DIY: Clutchless Start

[Airgne]

i did this on a 01 legacy gt, so i dont know what else it will work on. should be easy enough to figure out.
this will enable you to start your car without pushing the clutch pedal.
tools needed: wire cripers, butt conectors 2x,and a toggle switch with 2 wires coming off of it..
1. look under your dash at the clutch pedal you should see 2 conectors on the pedal assy 1 blue and 1 white.
2. disconnect the the blue one first for easier removal of the white one.
3. cut the 2 wire attached to the white conector about 2 in back(this is so if you want to undo this you can).
4. get your toggle switch and crimp 2 butt conectors to it.
5. removing the wire sheath exposing the wire connect the toggle switch to the wires that were connected to the white plug you cut off.
6. make sure your car is in N and start your car without using your clutch pedal, and your done.

this took me only 15-20min and i have never done it before.

[decke48]

ohh to lazy to push in the clutch ah? :grin:

[Airgne]

yes and no. i got use to not haveing to get in the car to start it while i was in japan. also i dont like to smoke in the car while there is no wind.

[Brockley]

so, are you sayin you have to flip the toggle switch every time before you start it?

if not, would the cruise control still work with this engaged (im assuming no)

where did you mount the said switch?

[Airgne]

the cruise still works fine. i leave the toggle switch in the on position. in the off position the car will not start at all. im going to mount the switch under the dash once i get a drill bit to mount it that way i want. for now its tucked safely in a corner.

[Brockley]

so is there actually a reason for the switch at all... you could just wire it up w/o the switch??? right?

[Airgne]

yes you could. it is also knid of a kill switch for your car. even if they hotwire they still wont be able to start if they dont know were the switch is.

[deadlydave]

yes you could. it is also knid of a kill switch for your car. even if they hotwire they still wont be able to start if they dont know were the switch is.

That's actually a really smart idea, kudos man. Manuals tend not to get stolen around me, theifs go for autos.

[Airgne]

thank you. i want your baja's(its really a brat) drivetrain.

[99gtlimited]

That's actually a really smart idea, kudos man. Manuals tend not to get stolen around me, theifs go for autos.

hmm... interesting. i wonder why that is? doesn't seem to be the case around here.

[Airgne]

cuz most ppl in washington can drive stick since most ppl around here are hicks(no offense to anyone out there). i dont know if it is the same on older leggies, but isnt to hard to do.

[Sarra]

This switch could be handy if your clutch linkage blows up on you. You can put it in 1st, then start the car and use the starter to get the car moving. Done it in a Toyota before a few times.

[decke48]

^say goodbye to your starter

[Bohemian_Funk]

I concur with the hicks part... and if they're not hicks around here, they're racers (though the two are not mutually exclusive, mind you) :lol:... Can't get on I-5 without seeing 5 highly tuned BMW's, Porsche's, Lexus', Infiniti's, etc., etc. (oh yeah and a huge amount of riced up honda's and low-end nissan's, but they don't count, since my nearly broken WAGON is faster than most of them)... But then again that might be because I'm like, 30 minutes away from Seattle, and thus 40 minutes away from Bellevue (aka - "Cranes"... don't ask), which is basically the rich district of the surrounding area.

However I attribute my use of ye olde manual transmission to my father having been a 72 year old engineer (well... not anymore since he's passed away, but yeah) from New Jersey who in his younger years lived and drove all over the globe due to work/standard 3 year army stint. Obviously he was smart, since for all of my lifetime he drove nothing but Subaru Laughing! (edit: as has my brother who received his first gen Legacy as a hand-me-down from said father, and so did my sister until her '93 Impreza was destroyed by a Buick)

[J.McDonald Knives]

^say goodbye to your starterHow will it kill your starter? The only way to kill it is if you try to start it while it is running. I figured that a way just to prevent it just in case is to use a push button switch that you have to hold in. You still can hide it under the dash. The only way they would know to push it is if they ever heard of it happening or if they see the switch and think to trace the wires. I may do it to mine and hook it up to a modified cruise control switch that doesn't click and hold but just push hold it and turn the key and then release after engine starts.

[decke48]

. You can put it in 1st, then start the car and use the starter to get the car moving. Done it in a Toyota before a few times.
^say goodbye to your starter
starting the car in gear will put a extreme load on the starter and instead of drawing around 200amp it would be drawing 400+amps burning up brushes, contact, ect..

[J.McDonald Knives]

. You can put it in 1st, then start the car and use the starter to get the car moving. Done it in a Toyota before a few times.
^say goodbye to your starter
starting the car in gear will put a extreme load on the starter and instead of drawing around 200amp it would be drawing 400+amps burning up brushes, contact, ect..thanks. I just misread that. I never keep my car in gear unless I am doing brakes.

[Grafton]

. You can put it in 1st, then start the car and use the starter to get the car moving. Done it in a Toyota before a few times.
^say goodbye to your starter
starting the car in gear will put a extreme load on the starter and instead of drawing around 200amp it would be drawing 400+amps burning up brushes, contact, ect..
my old nissan was like this except no switch, and the starter moved that thing just fine lol

[Airgne]

teh only reason i would ever put it in gear and use the starter is if 1. get stuck and use the tq to move it out(done it before) and 2. shear the output shaft sleeve on your transmission(this means you can not use your pedel at all to get into gear). those would be the only to. starters arent hard to rebuild or find. oh yeah with liftime warranty whos cars and there on top of boxer motors.

[J.McDonald Knives]

After looking at the wiring I think it would be easier to actually jump it after disconnecting the plug connector and you could even run the wires to a switch without cutting the wires. then again if you cut the wires instead of using butt splices you could just use male/female connectors so that it isn't that hard to reconnect them. Just my .02. I may do it myself to see how well it works. Just need some more connectors and to find my excess wire.

[patrack92314]

i did it on my99 legacy gt 2.5 and i used female and male connectors it worked beautifully

[Airgne]

how you like it?

[patrack92314]

i love it it works great i shocked my self with the switch i had it in my hand holding both terminal things and i clicked it i got a little shock . it is cool though good idea man and good write up i did in like 15 minutes

[DonMarcoPolo]

would this mod allow you to do remote start without having to get some sort of clutch-bypass?

[Airgne]

mark im not suure about that.

[Hocrest]

would this mod allow you to do remote start without having to get some sort of clutch-bypass?

Yeah, and it would even allow the car to drive away without you in it if you forget to take it out of gear when you park it :wink:

[DonMarcoPolo]

Yeah, and it would even allow the car to drive away without you in it if you forget to take it out of gear when you park it :wink:

yup, definitely thought about that, and had lots of my colleagues tell me that. I'm one of those guys that never parks in gear unless I'm on a hill, otherwise the e-brake is my weapon of choice :grin:

Nonetheless, I do appriciate your input...seriously.

[beeda]

can you still push the clutch to turn it on, ie if someone driving car that doesn't know about mod etc.?

[Legacy89]

Wait, you have to clutch when you start the car? Even tough it's in neutral? wtf :P

[Airgne]

its a saftey feture that americans have to have because most are stupid and forget to make sure it out of gear.

[Legacy89]

So it's sort of the automatics where you put it in neutral/park to start.
Tough the thing they should install in stead of that is a IQ test rather than a simple thing like that.

[danieltrusty]

I just got around to doing this yesterday. A really cool quick and easy mod. I got a $4 switch and had everything else on hand. Its really convient and the security aspect is sweet. The only thing I did that isn't reversible was make a hole that was already under the dash slightly larger to mount the toggle.