Is it bad to turn the engine on and off frequently

[playplugg]

Im a Grab Driver and after I drop the passenger off I am turning off the engine to save fuel consumption, after 5-10 minutes I will start it again. Is this ok? Am I shortening any parts of my car? Please help, I will appreciate it very much.

Ex-Uber driver/operator..

Pero hindi na nag-member ng grab after nawala ang uber..

Ganito lang po..

If you want to save fuel/time, effort at maximize lahat at win-win profit at solutions, Both sides.

"Proper Coordination"

(Kung naabutan talaga yung glory days ng UBER/GRAB)

Between Rider and Driver..

Eto po, kung bibili lang naman ng beer sa kabilang kanto, mas mainam na maglakad..

kung while waiting naman, at gusto buksan ang bintana, never start the engine, ilagay sa ON position ang Key, para paganahin ang power window..

"Never Leave ang ON Position" sa susi..

Sa Push start type, not mistaken, pwedeng i-on position.. same as key method.


Masama sa masama ang on-off ang engine, lalo kung excessive idling/traffic exposed/long drive..

Masisira ang starter/alternator/battery, lalo kung ugali pa yung hindi nag-off ng air-con/headlight/accessories..
dahil sa stress/strain..

kung off ang makina, cooldown ng 15-30 mins.. bago i-start ulit..

[dr. d]

Paps alam mo ba pagkabasa na pagkabasa ko ng reply mo ayaw na magstart ng tsikot ko, mag pajumpstart pako sa motolite.

when our wigo AT's original battery died, we could not jumpstart her!
we consider ourselves experts on jump-starts and push starts, with years of experience, courtesy of our pesoless beginnings when we were still students. but we could not jumpstart that wigo.
we finally surrendered and called battery delivery. upon replacing the battery, the car started like nothing happened.

[Archerfish]

when our wigo AT's original battery died, we could not jumpstart her!
we consider ourselves experts on jump-starts and push starts, with years of experience, courtesy of our pesoless beginnings when we were still students. but we could not jumpstart that wigo.
we finally surrendered and called battery delivery. upon replacing the battery, the car started like nothing happened.

That is weird! This Wigo from a friend of my friend, called me for a jump-start. I connected the terminals of this battery jump-start I bought from Ace hardware, it started right away.

[Walter]

Naku e puro short trips ako e.

Maybe you can buy a smart car battery charger to prolong battery life ... Regarding short trips ... What you can do during mornings, on your first 3-5 trips, keep the engine running if waiting time is only about 5 minutes ... Just so your engine can warm up efficiently ... A cold engine consumes more fuel ... It needs to warm up to a certain temperature ... Plus you want your engine oil hot enough to have better viscosity ...

[granro01]

Im a Grab Driver and after I drop the passenger off I am turning off the engine to save fuel consumption, after 5-10 minutes I will start it again. Is this ok? Am I shortening any parts of my car? Please help, I will appreciate it very much.

As long as you have a good condition alternator and a good working battery go ahead. It helps the environment.

[SoleusBB]

I find it hard to accept that starter motors have gotten so fragile?

The only way I could imagine trashing one of these was by continuously cranking the engine (i.e. pinipilit i-redondo) that won't start because of some other mechanical problem. You can cause the starter to overheat.

Switching the engine off and starting it again, even frequently (yung within reason of course, not yung 100x in 5 minutes!) shouldn't be cause for much concern. Ewan ko lang ngayon though. Generally, they should last the designed service life of the vehicle.

===
As to batteries, cheap brands do last a year only. Getting 3+ or more years on one of the better models, tingin ko sulit na.

[yebo]

I find it hard to accept that starter motors have gotten so fragile?

The only way I could imagine trashing one of these was by continuously cranking the engine (i.e. pinipilit i-redondo) that won't start because of some other mechanical problem. You can cause the starter to overheat.

Switching the engine off and starting it again, even frequently (yung within reason of course, not yung 100x in 5 minutes!) shouldn't be cause for much concern. Ewan ko lang ngayon though. Generally, they should last the designed service life of the vehicle.

===
As to batteries, cheap brands do last a year only. Getting 3+ or more years on one of the better models, tingin ko sulit na.

"It used to be so natural (used to be)
To talk about forever
But used-to-bes don't count anymore
They just lay on the floor 'til we sweep them away"

Used to be starters were made with 100% laminated iron cores, 99.999% copper wires, durable brass commutators and sealed type bearings. Not anymore. We get recycled steel laminate cores, less than 50% copper wires and commutators and bearings with a pinch of grease no bigger than a mung bean. Yes they were "designed to last" as the engine, which means 5 years cranked 2x a day x 5 days a week.

I personally call it the Mig 15 philosophy. Why make something to last 10000 flying hours when it will get shot down after just 2 months? So the russians made the engines to last for just 100 hours, then made many hundreds of them.

[oj88]

If any, modern starters seems more reliable. Our cars back in the 80’s broke down a lot. They overheat, carburetors were temperamental, the ignition system stops working when it rains, and the A/C only cools when it decides to.

And then, there’s also that occasional need to use a pole or a hammer to poke and/or give the starter a good thumping because the solenoid can sometimes get stuck or the carbon brushes gets dislodged and doesn’t like to sit on the commutator correctly.

Sometime around the 90’s, vehicle quality drastically improved. In the last two and a half decades, not one of our cars developed a problem with the starter. And that’s covering around 20+ cars that we, as a whole family, have collectively gone through since the early 90’s.

[yebo]

^^^ but you use your cars "normally". The question was if it is ok to stop and start many times a day.

[oj88]

^^^ but you use your cars "normally". The question was if it is ok to stop and start many times a day.

I was responding to post 26... about the claim that starters are becoming more “fragile”... which I disagree.

[Vodka]

I personally call it the Mig 15 philosophy. Why make something to last 10000 flying hours when it will get shot down after just 2 months? So the russians made the engines to last for just 100 hours, then made many hundreds of them.

sabi nga ni stalin: quantity has a quality all its own

[kisshmet]

Im a Grab Driver and after I drop the passenger off I am turning off the engine to save fuel consumption, after 5-10 minutes I will start it again. Is this ok? Am I shortening any parts of my car? Please help, I will appreciate it very much.

First observe your tachometer every time you start your car..note how high it goes (X rpm). Then observe your idle rpm (Y rpm).

Using ratio and proportion..X:Y you can deduce the number of minutes your idling engine matches the starting engines fuel consumption. 2000rpm:800rpm=2.5:1 ratio. To save fuel you need to anticipate the number of minutes you need to run idle and compare it to the ratio you get. If you will idle more than 2.5 minutes then you will save fuel by turning off your engine. If you will run idle in less than 2.5 minutes then you wont save fuel by turning off the engine because your car will gulp more fuel as you start your engine again

Every car has different oil so starting rpm is different on every car. So my ratio and proportion example could differ on each car you own. Thick oil are harder to start than thin oil so it would consume more fuel to start an engine

Now on what will be commonly affected component of your car if you frequently start an engine. Its the battery, thats why battery manufacturers cut the warranty period for commercial vehicles to just 6 months.

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tsikot Forums mobile app

[dr. d]

I find it hard to accept that starter motors have gotten so fragile?

.

errr... what is the basis for the statement daw?

[dr. d]

First observe your tachometer every time you start your car..note how high it goes (X rpm). Then observe your idle rpm (Y rpm).

Using ratio and proportion..X:Y you can deduce the number of minutes your idling engine matches the starting engines fuel consumption. 2000rpm:800rpm=2.5:1 ratio. To save fuel you need to anticipate the number of minutes you need to run idle and compare it to the ratio you get. If you will idle more than 2.5 minutes then you will save fuel by turning off your engine. If you will run idle in less than 2.5 minutes then you wont save fuel by turning off the engine because your car will gulp more fuel as you start your engine again

Every car has different oil so starting rpm is different on every car. So my ratio and proportion example could differ on each car you own. Thick oil are harder to start than thin oil so it would consume more fuel to start an engine

Now on what will be commonly affected component of your car if you frequently start an engine. Its the battery, thats why battery manufacturers cut the warranty period for commercial vehicles to just 6 months.

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tsikot Forums mobile app

in my diesel innova, my cold starting idling rpm, is the normal temp idling rpm, is the initial few-seconds' idling rpm when started from hot.

i may have saved on gas, but i feel it made me replace my battery earlier.

i don't kill my engine anymore, during 1-2 minute red lights.

[DiliKoAmericano]

The last post doesnt make an ounce of sense to me.
(no offence intended)
Interesting comments about starter motors getting better and worse. I think theyre getting different, but not neccessarily better or worse.
One fact still remains, weaker batterys will expedite the death of a starter motor, and that is what my post was all about.

[dr. d]

weaker batteries won't expedite the death of starter motors.
on the contrary, starters will last longer, because they won't function because the battery ain't got no juice to make 'em function.

[Vodka]

well a weaker battery will have more voltage sag and will push out less amps. so the starter motor will end up operating at a bit lower voltage and amps i.e. it'll feel lethargic. so you may have to operate it a bit longer in order to start the engine

[oj88]

weaker batteries won't expedite the death of starter motors.
on the contrary, starters will last longer, because they won't function because the battery ain't got no juice to make 'em function.

I think what he meant was, with a weak battery, it may not have enough power to even turn the starter so it ends up burning the starter winding. It’s the same reason low coltage (ie. 110v) will kill your unprotected 220v appliances that uses a motor (ie. Old school ref and A/C).

On the topic, you can’t cheat physics. Frequent start-stops will definitely put a toll on the battery, starter, and related parts. By how much, will depend on the quality, tolerances, and design of the individual components. Internal to the manufacturer, these components all have MTBF and duty cycle figures which are not typically available to the public. The best thing to do is to use good judgment to balance between protecting the environment vs your vehicle and do the start-stop dance only when absolutely necessary.

[dr. d]

OT.
did you know, how VW factory workers used to move VW platforms in the factory?
they engage the starter.

[SoleusBB]

errr... what is the basis for the statement daw?

Morning guys. The statement was based on the insinuation that switching the engine on or off (under reasonable use) will eventually lead to failure of your starter motor. All I'm saying is hindi naman ganyan kadali masira ang starter, placed within the context of the thread starter's original post and intended action: the TS plans to switch off his engine in between rides, habang nakatunganga siya for 5min or more waiting for another passenger.

Although may days and times na high in demand ang Grab/Uber rides, I'm presuming na hindi naman ganun kalakas/frequent na may passenger siya all the time to the extent that he/she'd have switched the engine on & off more than what can be considered "normal" use for a day- perhaps to the extent na considered "heavy" use siguro but not that masira yung starter- note, I'm not saying it can't happen though. Wala pa naman taxi nagpareplace sa amin ng starter that I remember.

If the TS is that successful sa ganun kataas na volume ng rides niya, oh well, don't worry about it, sa dami na ng kinikita mo, just buy a new car and a new starter for the old one. Eh di dalawa na pang uber/grab unit mo