Push button car starter

In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
starter too? I knew that some old american car has push button
automatic transmission, I cannot remember the brand.
Thanks for info.

On 4 Dec 2005 20:29:52 -0800, wrote:

>In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
>car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
>Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
>Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
>Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
>did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
>car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
>starter too? I knew that some old american car has push button
>automatic transmission, I cannot remember the brand.
>Thanks for info.

Push-button starters aren't new. Companies like Lincoln, Packard,
Hudson and Cadillac used them from the 1930's to the 1950's. In fact,
the idea of having an ignition "key" wasn't around from the very
beginning - most cars prior to the 30's probably used push-button
starters. I think most companies quit using them by the 1950's,
though.

As for new cars, they've only been using push-button starters for the
last few years. The Honda S2000 has used one since 2000, and I can't
remember if there were any mass-produced cars that used a push-button
starter in the 1990's.

Also, there are two types of "push-button starters". The one in the
Honda, for example, behaves just like a regular ignition switch. You
have to press and hold the button until the engine starts. Other
cars, like the Aston Martin, only require that you press the button
briefly. After that, a computer takes over and continues to turn the
starter until the engine is running.

As for push-button transmissions, plenty of American cars had those
well into the 1960's. The most-recent one I can think of off the top
of my head was a friend's 1964 or 1966 Corvair.


--
Scott Gardner

"I suppose they are vicious rascals, but it scarcely matters what they are. I'm after what they know." (Gibson-Sterling, The Difference Engine)

wrote:
>
> In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
> car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
> Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
> Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
> Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
> did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
> car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
> starter too?

1912 Cadillac. 93 years ago.

« Paul » wrote:
> wrote:
>
>>In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
>>car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
>>Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
>>Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
>>Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
>>did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
>>car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
>>starter too?
>
>
> 1912 Cadillac. 93 years ago.

The early, mid-30's, Fords had a push button. They also had a key that mainly
just pulled a steel pin from the steering column that acted as a steering lock.

My 1968 Porsche was a German delivery car that was "illegal" in California in
several ways. One was the fact it had a stearing shaft lock that operated via a
relay and not actuated by the key.

The push button primarily sent current to the starter relay. In those early day
s of 6v systems the starter drew upwards of 100 amps and needed a hefty relay.
Today with 12v systems the current is cut to 50 amps and many semiconductors
can handle that current. In fact they are currently being advertised to handle
up to 5,000 amps.

I have no idea what MB uses, probably the latest technology.

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wrote:
> In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
> car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
> Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
> Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
> Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
> did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
> car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
> starter too? I knew that some old american car has push button
> automatic transmission, I cannot remember the brand.
> Thanks for info.

Traditionally, the ignition switch and starter switch were separate.
The modern, four-position (acc/off/ign/start) key switch was introduced
as a "feature" in the early to mid-1950's, to save drivers from the
horrible inconvenience of having to turn on a key AND push a button or
a momentary toggle

I think on modern cars the pushbutton is there simply to give the
interior of the car a "racy" feel; most race cars use standard toggle
switches and pushbuttons for the electrical switches as reliability and
serviceability are more important there than aesthetics, and most race
drivers don't seem to be inconvenienced by having different switches.
Thus to give a street car a "race car" aura, the designers use a more
expensive, stylized version of the standard starter pushbutton. Eh,
makes no sense to me, but whatever.

Incidentally, prior to most cars adopting key-start, aside from a
dash-mounted pushbutton or momentary toggle, there were also switches
mounted under the floor and activated by buttons looking a lot like a
floor mounted dimmer switch. I know Studebaker and possibly others
used to mount it underneath the clutch pedal, and I think Buick had it
under the accelerator?

Finally, regarding another poster's comment about high current, I'm not
aware of any vehicle made in the last 50 years that didn't have a
starter solenoid; I doubt any more than 20A is flowing through the
"start" contacts on the ignition switch or starter button. However, in
very, very old vehicles, you'd sometimes see on top of the starter
where you'd expect there to be a solenoid, instead a very heavy duty
switch. For example, I was working on a '50 Studebaker Commander a
while back; the starter was on the driver's side of the engine and had
one of these HD switches on top of it, it was activated by a pull rod
that hung under the dashboard next to the OD handle. Obviously a
clutch/neutral safety interlock is impossible with this setup which may
be one reason why it's dropped out of favor and solenoids became the
way to go. I think that car had a manual choke as well, IIRC. Three
things you never see anymore

nate

« Paul » wrote:
> wrote:
>
>>In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
>>car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
>>Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
>>Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
>>Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
>>did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
>>car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
>>starter too?
>
>
> 1912 Cadillac. 93 years ago.

My 51 Crosley had one. My 53MG-TD had a "pull knob" starter- same thing
but reversed motion :-)

In article >, Don Stauffer wrote:
>« Paul » wrote:
>> wrote:
>>
>>>In the past few years, push button car starter appear to arrive in some
>>>car models. The Lexus GS 430, and the new IS350 has one of those.
>>>Mercedes Benz shows their new cars using a key fob. So does the new
>>>Infiniti M series. Are both technologies the same?
>>>Who (which car company) started the push button car starter, and when
>>>did it start? Is push button starter something new in the commercial
>>>car industry? Had some of the old cars in the 1960s those push button
>>>starter too?
>>
>>
>> 1912 Cadillac. 93 years ago.
>
>My 51 Crosley had one. My 53MG-TD had a "pull knob" starter- same thing
>but reversed motion :-)

Citroen 2CV and Diane also had pushbutton starters.

And some older Fiats (600, 126, probably 500) had a starter cable
connected to a lever on the floor. You pulled the lever which, via the
cable, pulled the cog into the flywheel and an electric switch in the
starter itself turned on electricity for the starter.

My ex-girlfriend's mother, then around 60 years old, used to drive a 1965
Fiat 600 with such a system (and front-opening doors). She always enjoyed
embarrasing any cocky mechanic by waiting a bit and letting them puzzle
over why the damn engine wouldn't start, when she had clearly driven to
the garage, before letting them know this. To make things more interesting
the original steering lock (three positions: off, utilities, contact) had
broken and had been replaced by a regular lock (four positions: off,
utilities, contact and spring-loaded start).

--
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\ / http://charm.zag.si/eng/, email: "name dot surname AT zag dot si"
X ASCII ribbon campaign against HTML in mail and postings.
/ \ I'm a .signature virus. Copy me to help me spread.

On Sun, 4 Dec 2005, Scott Gardner wrote:

> As for push-button transmissions, plenty of American cars had those well
> into the 1960's. The most-recent one I can think of off the top of my
> head was a friend's 1964 or 1966 Corvair.

Your memory is faulty. No Corvair ever had a pushbutton transmission.

Pushbutton-operated automatic transmissions were found in 1956-1964
Chrysler products (cars and trucks, with a very few exceptions in 1964 in
the form of one or two special-sport models that used a floor-mounted
lever shift). The Chrysler system was mechanical (two cables) and quite
reliable.

Ford futzed around with an electrically-operated pushbutton gear selection
system on Edsels for a few years. It was an unreliable nightmare and went
over about as well as the rest of the car.

On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 12:20:24 -0500, "Daniel J. Stern"
> wrote:

>On Sun, 4 Dec 2005, Scott Gardner wrote:
>
>> As for push-button transmissions, plenty of American cars had those well
>> into the 1960's. The most-recent one I can think of off the top of my
>> head was a friend's 1964 or 1966 Corvair.
>
>Your memory is faulty. No Corvair ever had a pushbutton transmission.

Thanks for the correction. I must have been remembering the
dash-mounted shift lever on his Corvair. Now I have to sit here and
rack my brain trying to remember which friends' car it was that had
the honest-to-goodness pushbutton shifter.


--
Scott Gardner

"You don't need to fire the rig foreman that just blew the top off the wellhead, cause you know for damned sure he'll never do it again." (Ron Gardner)

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 15:58:18 -0500, Scott Gardner >
wrote:

>On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 12:20:24 -0500, "Daniel J. Stern"
> wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 4 Dec 2005, Scott Gardner wrote:
>>
>>> As for push-button transmissions, plenty of American cars had those well
>>> into the 1960's. The most-recent one I can think of off the top of my
>>> head was a friend's 1964 or 1966 Corvair.
>>
>>Your memory is faulty. No Corvair ever had a pushbutton transmission.
>
>Thanks for the correction. I must have been remembering the
>dash-mounted shift lever on his Corvair. Now I have to sit here and
>rack my brain trying to remember which friends' car it was that had
>the honest-to-goodness pushbutton shifter.

*rack your brain*?

put pushbutton transmission into Google Web and you find out it was a
Mopar design, last year on the 1964 Chrysler Imperial.

Duh?