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For those more familiar with cars, a question: when the article mentions disabling the ignition, does that mean that only the starter is disabled, or that the a
by dblotsky 12y ago
For those more familiar with cars, a question: when the article mentions disabling the ignition, does that mean that only the starter is disabled, or that the actual spark plugs / fuel delivery are disabled (and there is some check for whether the engine is running)? The former sounds reasonable, but the latter sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
- jccooper 12y agoI doubt the article is being precise, first, and might use one for the other. That said: ignition means the electrical system that fires the spark plugs. Starter is the motor that starts the mechanical bits moving, so the ignition can do its job and keep the mechanical bits moving. Any car with the traditional keyed start even shows these circuits as separate positions on the cylinder. Most motorcycles have separate controls for those two circuits: a toggle switch for ignition, and a momentary switch for starter--you must set ignition to "on" before the starter will do any good. Disable the ignition system, and nothing's going anywhere. Disable the starter motor, and it's just not going to start--unless you push it down a hill or, say, short the relay with a screwdriver (as mentioned in the article). While technically you could put a remote controlled relay anywhere (the dome light won't light up if you're late on payments--take that!) it sounds from the description of the device ("starter interrupt") and other clues that it's the starter system that's being killed. And that makes a lot of sense: that way if the device fails it at least won't bother you while you're in motion.