buckling the seat belt behind them, and then sitting on the belt. The pressure sensor reset each time someone got into and out of the car.

 

[d-jones]

I have a 1975 Plymouth duster that I bought when I was 17 that has one of those seat belt interlocks in it. The previous owner had bypassed it and I never bothered to fix it, but I always wear a seat-belt anyways, so there's no point. As for those neutral safety switches that disable the starter, thankfully the Duster doesn't have one of those. Years ago when I was young and very poor, thinking I had enough to get to work I ran the car out of gas on the freeway here in L.A. Fortunately I was able to use the starter motor to crank the car out of traffic and off to the side before any harm came of it. So even though I understand the logic behind them, I think it should be possible to bypass them in an emergency.

 

Now back to the topic of this thread, my wife doesn't like closing up the car when it's hot out prior to starting the engine. Instead, she either leaves the door open or the windows down so the hot air can escape, then starts the engine and runs the ac for a bit to cool things off before closing it up.

 

[philr]

My old Toyota pickups have a "clutch start cancel" button on their instrument panels. When you press on that button, a light remains on as long as the ignition isn't turned off and that allows you to start the truck without the need to press on the clutch pedal. I think the main reason for that feature was that you could start the truck with the transmission in gear when off-roading but I never used it in this condition! I use it when I'm out of the truck to start the engine.

 

[washer111]

Seatbelt Sensors:

Watched some cold starts on YouTube lately of some older Volvos, and noticed that they had a peculiar "Fasten Seatbelt" warning.
When the ignition was switched on, this light started flashing with a loud "CLICK-A CLICK-A CLICK-A" producte from the relay.

This was whether someone was in the car or not, too.

 

[cornutt]

Those seat belt interlock systems were notorious for randomly shutting down the ignition whilst one drove down the highway. I bypassed the one in my mom's Monte Carlo.

 

[whirlaway]

Long Ago before any interlock or whatever!!!!

People did that because to start a really old car you had a floor mounted starter,that actually pushed the starting gear against the flywheel and some had the springs of death and you needed to place one foot outside for leverage to push that button in.I had a 38 Chevy like that Im short and I would have to put both hands on the wheel and push like hell on that starter to engage with my right foot.It was a pedal on the bottom of the firewall,my last Jeep was like that a 45 model,it had a foot start on it.

 

[supersuds]

Interesting that in the 1975 airbag system you only had to wear a lap belt.

 

[thomasortega]

About the interlocks, they're a PITA. My Clio has a clutch interlock and a scary beep that sounds like the Ghostbusters siren that won't stop until you blucke up. But if you buckle up before starting the car, it obviously won't sound. Something I would love to understand is why do american Ford cars have that "ding ding ding" bell for almost 10 seconds even when you start the car with the belt buckeled. I had the same annoying bell on Taurus, Mondeo, Ranger, Explorer, F-250 and now the Focus. Is there a way to bypass that?