Starter interlock question

I am surprised they haven't done it motorcycles yet, I can't remember when they first started doing it to autos but the clutch safety switch is usually my first modification. Where the is a will there is a way and it is usually for the better.

I thought you could just stick a fuse into the 'auto' tranny slot in the fuse panel on a TJ and away you go with a bypassed clutch switch?

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

JD Adams wrote:

JD good to see you are still alive! Do you still have your 'stang?

Carl

enhancement

Yep, you are correct sir.

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 06:33:02 -0400, the following appeared in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, posted by "HarryS" :

For motorcycles the coming thing is the sidestand interlock. I guess enough riders did the sideways skate on the first left turn after forgetting to put the sidestand up to get the attention of the safetycrats.

On the '05's you can still do this, however the '4WD' lamp on the dash stays lit as a result. I'll probably spend next Saturday underneath the dash figuring out how to rip the whole thing out by the wires. I figure if you're smart enough to defeat such a device, you're probably good to go without it.

-JD

Mike Roma> I thought you could just stick a fuse into the 'auto' tranny slot in the

Hey Carl! Nope; sold it just before I left California last year; replaced it with a loaded, white/grey HT '05 TJL.

-JD

Carl Saiyed wrote:

Just snip the wires and wire nut them together, or put auto connectors opposite and plug them together. Ripping out stuff just cuts into top down time.

I unplugged the interlock switch and bridged it with a spade connector, then taped it off, which accomplishes the same goal. Decided it would be best to leave the guts intact should I ever sell to avoid liability issues.

Checked on the well-known 'transmission' slot in the fuse block. The slot is present, but is not wired on the '05's, and has been replaced by another, dedicated 'clutch override' slot which allows you to crank without pressing the pedal, but this also illuminates the '4WD' dash lamp.

My biggest problem today: I accidentally topped off the radiator with Dex-Cool yesterday afternoon. I now must drain and flush with purified water, then refill with G-05. Almost didn't catch this one - both are orange, but as we all know, coolant color is meaningless.

-JD

HarryS wrote:

I appreciate the notion that this is a safety device, and that it is annoying. I want to explore the part about how the crank bearings and journals have anything to do with the state of the clutch.

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 14:29:17 -0700, the following appeared in rec.autos.makers.jeep+willys, posted by L.W.(ßill) Hughes III :

Yep. I had a '53 Ambassador for about 3 months when I was in

11th grade, and IIRC the starter button on the floor was pressed by a metal tab off the left(?) side of the clutch pedal. Of course, you could always reach around the pedal with your foot and press it directly, but why bother? It took a fair push to get the starter cranking, so there was no real danger of pressing it while shifting normally (and you'd hardly be drag racing that boat). ;-)

I reject the notion that the 4.0L inline 6 has any similarity to the high performance engines used in a muscle car, and the thrust loads in this motor and the thrust loads in the muscle car motors are completely different and call for entirely different countermeasures. Well, beyond the obvious similarities of having pistons, connecting rods, valves, spark plugs, etc.

The owners of a 4.0L inline 6 can select N, depress the clutch and start the motor, and long before the engine has completed the second revolution, and probably before it has finished the first, the engine is started and the clutch can be released, if one is worried about the thrust loads.

I agree that the safety switch is problematic, especially on the trail when one might want to use one foot on the gas and another on the brake, making N the gear of choice. But the reasons for this have nothing at all to do with thrust loads, and everything to do with how many feet one has. Most of us have only two feet, and we don't want to be struggling with pedals that we have gears that we can use to accomplish the same mission. My safety switch has been bypassed for years, it has never been functional for the 7 years I have owned my Jeep and my BMW hasn't got a safety switch, so I am well aware of why they are a pain in the ass. I only question that there is any appreciable wear on the engine because the clutch pedal is depressed while starting the motor. This wear is listed as a primary factor in the decision to disconnect the switch, and it is this factor that I have a questio about.

I'm concerned that lateral crankshaft loading during startup with zero oil pressure will cause premature thrust bearing failure. Stepping on the clutch pedal pulls the crankshaft rearward, eventually causing bearing problems with some engines. I doubt the 4.0 is one of them, however I've primarily driven V-8 muscle cars for the last 20 years, and one big NO-NO for me is to touch that clutch pedal while firing it up. Same goes for my 'big truck' (Detroit S60/Fuller 13). I'm just not wild about preloading and cranking an engine, forcing crank bearing surfaces together prior to building even a small amount of oil pressure, and that's pretty much what this 'safety device' does.

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I see it as both an annoyance and a potential for premature eng>>> I appreciate the notion that this is a safety device, and that it is

I think you got the direction of the load bass-ackwards - pushing on the clutch pushes the crank FORWARD. Throwout compresses clutch springs with the flywheel essentially on the other end of the spring so force is in the same direction as the throwout travel.

Like it or not, at sub-zero temps it's about the > I'm concerned that lateral crankshaft loading during startup with zero oil