[chevrasaki]

I got back from a business trip a couple weeks ago to find a dead battery in my Cruze. No problem I thought, I can just pop-start it on this hill. After several failed attempts, I ran out of incline. I tried 1st gear, I tried 2nd gear, the key was in the ignition and turned to the on position, handbrake was off etc. I just don't think there's enough juice coming from the alternator to provide spark and electricity to all of the other computers and electronics. I mean the battery was completely drained. I ended up jumping it off with the help of a co-worker and it took 30 minutes to get enough charge in the battery to start.

Has anyone ever successfully pop-started their dead Cruze?

 

[jblackburn]

I've only done it where I stalled it in 2nd (security gate to a complex), then popped the clutch back out.

If the battery's dead as a doornail, I think the computer wouldn't even have power to wake up the rest of the electronics when the engine suddenly starts turning.

 

[Nescafe]

I've done it 3-4 times when my original battery was dying. If I could get somewhat of a crank off the battery and turn on the accessories, then kept trying to the point where i'd just get clicks, it wasn't a bad idea to wait 5-10 minutes before trying to pop the clutch. One time I moved a foot backwards, didn't even pop the clutch, and that was enough for it to crank over....

I sure wish we could get the schematics for the cars electrical system, understand why everything has such a tight tolerance with voltage requirements.

 

[obermd]

I did it multiple times. It sounds to me like your battery needs to be replaced - it was too dead to power the computers.

 

[ChevyGuy]

There has to be enough voltage in the battery for the systems to realize you want the car to be on and activate the alternator so it can provide juice to run the rest of the systems needed to make an engine run. If the battery is completely dead, you've got no hope in ****. It can be too dead to run the starter, but it had to have enough juice to run the systems.

 

[Robby]

The electric fuel pump usually draws so much current that a mostly discharged battery doesn't have enough 'juice' to fire the plugs.

Rob

 

[chevrasaki]

I did it multiple times. It sounds to me like your battery needs to be replaced - it was too dead to power the computers.

I just replaced my battery with a massive Cruze diesel battery over the summer. It died because I left my subs and amplifier on for 5 days, which drained both of my batteries (I have an extra 36 aH battery in the trunk that powers my aux electronics. It charges with an 80amp isolator relay coming off the main battery.) "I'll never get stranded with a dead battery!" I thought. Unless I accidentally leave the sub switch on..... I didn't account for my own stupidity. Now I'm super bummed because I've already drastically shortened the life of my new expensive battery by draining it down all the way. So mad at myself.

The electric fuel pump usually draws so much current that a mostly discharged battery doesn't have enough 'juice' to fire the plugs.

Rob

This makes a lot of sense.

 

[zr2s10]

Yeah, if it's dead-dead (technical term, look it up, lol) you can't bump start anything with a computer. I haven't had to bump start my '14 Cruze yet, since I've only had it 2 weeks. But My old Z24's I bump started multiple times when the batteries were dying or starter failed. Once I even bump started in reverse, which thankfully works...

 

[snowwy66]

It don't matter if it's today's cars or yesterdays cars without the computer. If the battery is dead. There ain't no popping the clutch. Even the ignition system needs minimum voltage.

Todays cars just have more BS. Making the dead battery threshold higher.

If you're spending 30 minutes to get enough jump start you might look at the cables. Todays cables are pretty much worthless. With all the paint put on the handles.

 

[chevrasaki]

It don't matter if it's today's cars or yesterdays cars without the computer. If the battery is dead. There ain't no popping the clutch. Even the ignition system needs minimum voltage.

Todays cars just have more BS. Making the dead battery threshold higher.

If you're spending 30 minutes to get enough jump start you might look at the cables. Todays cables are pretty much worthless. With all the paint put on the handles.

Non-sense, my friend used to pop-start his old car with no battery in the car at all.

 

[jblackburn]

Non-sense, my friend used to pop-start his old car with no battery in the car at all.

Yup, done it to the '72 Bug and '74 BMW dozens of times since they weren't driven much.

Edit: They had a battery in them; it was usually just flat.

 

[snowwy66]

Non-sense, my friend used to pop-start his old car with no battery in the car at all.

Sure, I used to pop start my old motorcycle. With a MAGNETO ignition.

That trick didn't work without a battery in my 67 olds.

 

[Aussie]

Non-sense, my friend used to pop-start his old car with no battery in the car at all.

I bet his old car had a generator, rather than an alternator?

 

[Taxman]

Sure, I used to pop start my old motorcycle. With a MAGNETO ignition.

That trick didn't work without a battery in my 67 olds.

My '74 Honda had coil ignition, but I could push start it, it took about 100' of pushing to get enough voltage in the battery to fire the coil.
Since it didn't have a magneto, kickstarting worked with a weak battery that wouldn't run the starter, but it was pointless to try if the battery was totally dead.

I bet his old car had a generator, rather than an alternator?

That's what I was thinking.
An automotive alternator needs current to energize the field.

 

[Merc6]

I was gonna say what if you stored the car in transport mode? Would that make it less dead and more capable to do it?

 

[MRO1791]

Non-sense, my friend used to pop-start his old car with no battery in the car at all.

Up until about 2000 or so, and a mix after that, alternators were internally regulated and would self excite with minimal residual magnetism from just rotation.. no more is that the case, and definitely not the case with Cruze. Our cars, and most now use the ECU or other computer to turn the alternator on, and off, or adjust the output based upon many parameters.. if you can't power the car enough on a weak battery to get the computers up, no amount of rotation on the engine, even alternator is going to get you voltage needed to start the car. If you used the 94RAGM battery from the Diesel Cruze, a single drain and recharge should not be a big deal on any AGM battery, the design permits this kind of pattern without damage.. no worries about that. I recommend you install a relay off your accessory feed to cut out your amps when the car is off to prevent the situation from happening again. Relays are and the associated wiring is pretty cheap, and being stranded never happens at a "good" time.

 

[chevrasaki]

Up until about 2000 or so, and a mix after that, alternators were internally regulated and would self excite with minimal residual magnetism from just rotation.. no more is that the case, and definitely not the case with Cruze. Our cars, and most now use the ECU or other computer to turn the alternator on, and off, or adjust the output based upon many parameters.. if you can't power the car enough on a weak battery to get the computers up, no amount of rotation on the engine, even alternator is going to get you voltage needed to start the car. If you used the 94RAGM battery from the Diesel Cruze, a single drain and recharge should not be a big deal on any AGM battery, the design permits this kind of pattern without damage.. no worries about that. I recommend you install a relay off your accessory feed to cut out your amps when the car is off to prevent the situation from happening again. Relays are and the associated wiring is pretty cheap, and being stranded never happens at a "good" time.

Yeah all of this makes sense to my brain logically. I didn't purchase the official Cruze diesel battery, I just got one that was bigger to take advantage of the extra space in the battery tray. I went with an Everstart Maxx H6 730 CCA. I don't think it's an AGM I believe it's a sealed lead acid battery. It might be deep cycle, or it might not, it was pretty cheap.

I know the smaller 36aH sealed lead acid battery I put in my trunk is deep cycle and will mostly recover. I don't want my relay to be connected to the ignition/acc. I prefer it to be on a manual switch because it controls a couple things. I have my sub box LED lights, amplifier, and relay on the same switch. Sometimes I don't want my subs and amp on, and I want the option to completely separate the auxiliary electronics from the otherwise 100% stock car electronics.

My theory as to why I forgot to turn the switch off is, the LED light on the switch burnt out recently, and it used to catch my attention when I get out of the car, but now it doesn't light up. I have a replacement, but I haven't installed it yet.

 

[Tato Head]

In my 30+ years of driving manual trans cars, I have never heard the terms "Pop Start" or "bump start" used for PUSH STARTING. Must be a regional term.. Good luck!

 

[Aussie]

In my 30+ years of driving manual trans cars, I have never heard the terms "Pop Start" or "bump start" used for PUSH STARTING. Must be a regional term.. Good luck!

In Australia, we call it "clutch start".